Speaker Johnson again punts overhaul of government spy powers for ‘more time to reach consensus’

House Speaker Mike Johnson again halted Wednesday’s efforts to revise government spying powers amid disagreements over how best to address privacy concerns among Americans.

This week, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISA) was pulled from a scheduled vote on the House floor in the middle of an hearing by the House Rules Committee that was supposed to set up the legislation.

The bill aimed to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702, giving the government vast powers to collect large amounts of electronic data, which is then sorted through in search of evidence of foreign plots or other dangers.

The House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the reform, and the House Intelligence Committee have been locked in a heated debate over the scope of the reform.

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Raj Shah, a representative for Mr. Johnson on X, said that the House would consider the reform and reauthorization of the bill at a future date.

Members of the Judiciary Committee argue that Section 702 is used against U.S. citizens and should be curtailed by requiring warrants. Members of the intelligence committee argue that this would undermine the purpose of spying powers, and hinder law enforcement.

The bill being pulled now puts more pressure on the leaders to make changes before April, when the spying powers will expire. Next week, the House will be out of session and we’ll soon find ourselves in a race to avoid another partial government shutdown.

Mr. Johnson had previously pushed back the FISA reauthorization bill in December, after trying to address duels bills from battling panels.

In the ongoing FISA debate, two unlikely allies have joined forces. House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Rep. Jerry Nadler from New York, who is the ranking Democrat in the panel, are both in agreement that Section 702 should be curtailed.

M. Jordan, during the Rules Committee hearing, argued that Mr. Johnson’s base bill, a Louisiana Republican, had some positive aspects, including a requirement for a written explanation of how a Section 702 search is conducted and who can approve it.

He said that the law still allows the FBI the ability to supervise itself when it uses the controversial spying powers.

It’s not good enough to simply say “we have better rules to follow.” If they have already shown they will not follow them, then that’s just not enough, Mr. Jordan stated. “That’s the reason you need a search warrant.”

The members of the panel believe that adding a warrant requirement would harm the FISA’s fundamental purpose.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw is a member the House Intelligence Committee. He said that adding a requirement for a warrant to the bill will end the surveillance powers of the government.

Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas, said that “their version of the requirement for a warrant would end FISA.” “They don’t really understand FISA.”