Bipartisan approval of legislation that would reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act was achieved by the House a week before the surveillance tool's expiration on April 19, reports The Associated Press.
The bill provides a shorter two-year extension to the surveillance program that enables warrantless collection of non-Americans' communications for foreign intelligence. Despite its passage, the bill has continued to spur criticism, which House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., intended to mitigate with a planned proposal that addresses the existing program's loopholes. The development comes days after FBI Director Christopher Wray noted the detrimental effect of mandatory warrants to leverage the program's intelligence repository.
"While it is imperative that we ensure this critical authority of 702 does not lapse, we also must not undercut the effectiveness of this essential tool with a warrant requirement or some similar restriction, paralyzing our ability to tackle fast-moving threats," Wray added.
