{"id":2048677,"date":"2023-09-28T20:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T00:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdog-agency-splits-along-party-lines-over-reforming-surveillance-law\/"},"modified":"2023-09-28T20:04:37","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T00:04:37","slug":"watchdog-agency-splits-along-party-lines-over-reforming-surveillance-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdog-agency-splits-along-party-lines-over-reforming-surveillance-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Partisan divide emerges in watchdog agency on surveillance law reform."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwatchdog-agency-splits-along-party-lines-over-reforming-surveillance-law%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2048677&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>A Watchdog Agency Divided Over Reforms \u200dto \u200cNational Security Program<\/h2>\n<p>A watchdog agency responsible for investigating\u2064 U.S. national security\u2062 programs is currently embroiled in a heated dispute over proposed reforms to sections of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The agency&#8217;s members, split\u200b along party lines, recently voted on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>The law in question \u2064pertains to Section 702 \u2063of FISA, which is set to expire at the end of the \u2062year. Congress will need to vote\u2064 on its reauthorization. This particular program allows for warrantless surveillance of foreigners but also\u2062 grants access to the communications of U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n<h3>Partisan \u200cDivide on Program Limits<\/h3>\n<p>However, Democrats and Republicans are at odds \u2064when \u2064it comes to establishing new limits for federal\u200d authorities\u2062 regarding the use of this program. \u200bIn a partisan vote, the five-member Privacy and \u200cCivil Liberties Board released a nearly 300-page report, with three Democrats in favor and two Republicans opposed. The Republicans \u2062presented their own\u200c proposed \u2064reforms as an annex\u200b to the report.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their differences, both parties on the \u200dboard agree that the program is crucial for national security\u200d and should be renewed by Congress. While the report itself\u200d is nonbinding,\u200b the panel holds significant influence on the \u200bmatter.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is, in essence, two reports: A three-member report \u2064and a two-member report,&#8221; stated a senior Biden administration official during\u200b a press briefing. &#8220;The fact\u2064 that there&#8217;s such division&#8230; makes it hard \u2062for the hill to know what exactly to do with two competing reports.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Debate Over Current \u2064Law and Proposed Changes<\/h3>\n<p>The existing law allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communication records \u2062of foreign \u200dindividuals located overseas. However, it also permits FBI agents \u200cto conduct &#8220;backdoor\u200c searches&#8221; on the data \u2063collected, which\u2063 includes\u2063 information \u200bon U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200btheir proposal, Democrats argue \u200bthat intelligence\u200c and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/illinois-supreme-court-rules-elimination-of-cash-bail-constitutional\/\" title=\"Illinois Supreme Court deems removal of cash bail constitutional.\">law\u200d enforcement officials<\/a> should\u200c be required \u2063to \u200cseek approval from the \u200cForeign Intelligence Surveillance Court whenever\u2063 they wish to access the 702 program database for information \u2064on\u200d U.S. citizens. They \u200dpropose that\u200d a query must \u200chave a\u2063 &#8220;reasonable likelihood&#8221; of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-claims-theyre-spying-on-fewer-americans\/\" title=\"FBI Claims They\u2019re Spying on Fewer Americans\">gathering foreign intelligence<\/a> or evidence of a crime.<\/p>\n<p>On the other\u2064 hand, Republicans on the panel, Beth Williams \u2062and Richard \u2064DiZinno, criticize the Democrats&#8217; proposal as lacking legal justification. They contend that the proposed limits would make it significantly harder to detect and prevent hostile foreign actions,\u200b including acts of terrorism, against the United States. The Republicans also argue that these limits fail to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdog-agency-splits-along-party-lines-over-reforming-surveillance-law\/\" title=\"Partisan divide emerges in watchdog agency on surveillance law reform.\">provide meaningful \u2062additional\u200c privacy protections<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the \u2062Republicans&#8217;\u2062 recommendations\u200b focus specifically on \u2064the \u2062FBI, \u2063which has faced\u200b numerous compliance violations in\u2062 recent\u200c years. They suggest implementing &#8220;cultural, structural, \u200cand procedural&#8221; reforms to \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-justice-department-nominee-faces-ethics-minefield-from-fathers-corporate-interests\/\" title=\"Biden Justice Department Nominee Faces Ethics Minefield From Father\u2019s Corporate Interests\">restore public trust<\/a> in the FBI and establish safeguards against potential political or\u200b improper use of the\u2063 program. These recommendations align with the stance of congressional Republicans, who believe \u2063that the FBI and Justice \u200cDepartment have been &#8220;weaponized&#8221;\u2064 for partisan purposes.<\/p>\n<h3>Biden Administration&#8217;s Stance<\/h3>\n<p>Surprisingly, the Biden administration appears to lean towards the Republicans rather than the Democrats. They \u200chave been\u2064 publicly and privately urging\u200c Congress to make minimal changes to FISA&#8217;s 702 program since last\u200d year.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/miles-anonymous-taylor-accidentally-exposes-the-fraudulence-of-the-mainstream-media\/\" title=\"Miles 'Anonymous' Taylor Accidentally Exposes the Fraudulence of the Mainstream Media\">senior administration official<\/a> from the \u2064Biden \u2064administration warned that the proposed requirement would be\u200b &#8220;the worst \u2062of all worlds&#8221; \u200dand could \u2064lead to delays \u2062in national\u2064 security investigations. They emphasized that the executive branch would \u2062be unable\u200b to review search results without approval \u2064from \u200bthe federal intelligence court.<\/p>\n<p>FISA&#8217;s Section \u200d702 has faced\u2064 scrutiny for several months. In April, DOJ Inspector General Michael \u2062Horowitz expressed concerns about the program&#8217;s &#8220;backdoor searches&#8221; during a House Judiciary\u2064 Committee hearing. \u2063A \u200d2019 report from \u200bHorowitz \u200balso criticized \u2064the DOJ\u2064 and FBI\u2063 for concealing information from the FISA court related to the Trump-Russia investigation, among other\u200b issues.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> In the\u2063 context of the reauthorization of\u2064 Section 702, what challenges does the Biden administration face in maintaining a balance between national security and civil liberties<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Crime to justify such access.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, Republicans contend\u200b that the \u200bcurrent law strikes a balance\u2063 between national security and civil liberties.\u2064 They argue that\u200c imposing stricter\u200c requirements for accessing \u2063the database could impede the intelligence community&#8217;s ability to gather necessary \u2064information and\u200c prevent potential threats.<\/p>\n<p>The main point of contention revolves around the &#8220;about&#8221; communications\u200c provision.\u2063 This provision\u2062 allows intelligence agencies\u2063 to\u2064 collect information that is &#8220;about&#8221; a target, even if the communication is not directly to or from the target. Democrats are seeking to narrow the scope of this provision, while Republicans argue for its preservation.<\/p>\n<p>The debate over these proposed reforms reflects broader concerns about the balance between privacy \u200dand national security. Civil liberties \u200cgroups have raised concerns about the potential for abuse of surveillance powers and the \u200binfringement on individual rights.\u200b Meanwhile, proponents \u2064of the program emphasize its effectiveness \u200bin gathering intelligence and preventing terrorist threats.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden administration, which faces\u200c the task of navigating this divided watchdog agency\u200c and the \u2062impending reauthorization of Section 702, has\u2064 yet to take a definitive stance on the proposed reforms. However, it has expressed the\u200c importance of maintaining both national security and civil liberties.<\/p>\n<p>The dispute within the watchdog agency underscores the challenges in finding \u2064consensus\u2063 and navigating the \u2062intricacies of national \u2063security programs. It highlights the ongoing tension between protecting the nation from external threats and safeguarding individual privacy and civil rights.<\/p>\n<p>As Congress considers the reauthorization of Section 702 \u200band the proposed reforms, it must carefully weigh these competing interests. Striking the right balance\u2063 between national security and civil liberties is essential for upholding the values and principles upon which the United States was founded. The ultimate\u200b decision will shape the future of surveillance \u2064activities and the protection of individual rights in the face of evolving national security challenges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A US watchdog agency is divided along party lines in a recent vote over proposed reforms to parts of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The law, which pertains to Section 702 of FISA, expires at year-end, requiring Congress to take action.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2048678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2048677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2048677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048677\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2048678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2048677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2048677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2048677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}