Gallagher Votes to Overhaul FISA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) today issued the following statement after he voted in favor of H.R. 6172, the USA Freedom Reauthorization Act, a bill that would reauthorize key intelligence gathering tools and significantly reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process. The bill passed by a vote of 278-136.

"FISA abuse matters, and it's important we do everything in our power to ensure it never happens again," said Rep. Gallagher. "No American should have their privacy unduly exploited by surveillance laws, and the overwhelmingly bipartisan USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act makes critical reforms to FISA that not only strengthen oversight and accountability, but ultimately protect Americans while simultaneously ensuring important national security tools remain in place. I'm thankful for the efforts that both the President and Congressional leaders made to secure these important bipartisan reforms."

The USA Freedom Reauthorization Act includes a number reforms to FISA, including:

• Authorizes an amicus to be assigned to cases involving the political activities of United States citizens.
• Requires the Attorney General to approve in writing a FISA investigation of an elected official or federal candidate.
• Requires a Compliance Office and the position of Compliance Officer at every federal agency submitting FISA applications, who shall report to the agency head and is specifically charged with ensuring the accuracy of an application.
• Authorizes independent legal advisors to identify concerns with applications and provide requirements for the approval of applications.
• Makes it a crime, punishable by maximum imprisonment up to 8 years, to knowingly make a false declaration before the FISC or FISC-R.
• Makes it a crime, punishable by maximum imprisonment up to 8 years, to intentionally disclose a FISA application or its contents.