PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8035, EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES OF TITLE VII OF THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT OF 1978

On 2026-04-16, Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA-2) delivered a floor speech titled "PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8035, EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES OF TITLE VII OF THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE" in the House. The speech addressed immigration and also covered taxes, defense. It referenced legislation including HR8035, HRES1175.

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8035, EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES OF TITLE VII OF THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT OF 1978

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 67 (Thursday, April 16, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 67 (Thursday, April 16, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2948-H2955] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8035, EXTENSION OF AUTHORITIES OF TITLE VII OF THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT OF 1978 Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1175 and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1175 Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 8035) to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intel-ligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through October 20, 2027, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees and the chair and ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia is recognized for 1 hour. Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia? There was no objection. Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1175, providing for consideration of H.R. 8035, to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of [[Page H2949]] the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through October 20 of 2027 and for other purposes. The rule provides 1 hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees and the chair and ranking member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence or their respective designees, and provides one motion to recommit. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to debate a rule on H.R. 8035, which would extend FISA 702. Currently, it faces expiration on April 20, 2026. Let me be clear at the outset. We cannot allow section 702 to lapse, not at a moment when our adversaries are expanding their capabilities, accelerating their operations, and exploiting every gap in our intelligence posture. Allowing this authority to expire would leave the United States blind to threats that move at the speed of modern conflict. As many here know, FISA 702 was first authorized in 2008 and has since been reauthorized three times, with broad bipartisan support each of those times. Each time, Congress recognized the same truth we face today. This authority is indispensable to protect the homeland from the threats that we face. This extension should be no different. Section 702 allows the United States Government to collect intelligence on foreign nationals located overseas--I repeat, foreign nationals located overseas who are reasonably believed to possess foreign intelligence information. The FBI can only access FISA 702 data if the foreign section 702 target is relevant to an existing, open, predicated, full national security investigation. Yes, Mr. Speaker, we are talking about terrorism and narcoterrorism. Section 702 cannot be used to target any U.S. person at home or abroad. That prohibition is explicit and reinforced by multiple layers of oversight. I am not saying the 2008 legislation was perfect. It required modifications and reforms. To account for the needed reforms, Congress passed RISAA, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act in 2024, the largest FBI and FISA reform in decades. This law mandated 56 different reforms, including strict limitations on FBI queries involving U.S. persons and a severe reduction in the number of FBI personnel with access to 702 data, from 10,000 to only 3 percent in the Bureau. Additionally, to address concerns of FBI's compliance on U.S. person queries, RISAA required the Bureau to provide an annual report detailing any noncompliant query and what accountability measures were imposed on each FBI personnel that were determined to have conducted a noncompliant query. This has led to 100 percent of queries on U.S. persons being reviewed by National Security Division and the FBI's Office of Internal Auditing. These reforms were not symbolic. They were structural, enforceable, and designed to ensure that section 702 remains both effective and accountable. A quick example of effectiveness can be seen when comparing 2021 FBI inquiries, which numbered 2.9 million, to 2025 inquiries, which numbered 7,413. As effective as RISAA was, over the last few days, it has been clear that this body feels like more reforms are needed before section 702 can be extended again. Mr. Speaker, at the conclusion of debate, I will offer an amendment to the rule. The amendment will self-execute an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 119-25. The changes being made include: changing the reauthorization period from 18 months to 5 years; enhancing criminal penalties on individuals who unlawfully use or disclose 702 information on a U.S. person or conduct unauthorized queries; ensuring Members of Congress and certain staff may have access to proceedings of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court; ensuring only FBI attorneys can authorize U.S. person queries conducted by the FBI; implementing probable cause requirements for U.S. person targeting; requiring a GAO audit of targeting procedures; and requiring ODNI review of FBI queries of U.S. persons. The legislative process has worked here, Mr. Speaker. It is time for the House to move this legislation. Today, our adversaries, state and nonstate actors alike, are investing heavily in cyber operations, covert influence, terrorism networks, and advanced weapons systems. They are moving faster, hiding deeper, and coordinating across borders with unprecedented sophistication. FISA section 702 is one of the few tools that allows us to detect and disrupt these threats before they reach our shores. Our purpose here today is to give law enforcement the ability to operate in a timely manner to stop terrorist attacks on United States soil. That is it. Failing to reauthorize this authority would be a massive setback and one that our adversaries would exploit immediately. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to consideration of these pieces of legislation and urge passage of this rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 2330 Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, are you kidding me? Who the hell is running this place? A 5-year reauthorization--5 years--and Republicans threw it together on the back of a napkin in the back room in the middle of the night. There have been real bipartisan discussions about adding civil liberties and safeguards. Some Members support them, and some oppose them. Just about everyone agrees that this is serious stuff, the kind of debate that Congress ought to have in the open. Instead, Republican leadership just jammed us. Does anybody actually know what the hell is in this thing? It is 11:30 at night. The bill was changed just minutes ago--just minutes ago--and they had to post a corrected version already. That is how sloppy all of this is. Let me be crystal clear to my colleagues across the aisle. This is too damn important to do it this way, way too important--no hearings, no markups, no real process, no transparency, no time to read it, no time to vet it. Yet, we are told that there are major reforms in this bill. There is no real explanation, no real accountability, and basically no time for anybody to figure out what the hell is going on. Now, we are all supposed to act like this is normal. Give me a break. We will have to live with this for 5 years. The American people have to live with this for 5 years. Democrats and, quite frankly, a whole lot of Republicans, too, have barely had enough time to read the text, let alone understand any of its implications. I bumped into a handful of Republicans on the way up here. They asked me: What is going on? What changes have been made? What is in this bill? Your own Members don't know what the hell you are doing. This mess did not come out of nowhere. Republicans knew for months that the April 20 FISA deadline was coming. They knew they had a vote problem before the Easter recess. Instead of staying here and doing their jobs, or spending the district work period trying to work it out, they kicked the can down the road and made this mess even worse. Now, everybody can see the chaos. It is out in the open. They barely got a rule out of the Rules Committee. Three Republican Members in the Rules Committee had to skip the vote just so the rule could be reported out. That is how divided this Republican Conference is. Donald Trump had to jump in and tell Republicans to ``unify'' ju

Referenced legislation: HRES1175, HRES1175, HR8035