House passes FISA reauthorization, Senate roadblock awaits
· Axios
The House on Wednesday passed a three-year extension of Section 702 of FISA — the government's warrantless surveillance authority — after weeks of internal GOP negotiations.
- But the bill is unlikely to pass the Senate, where lawmakers in both parties oppose a House-added ban on a central bank digital currency.
Why it matters: Section 702 is set to expire at midnight Thursday, raising the prospect of a lapse in a key national security tool if Congress can't reach a deal.
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- Wednesday evening's vote was 235-191, with bipartisan opposition.
- House GOP leaders tacked on the CBDC ban to win over conservative holdouts who had pushed for broader surveillance reforms.
- The addition is a nonstarter in the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has called it a "poison pill."
Catch up quick: The House passed a short-term extension FISA earlier this month after a group of Republicans blocked attempts to pass five-year and 18-month renewals of the program.
- The short-term patch was a last-resort option for GOP leadership, with the goal that two more weeks would give leaders enough time to pass a long-term extension.
What's next: Thune has indicated that the Senate will try and pass its own extension of the warrantless spy-powers program, which would then have to go back to the House.
- Without the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act, or significant reforms to the program, the Senate's FISA bill will face an uphill climb in the House.