FISA Transparency and Modernization Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
FISA Transparency and Modernization Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to exclude call detail records from the categories of items that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may seek in an application to a FISA court for an order requiring the production of tangible things (commonly referred to as business records) for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities. Defines "call detail records" as communications routing information.
Prohibits the federal government from acquiring under FISA: (1) records of any electronic communication without the use of specific identifiers or selection terms; or (2) library circulation records, library patron lists, book sales records, book customer lists, firearm sales records, tax return records, educational records, or medical records containing information that would identify a person without the use of specific identifiers or selection terms.
Authorizes the FISA court or the FISA court of review to appoint amicus curiae to assist in the consideration of certain FISA applications.
Expands the categories of FISA court decisions, orders, or opinions that the Attorney General (DOJ) is required to submit to Congress within 45 days after issuance of the decision, to include: (1) a denial or modification of a request for an order under FISA; and (2) a change of the application, or a new application, of any FISA provision. Directs the Attorney General to include with such court documents a brief statement of the relevant background factual information, questions of law, legal analysis, and decision rendered.
Requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to: (1) conduct a declassification review of each decision, order, or opinion issued by the FISA court and the FISA court of review that includes a significant construction or interpretation of FISA; and (2) make such documents publicly available to the greatest extent practicable, subject to permissible redactions.
Authorizes the DNI to waive such review and public availability requirements if: (1) a waiver is necessary to protect the national security or properly classified intelligence sources or methods, and (2) an unclassified summary is made publicly available.
The summary continues for 14 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 25, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 16, 2014: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mike Rogers (R-MI) introduced it on March 25, 2014, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 4 Democrats, 9 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 25, 2014, 4552 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4530 days ago, on April 16, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers