Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman for his leadership on this bill.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7888, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act.

Over the past year, I have led the Intelligence Committee task force on FISA reauthorization, working with my colleagues to find commonsense reforms to the processes under section 702 to create a balance between protecting national security and preserving constitutional liberties afforded to all U.S. persons.

It is important to state at the outset that section 702 is used only to target bad actors overseas and our adversaries who are not protected under the Fourth Amendment. It is not used to surveil or target Americans.

Throughout our process, we regularly engage with national security leaders, former Trump administration officials, and our colleagues both on the Judiciary Committee and throughout the Conference.

This bill before us makes targeted, meaningful changes to FISA and section 702 without upending the statute in a way that will lead to unintended consequences resulting in the United States being less safe.

Prior to coming to Congress, I served as an assistant U.S. attorney and chief terrorism prosecutor. I witnessed firsthand the valuable use of FISA. Section 702 is a critical tool that helps the IC defend the United States against the malign actors we worry about daily, and the value of what 702 has done for our country over the last 15-plus years is immense.

I will mention four existential things that have happened in the last 9 years: the taking out of bin Laden; the assassination of Soleimani, the Iranian leader, by President Trump; the taking out of al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS; and last year, the taking out of al-Zawahiri. The use of 702 in all of those cases was definitive in the taking out of those terrorists.

I also say, with this bill, it institutes the largest reform of the FBI in a generation. It makes the necessary changes to prevent potential bad actors from improperly utilizing FISA from anything other than its intended use, protecting Americans from foreign threats.

Particularly, in this day and age, with China, what is going on in the Middle East, and the nonenforcement at our southern border, it is now more important than ever that we have a vibrant, robust 702 in place.

Lastly, I include in the Record a letter from Mike Pompeo, John Ratcliffe, Devin Nunes, William Barr, and Robert O'Brien, former Trump administration officials that worked in national security, where they specifically support our bill and express grave concerns about the warrant amendment that will be brought up today. December 7, 2023. Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Mr. Speaker, As former officials who have either worked for or with the Intelligence Community, we write today with serious concerns that a critical tool to keep Americans safe will cease to be available to the men and women who protect the United States each day.

At the end of this month, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will sunset. This is one of the most critical tools the Intelligence Community has at its disposal. Section 702 must be reauthorized and, as evidenced by the FBI's prior flagrant abuses, FISA must also be reformed. Those reforms should focus on concrete improvements--including congressional oversight of and access to FISA Court transcripts--rather than a warrant requirement that may not achieve its intended objectives and could hinder current national security efforts.

We urge you to support the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's bipartisan bill sponsored by Chairman Mike Turner and Ranking Member Jim Himes. Respectfully, Mike Pompeo,

Former Secretary of State, Former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. William Barr,

Former Attorney General of the United States. John Ratcliffe,

Former Director of National Intelligence. Robert O'Brien,

Former National Security Advisor to the President. Devin Nunes,

Former Chairman, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote on the warrant amendment and a ``yes'' vote on our underlying bill.

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