House Republicans released a new proposal to reauthorize and reform the nation’s powers of warrantless surveillance, pushing text forward while preparing for a battle on the floor over controversial provisions.

The section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to spy on foreigners, will expire on April 1, after the Republican Conference last year agreed to a short-term renewal following the failure to unite around competing packages.

The text of Monday, while a combination of two bills, is more aligned with the original proposal of the House Intelligence Committee than that of its Judiciary rival, and focuses on more reforms to the FBI in order to address misuses of this powerful spy tool.

It does not, however, include the hope of the Judiciary for a requirement for a warrant — something that is a red-line for intelligence but a top priority to privacy advocates in Congress.

The FISA 702 allows the government only to monitor foreigners. However, the FBI has found that their communications with Americans is often included in this process. This creates a database which it then uses to abuse.

The new text, like its Intelligence predecessor would limit the number FBI personnel that can query the database. This will require more oversight by 550 supervisors and lawyers before agents are able to tap into the database in order to gather information about Americans.

While there is no general warrant requirement, law enforcement must obtain a warrant to search the database for evidence of a crime.

This bill includes several provisions to protect Congress members or high-profile officials. One of these is a provision that requires a legislator’s consent prior to gathering information about a target lawmaker. The FBI is required to inform a member of Congress if their name has been searched in the 702 database.

The bill includes provisions that target Section 701 FISA. This is the section of the law which allows the surveillance of Americans following a warrant issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

These sections of the bill are designed to reinforce requirements in light of Carter Page, the Trump campaign advisor who was spied upon by the FBI and secured a warrant using documents that contained many omissions. The bill prohibits law enforcement from relying on media reports or opposition research as the basis for a search warrant in an attempt to prevent repeat incidents.

The latest bill has removed some controversial measures. One of them was a provision that required screening for any noncitizen who “was being processed to travel to the United States”.

The process of bringing this bill to the House floor will force the House to revisit an idea that Speaker Mike Johnson (R – Louisiana) had previously floated. to do a queen-of-the-hill-style debate format that would allow for consideration of amendments — including a potential amendment on a warrant requirement.

For privacy advocates and champions, a warrant represents the only way Americans can protect their rights.

The intelligence community, with White House support, sees the requirement for a warrant as ending the program and blinding law-enforcement to information that they could have to act upon in real time.

Politico reports suggest that the bill may be considered in part during a closed-door session.

“Make no mistakes: a secret meeting is totally unnecessary. Every Congress has open debates on national security legislation. Since 1812, there have been only six secret sessions held in the House,” Elizabeth Goitein wrote on X (formerly Twitter), the platform formerly used by Brennan Center for Justice.

“Secret laws are anathema for democracies. Making law in secret is next to the worst. Our democratic system is built on open debate. Intelligence committee leaders, however, prefer to operate in the shadows as it gives them an advantage.