FISA Must Undergo A Comprehensive Overhaul (Rep. Zach Wamp)
FISA must undergo a comprehensive overhaul. This will likely be a time consuming process and rightfully provoke productive debate. While I welcome this debate in the future, the threat we face today is real and immediate, and we must act to address the issue that is tying the hands of our intelligence community.
I have cosponsored a bill offered by Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), who serves on the House Intelligence Committee, to allow American agencies to listen to foreigners in foreign countries without a warrant. The bill would refine the definition of electronic surveillance to encompass all foreign communications by non-U.S. citizens. With this change, until we can fully modernize FISA, we can allow our intelligence community to intercept terrorist communications while continuing to protect the privacy rights of American citizens. Congress needs to pass this bill immediately to remove the barriers and ensure that we are doing everything possible this summer to detect and prevent potential attacks on the American people.