Chris Van Hollen: “with regards to the motion to waive the point of order against the FISA section 702 provision in the conference report…”

“with regards to the motion to waive the point of order against the FISA section 702 provision in the conference report, I share the sponsor's concerns on the potential expiration of section 702 authorities, which are critical to foreign intelligence collection efforts and protecting the homeland. However, I am also deeply concerned that Section 7902 of the NDAA extends section 702 authorities without much-needed reforms to better protect the civil liberties of Americans. Despite the fact that surveillance under this section is supposed to be limited to certain foreign nationals abroad, a FISA Court opinion released in July 2023 stated that the FBI conducted approximately 40,000-50,000 warrantless ``back door'' search queries of section 702 communications data targeting U.S. persons per quarter in 2022. I support the FBI's initiative to voluntarily adopt stricter internal compliance rules to address this problem, but the administration and Congress must work together to do more to balance the need for intelligence collection and the protection of civil rights. Due to the FISA Court's certification process, the administration has acknowledged that, even in the absence of a formal 4-month extension, the government is able to conduct surveillance authorized under section 702 until April 11, 2024.…”