A bill entitled the "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Improvement and Enhancement Act of 2006".
Latest action. Read the second time. Placed on Senate legislative calendarThe list of measures reported out of committee and eligible for floor action. Being on the calendar is not a promise of a vote.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) under General Orders. Calendar No. 600.
States that specified chapters of the federal criminal code relating to electronic surveillance and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) shall provide the exclusive means by which domestic electronic surveillance may be conducted.
Prohibits any modification or repeal of any provisions of title I (Electronic Surveillance) of FISA without an express legislative directive.
Directs the President to brief each member of the congressional intelligence committees on the Terrorist Surveillance Program of the National Security Agency (NSA) and certain other surveillance programs.
Amends FISA to extend the period allowed for emergency electronic surveillance without a court order.
Authorizes the Attorney General to delegate the authority to approve an application for electronic surveillance and to appoint certain personnel in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the NSA to authorize emergency surveillance in the United States.
Authorizes the appointment of additional judges to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Directs the Attorney General to develop and implement a classified document management system to process electronic surveillance applications.
Expands the authority of the President to authorize wartime electronic surveillance without a court order.
Permits electronic surveillance without a court order of communications between individuals outside of the United States under certain circumstances.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on September 7, 2006. 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 September 8, 2006: Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 600.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 109th Congress (2005-06), 482 of the 10,701 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.5 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?
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced it on September 7, 2006, and 6 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 5 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 September 7, 2006, 7308 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 7307 days ago, on September 8, 2006.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 109th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2007 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers