"I am confident the House's advancement of a reformed FISA program will protect American lives. Since its inception in 1978, FISA has undisputedly thwarted numerous terrorist attacks, including planned attacks from the Islamic State and al Qaeda, and saved American lives. We must give our intelligence community the tools they need to protect our homeland.

Today's vote strengthens protections for American citizens and will prevent a repeat of the prior abuses of the program. We cannot allow those abuses to continue, and today's legislation takes significant steps to ensure it never happens again, while ensuring we continue to protect our homeland.

I understand the concerns surrounding the Sec. 702 surveillance program, that allows the American intelligence to spy on our adversaries overseas and expires on April 19. Never again will innocent Americans, including the campaign of former President Trump, be targeted by our own government. To ensure that such an egregious abuse of Sec. 702 will not occur again, the House added and strengthened 56 protections under the surveillance program. Today's legislation reauthorizes the program for only two years to allow Congress to review the progress of these notable reforms and add further protections for Americans, if necessary," said Rep. Smucker.

The legislation now heads to the Senate.

Additional information on H.R. 7888

• Requires FBI to hold executive leaders accountable for FISA noncompliance and report to Congress on disciplinary actions.
• Imposes new criminal penalties for FISA violations.
• Increases civil damages for a United States person harmed by unlawful surveillance from $1,000 to $10,000.
• Adds Accountability measures for FBI employees that violate FISA compliance rules.
• Extends Title VII (702) of FISA for 2 years from date of enactment.
• Targets foreign narco-traffickers involved in the international production, distribution, and financing of illicit drugs driving overdose deaths in our communities. This amendment strengthens our ability to track and stop the flow of deadly narcotics, including fentanyl, into the United States.

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