Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act
Latest action. Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) of the committee concerned.
Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act
This bill reauthorizes Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for five years and makes changes to FISA, including certain restrictions on surveillance under Section 702. (Sec. 702 concerns electronic surveillance of non-U.S. persons believed to be outside the United States to obtain foreign intelligence information. Information about U.S. persons may incidentally be acquired by this type of surveillance and subsequently searched or "queried" under certain circumstances.)
The bill places statutory limits on querying the contents of information collected under Section 702, including
prohibiting Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) personnel from making U.S. person queries without prior approval by certain FBI supervisors or attorneys unless the query might mitigate or eliminate a threat to life or serious bodily harm;
requiring the FBI Deputy Director to approve certain politically sensitive query terms (such as those that identify certain elected and appointed officials);
prohibiting the involvement of political appointees in the approval process for such politically sensitive query requests; and
requiring the FBI Director to establish consequences for noncompliant querying of U.S. person terms, including zero tolerance for willful misconduct.
Other provisions include
requiring applications for a surveillance order under FISA to be supported by sworn statements and limiting the use of information in such applications derived from political organizations or media sources,
increasing criminal penalties related to FISA, and
requiring adverse consequences (e.g., suspension without pay or removal) for government officers and employees who engage in intentional misconduct with respect to proceedings before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 13, 2024. 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 February 13, 2024: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
- 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 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 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?
Laurel Lee (R-FL) introduced it on February 13, 2024. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 February 13, 2024, 940 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 940 days ago, on February 13, 2024.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 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