Office of the Director of National Intelligence, April 13, 2007, Fact Sheet: Proposed FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)Modernization Legislation
“Key Provisions of this Bill Are:
Updating the definition of electronic surveillance to account for the sweeping changes in telecommunications technology that have taken place. The proposed legislation is technology neutral. In contrast to the 1978 statute, which contains central provisions that are tied to specific communications technologies, this proposal is not tied to specific technology we have today. That way, as telecommunications technology develops over time – – which it surely will do – – FISA will not run the risk of becoming out of date.
Protecting civil liberties and privacy interests and improving our intelligence capabilities by focusing FISA on people located in the United States.
Improving the way the United States does business with communications providers. The countrys communications providers are important partners in the ability of the United States Government to protect our national security. The proposed legislation includes needed authority both to protect those carriers when they do comply with lawful requests under FISA, and to enable providers to cooperate with authorized intelligence activities.
Streamlining the FISA process. Numerous Congressional and Executive Branch reviews of the FISA process have recommended that the FISA process be made more efficient, and the Department of Justice has made major strides in recent years in improving its practices and procedures. The proposal would make several changes to improve further the efficiency of the FISA process, including extending the period of authorization for non-United States persons, which will allow the Department and the FISA Court to concentrate more scarce resources to the cases that concern United States persons.
Reflecting todays national security threats. The Bill seeks to update FISA to reflect todays national security threats. One of those threats is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This legislation will allow the Intelligence Community to obtain FISA authority to better protect the nation against proliferators.
Adding an additional definition of an agent of a foreign power for non-U.S. persons whom the Government believes possess significant intelligence information, but whose relationship to a foreign power is unclear.”
Via FAS, the text of the proposed legislative changes to FISA, including a section by section analysis (66 pages, PDF).
April 16, 2007 press release: “Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) today re-introduced legislation reaffirming that the federal government must follow the requirements of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) when conducting electronic surveillance of American citizens in the United States for foreign intelligence purposes. The Feinstein-Specter bill also would prevent delays in intelligence agency anti-terrorist surveillance, while ensuring that these activities do not violate the civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and federal law.”
CDT Analysis: Administration Proposal [PDF] April 19, 2007
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