By Steve Neavling
Lawmakers reached a tentative agreement to temporarily extend one of the FBI’s most controversial surveillance tools, giving Congress more time to figure out what to do with the program.
The extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire at year’s end, was added to the National Defense Authorization Act, Reuters reports.
Lawmakers expect to pass the act before the end of the year.
On Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray urged a Senate committee to reauthorize the surveillance tool, saying it is “indispensable to our efforts to combat threats posed by foreign adversaries.”
The extension drew criticism from hard-line Republicans who have sought to discipline the FBI over unfounded claims that the bureau has become politicized.
“We shouldn’t be doing an NDAA that’s watered down with a four month extension. That’s absurd,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said of the surveillance act, The Hill reports.
Republicans and Democrats have expressed concerns that Section 702 would be used to gather information on Americans. Lawmakers are considering one bill that would require a warrant to review communications from Americans through Section 702.
Earlier this year, the three-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Board, an independent agency within the executive branch, said the bureau and other government agencies should receive court approval to review communications of U.S. citizens collected through Section 702.
The White House is trying secure reauthorization of FISA, saying the program is vital to disrupting foreign terror attacks, espionage operations, and cyberattacks.
But opposition is mounting after recent revelations that FBI employees violated their own standards when they used the technology.
