Revising Spying the Pro-NSA Way (H.R. 4291)

What is H.R. 4291?

(Updated November 14, 2014)

This bill would amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, a U.S. federal law which authorizes, among other things, electronic surveillance and data collection, with a significant purpose of such surveillance and data collection to obtain intelligence on foreign powers, terrorists and spies. Introduced by House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Rep. Ruppersberger (D-MD), the bill:

-Purports to limit NSA surveillance and bulk collection of U.S. telephone and email data via programs like PRISM and MAINWAY by relying on information kept by private telecommunications companies, instead of the NSA collecting such information itself;

-Does NOT require the government receive PRIOR approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in order to request records from telecom companies (unlike competing legislation proposed by President Obama and Leahy/Sensenbreener, respectiely) and could instead ask for such approval after the fact; 

-Can only obtain information associated with legitimate terrorist and foreign intelligence targets;

-Makes no changes to collection of information on citizens on foreign countries on foreign soil. 

Argument in favor

Strikes a balance between individual privacy and national security. Allows for flexibility and speed in acquiring data about a suspected target.

Argument opposed

Actually rolls back current protections in the law. Places more power in the hands of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, an entity that grants over 99% of the NSA's requests.

Impact

Impacts American civil liberties, and the means by and extent to which the government can use surveillance and data collection.

Cost of H.R. 4291

A CBO cost estimate is not available at this time.

Additional Info

Media:

Baltimore Sun: Ruppersberger Bill Would End NSA Bulk Telephone Data Collection

Bloomberg: NSA Said to Exploit Heartbleed Bug for Intelligence for Years

ProPublica: What the Proposed NSA Reforms Wouldn't Do

Reuters: Supreme Court Declines Early Look at NSA Surveillance Case

Time: Lawmakers Float Their Own NSA Reform Bill

Of Note: 

-Currently, the government needs to show that records and data it seeks are related specifically to foreign terrorist activities or other clandestine intelligence activities. As worded, this bill would amend such requests to individuals associated only with "foreign powers,"meaning that any foreign national could be legally surveilled.

-The FCC requires telecommunications companies to retain phone records for 18 months. 

-From 1979 to 2004, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court granted 18,742 warrants, while rejecting only four. Fewer than 200 requests had to be modified before being accepted, almost all of them in 2003 and 2004. The four rejected requests were all from 2003, and all four were partially granted after being submitted for reconsideration by the government.

-One of the bill's chief rivals is S. 1599.