WASHINGTON (CN) — In one of its final acts before Christmas recess, the House on Thursday voted to pass a crucial defense spending bill that, among other things, gives a controversial government surveillance program a new — albeit short — lease on life.
Lawmakers have for months debated whether the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act should extend the contentious program, which allows intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance on foreign nationals who use U.S. communications systems. That authority, laid out in Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, was set to expire Dec. 31.
Initially established in 2008 as a counterterrorism tool, Section 702 has since garnered intense criticism from lawmakers and civil liberties advocates, who argue that the provision has departed from its original intent.
Opponents of the program contend that it allows intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance activities without a search warrant — and point to reports that the authority has been abused to target American citizens and residents, despite the law prohibiting such action.
Despite that, the defense bill, approved by the House on a 310-118 vote Thursday morning, reauthorizes Section 702. The measure extends the program’s authority for just around four months, or until April 19.
The lower chamber passed the nearly $900 billion spending package despite fractures among congressional Republicans, some of whom railed on the Section 702 extension.
Texas Representative Chip Roy told his colleagues on the House floor that legislators were “doing a terrible service to the people of this country” by attaching such a reauthorization to the annual defense bill rather than reforming the policy.
Roy argued that Section 702 had been “notably, clearly abused against American citizens,” seemingly referring to reports that intelligence agencies had used the program to conduct surveillance on a U.S. senator, as well as on rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and protesters during a spate of civil rights demonstrations in 2020.
The Texas Republican voted against the defense bill alongside 72 of his GOP colleagues. Just 147 Republicans voted in favor of the measure.
Washington Representative Adam Smith argued that the GOP was losing the forest for the trees in its opposition to the defense package.
“If we insist upon the notion that everybody has to agree, we become irrelevant,” said Smith, a Democrat. He pointed out that the defense bill represents congressional oversight of the executive branch, and that bipartisan cooperation on the measure was important.
“We got a very good outcome,” Smith said of the bill. “[There are] a whole lot of things in this bill that are going to have a positive impact on national security.”
Among its other provisions, the measure includes more than $600 billion in aid for Ukraine and hikes pay rates for service members.
The Senate passed the sweeping defense bill Wednesday night. With House approval, it heads to President Biden for his signature.
Meanwhile, some members of Congress have been working to slap limitations on Section 702 authority. The House Judiciary Committee last week advanced a measure that, if made law, would block intelligence agencies from conducting surveillance on American citizens or people residing within the U.S. without a search warrant.
The legislation would also prevent law enforcement from using information gathered during legal surveillance in court cases unrelated to the subject of the agencies’ search.
Members of both parties have offered support for reining in Section 702 powers. During a bill markup last week, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler said that the provision has for too long “enabled the surveillance of Americans without adequate safeguards to protect their civil liberties.”
Nadler, a New York Democrat, suggested that a bill limiting Section 702 authority could pass in the full House.
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