Renewal of controversial FISA surveillance program in limbo ahead of Thursday deadline

Washington — A powerful surveillance authority the U.S. government uses to spy on foreigners is in limbo as a stalemate in the House threatens to derail its renewal ahead of its expiration this week. 

The controversial spy tool, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is set to lapse Thursday after Congress approved a 10-day extension ahead of the original April 20 deadline. 

Votes were expected in the House on Tuesday, but the measure — which is formatted as an amendment to an unrelated bill — did not advance out of the Rules Committee until the evening. GOP leaders eventually canceled votes for the day, pushing floor consideration to Wednesday. 

The measure faces a key test around 10:30 a.m., when the House is expected to hold a party-line procedural vote on a rule, which sets up debate and clears the way for a simple majority vote on passage. GOP leaders' decision to merge two other pieces of legislation related to farm aid and immigration funding under the same rule as the spy powers measure has further frustrated some Republicans.  

Section 702, which was first authorized in 2008, allows the government to collect the communications of noncitizens located outside the U.S. without a warrant, though it can also sweep up the data of Americans who are in contact with the targeted foreigners. The FBI is able to search Americans' data gathered through the program without a warrant. 

National security officials have long argued that the law is vital for disrupting terrorist plots, foreign espionage, international drug trafficking and cyber intrusions. 

House Republicans released their latest proposal late last week aimed at appeasing conservative holdouts that would extend Section 702 for three years. It outlines several guardrails to protect civil liberties, but does not include a warrant requirement for searches of Americans' data that is scooped up in the program — a major point of contention. 

Senate Republicans have been teeing up their own three-year extension in case the House is unable to move its legislation. But some senators have also demanded a warrant requirement. A procedural vote was initially expected Tuesday afternoon to advance the measure, but has been delayed until later in the week. 

The House's three-year extension would require the FBI to submit monthly reports to oversight officials justifying searches related to Americans' data collected under the surveillance authority. It also seeks to ensure the access of members of Congress and staff to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court proceedings and expands criminal penalties for abusing the law. 

GOP Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the proposal strikes a balance between protecting national security and Americans' privacy. 

"It's been made abundantly clear that no option will be 100% perfect in the eyes of everyone, but this bill makes measurable reforms to strengthen accountability and safeguards, while maintaining the criticality of the national security tool," he said in a statement Friday. 

President Trump had pressed Republicans to accept an 18-month reauthorization of the law without any reforms ahead of the April 20 expiration date. But the strategy faced stiff opposition from privacy-minded lawmakers in both parties, as well as from members who cited a number of other reasons they could not support it. 

House GOP leaders repeatedly delayed votes on an extension earlier this month as they lacked enough support from their own members to advance the legislation. A number of Republicans, mostly conservatives, helped sink a proposal that would have extended the law by five years, as well as the 18-month renewal without reforms. That led both the House and Senate to approve a short-term extension via unanimous consent just days before its expiration.