Cornyn Backs House-Passed FISA Reforms

On the floor, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed the House-passed legislation to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which includes needed reforms to ensure the authority is not used illegally to target Americans. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video can be found here.

“Information acquired through Section 702 has helped identify threats against U.S. troops and to thwart planned terrorist attacks abroad and here at home.”

“It’s helped to understand and combat fentanyl trafficking, identify foreign ransomware attacks… and uncover war crimes and gruesome atrocities.”

“In recent years, the public has learned about extremely concerning uses of this authority that go far beyond what Congress has authorized.”

“I want to make clear that targeting of American citizens here in the United States is expressly prohibited under 702, so any targeting of an American citizen is illegal and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The intelligence community cannot target anyone they believe to be a U.S. person, nor can they target a foreigner with the pretext of getting American citizens’ data. For that, you need a warrant.”

“Every court that has considered the lawfulness of the 702 program has found that it complies with the Fourth Amendment.”

“These reforms – implemented by the FBI voluntarily in 2021 and now included in the House reform bill – are working, and that’s why it’s so important that we should codify those changes.”