Durbin: Congress Should Reauthorize FISA Section 702 With Reforms & Put An End To The Unconstitutional Surveillance Of Americans

Durbin: Congress Should Reauthorize FISA Section 702 With Reforms & Put An End To The Unconstitutional Surveillance Of Americans

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, continued his calls for serious reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702 allows the government to collect the private communications of foreigners overseas without a warrant. The problem is that millions, and potentially billions, of innocent Americans' communications with friends, family members, or co-workers abroad are swept up in this collection. Once collected, the government can read Americans' private text messages and emails-and even listen to phone calls-without ever having to obtain a warrant from a judge. While Section 702 expired last Friday, it is continuing to operate under year-long certifications approved by the FISA Court.

"Section 702 enables surveillance of more than just foreigners overseas-millions of innocent Americans' texts, emails, and phone calls are swept up in this dragnet if they communicated with a foreigner… Our intelligence agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, puts these communications in searchable databases that they use to spy on Americans without a warrant," Durbin said. "The independent Privacy and [Civil] Liberties Board and the FISA Court have documented shocking abuses of Section 702 by our own government intelligence agencies. 702 has been used to spy on American religious leaders, American political parties, American journalists, and protestors from across the political spectrum."

Durbin then argued that Congress must reform Section 702 because unqualified MAGA loyalists like Bill Pulte, Trump's first choice to be Acting Director of National Intelligence, could abuse this tool to serve the personal interests of President Trump rather than the American people.

"Such abuses have been documented under both Democratic and Republican [Administrations]. But the prospect of placing warrantless… surveillance power in the hands of this Administration is particularly alarming. President Trump and his appointees have repeatedly weaponized the power of the federal government to target President Trump's perceived enemies," Durbin said.

Durbin continued, "Take Bill Pulte, President Trump's first choice to serve as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Pulte currently serves as the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he has pushed for criminal referrals against those who have angered President Trump, from New York Attorney General Letitia James to Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Even though Pulte himself has no intelligence experience, President Trump chose him to lead our national intelligence apparatus and to help oversee that powerful Section 702. The public outcry changed the President's mind. The President, after he heard from both Democrats and Republicans about what a terrible choice Pulte would be, dropped him and now has nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to serve as Director of National Intelligence. This episode demonstrates the inherent danger of warrantless surveillance. No single branch of government in the United States should have unchecked power to spy on Americans-whether this power is in the hands of Bill Pulte, Jay Clayton, Kash Patel, the leader of the FBI, or whoever President Trump installs next."

Durbin and U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) have proposed their bipartisan, compromise bill, the Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act, as a path forward. Their legislation reflects a carefully crafted, pragmatic approach that protects national security by reauthorizing Section 702 and protects Americans' privacy and civil liberties by enacting meaningful safeguards against warrantless surveillance and government abuses. Durbin and Lee published a joint op-ed in the New York Times calling for passage of the SAFE Act.

"Republican leadership have refused to hold a vote on the SAFE Act and instead have attempted to extend FISA's authorization without any serious reforms… They have argued that this program is just too essential to allow for any delay in reauthorization or consideration of real reforms… Congress has time to get this right. Section 702 surveillance operates under year-long certifications approved by the FISA Court-and it has already been recertified through March of next year, 2027. This means intelligence collection under 702 will be able to continue until next March, even though the law expired last week," Durbin said. "But if my colleagues want to reauthorize Section 702 quickly, there is a simple solution… support these commonsense, bipartisan reforms supported by a majority of Americans incidentally to prevent Section 702 from being used to violate basic constitutional rights."

Durbin concluded his speech by calling out President Trump for his announcement over the weekend that he opposes any FISA reauthorization that does not include Republicans' SAVE America Act.

"This Act would slap undue burdens and excessive costs on Americans seeking to exercise their most fundamental right-the right to vote. So why would the President support adding this measure to critical 702 reauthorization? Because he's afraid of the next election. That's what it comes down to. He is afraid his party is going to lose in November," Durbin said.

Durbin continued, "Section 702 must not be linked to President Trump's efforts to suppress the vote. Instead, Congress should reauthorize it with reasonable reforms, bipartisan reforms, that protect our national security and safeguard Americans' constitutional rights. Trump's campaign of retribution and attacks on Americans' ability to vote make this mission all the more important. We cannot allow a President consumed by vengeance to monitor American's private communications with no external checks or limits."

Durbin concluded, "Our nation's founders understood this well, which is why they created the Fourth Amendment to safeguard Americans from government overreach into their lives. For too long, Section 702 has jeopardized these protections, but we have a chance to end that abuse now. Let's not wait any longer. Congress should reauthorize Section 702 with sensible reforms and finally put an end to the unconstitutional surveillance of innocent American citizens."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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