House Judiciary Committee passes FISA reform in bipartisan vote

The House Judiciary Committee passed a bill to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in a 35-2 vote on Wednesday.

The Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act would require federal law enforcement to obtain a warrant under section 702 of FISA.

According to the office of Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who sponsored the bill, section 702 currently "authorizes the federal government to intercept electric communications of non-U.S. persons" outside of the U.S. but the "communications of Americans are often swept up when monitoring foreign persons, are kept by the intelligence agencies, and can be later accessed without a warrant."