Sponsors
The bill prioritizes stronger privacy and judicial oversight for U.S. persons and greater federal accountability, but does so at the cost of reduced or slower intelligence and investigative capabilities, legal and operational transition costs, and potential shifts of collection to less‑transparent authorities.
U.S. persons (including citizens) gain substantially stronger privacy and Fourth Amendment–style protections: federal officers must typically obtain criminal warrants before surveilling or searching known U.S. persons for foreign intelligence, and evidence collected under broad foreign-intelligence authorities is limited in downstream use.
Federal accountability, transparency, and legal clarity increase by requiring clear statutory definitions, routing some foreign‑intelligence actions through Article III courts, and forcing Congress/agencies to devise new, documented legal frameworks.
Limits on using intelligence collected under EO 12333 or via surveillance of non‑citizens in criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings reduce the risk that U.S. persons will be prosecuted or sanctioned based on warrantless foreign‑collected data.
Intelligence and law‑enforcement capabilities could be reduced: eliminating or limiting statutory surveillance authorities and prohibiting use of certain foreign‑derived intelligence may hinder threat detection and time‑sensitive operations.
Removing existing authorities and redefining surveillance creates legal uncertainty and transitional operational gaps until new statutes or procedures are enacted, raising litigation, compliance, and implementation costs.
Warrant requirements and routing more actions through courts will increase workload and can delay time‑sensitive intelligence and investigative actions, potentially slowing responses to imminent threats.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Repeals FISA, requires warrants for surveillance/searches of U.S. citizens for foreign intelligence, bans use of improperly obtained citizen information, and creates criminal penalties.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Repeals the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and replaces its framework with a statute that sharply limits surveillance and related collection targeting U.S. citizens: federal officers would generally need a warrant under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure before conducting electronic surveillance, physical searches, installing pen registers/trap-and-trace devices for foreign intelligence purposes, or obtaining tangible things to acquire foreign intelligence about a U.S. citizen. The bill also bars use of information about U.S. citizens obtained without those warrants (including information acquired under Executive Order 12333 or while surveilling non‑U.S. persons) as evidence or in investigations, and creates new criminal penalties for unauthorized surveillance or use/disclosure of such information. The measure defines key terms (including “electronic surveillance,” “foreign intelligence information,” and “United States citizen”), provides a law-enforcement warrant defense for officers acting under valid warrants or court orders, and sets fines and prison terms for violations. It substantially reshapes how agencies collect and use foreign intelligence involving U.S. persons and narrows the circumstances under which such information may be used in criminal, civil, or administrative matters.