Thursday, 14 November 2024

UPDATE: Senate Votes To Reauthorize FISA Warrantless Spying

100 Percent Fed Up
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The U.S. Senate has voted to reauthorize FISA Section 702, which allows warrantless spying on Americans.

100 Percent Fed Up reported last week that the House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize Section 702 by a 273–147 vote.

JUST IN: House Of Representatives Reauthorize FISA Warrantless Spying On Americans

"Senate passes bill renewing key FISA surveillance power moments after it expires. The vote is 60-34. Goes to Biden. The chamber defeated a series of bipartisan amendments to expand civil liberties and privacy safeguards," NBC News political reporter Sahil Kapur said.

30 Republicans voted in favor of the legislation.

According to senate.gov, here is the full list of senators who voted 'yes':

Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Boozman (R-AR)
Britt (R-AL)
Budd (R-NC)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Collins (R-ME)
Coons (D-DE)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cotton (R-AR)
Crapo (R-ID)
Duckworth (D-IL)
Ernst (R-IA)
Fetterman (D-PA)
Fischer (R-NE)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hassan (D-NH)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
Kaine (D-VA)
Kelly (D-AZ)
Kennedy (R-LA)
King (I-ME)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Lankford (R-OK)
Lujan (D-NM)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Mullin (R-OK)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Ossoff (D-GA)
Padilla (D-CA)
Peters (D-MI)
Reed (D-RI)
Ricketts (R-NE)
Risch (R-ID)
Romney (R-UT)
Rosen (D-NV)
Rounds (R-SD)
Rubio (R-FL)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Sinema (I-AZ)
Smith (D-MN)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sullivan (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Tillis (R-NC)
Warner (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wicker (R-MS)
Young (R-IN)

"Tonight the Senate was given the chance to vote on amendments to help fix a slew of unconstitutional provisions to RISAA, the fake FISA reform bill and truly reform other government spying practices as well," Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said.

"My 1st amendment included my bipartisan 4th Amendment is Not for Sale Act (already passed by the House). It would have ended the government’s practice of buying its way around the Bill of Rights by purchasing Americans’ personal data. Defeated 31-61," he continued.

"My 2nd amendment would have exempted Americans from being swept up in the bulk collection of personal data from the FOREIGN Intelligence Surveillance Act. We could have ensured both constitutional rights and national security were protected. Defeated 11-82," he continued.

"Yet again the Senate was asked to consider the question: can liberty be exchanged for security? And sadly the majority of Senators said yes it can. Final FISA reauthorization passed once again," he added.

In a 42-50 vote, the Senate killed an amendment to require the government obtain a warrant before spying on Americans.

"42-50: Senate defeated Sen. Durbin (D-IL) amendment to the FISA bill requiring the gov't to obtain a warrant from the FISA Court (FISC) before reviewing the contents of Americans' private communications. A similar amdt by Rep. Biggs (R-AZ) failed in the House on 212-212 tie vote," CSPAN Capitol Hill producer Craig Caplan said.

NBC News reports:

The Senate voted to reauthorize a powerful surveillance tool the U.S. government describes as critical to combating terrorism, after defeating efforts by civil liberties advocates on the left and right to rein it in.

The vote of 60-34 sends the bill to President Joe Biden, who has championed it. The legislation extends Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, for two more years.

The final vote came after the Senate defeated six amendments from progressive and conservative senators who said the spying powers are too broad and demanded protections for Americans’ civil liberties and privacy. The Biden administration and FISA supporters had warned that even a brief lapse could have a detrimental impact on the intelligence-gathering process.

Senators just missed the midnight deadline to reauthorize the FISA Section 702 statute but voted to reauthorize it minutes later. Had any amendments been adopted, the bill would have been sent back to the House, potentially forcing a lengthy lapse of the law.

“In the nick of time, bipartisanship has prevailed here in the Senate,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.


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