Conservative groups press for FISA reform ahead of Wednesday House vote: ‘Politically weaponized’

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A group of conservative think tanks and policy outfits are pushing for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform ahead of a Wednesday afternoon vote in the House to renew the controversial surveillance program. 

The House Rules Committee is set to vote on the measure Wednesday afternoon, which could advance it to the House floor for a possible vote later this week. 

Section 702 of FISA has been both credited with preventing terror attacks on U.S. soil and accused of being a vehicle for spying on U.S. citizens. 

It lets the government keep tabs on specific foreign nationals outside the country without first obtaining a warrant to do so, even if the party on the other side of those communications is an American on U.S. soil. 

FIGHT OVER GREENLIGHTING CONTROVERSIAL SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM UNITES PROGRESSIVES, CONSERVATIVES IN CONGRESS

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

A coalition of conservative groups, including the Conservative Partnership Institute, Citizens United, First Liberty Institute and a handful of others, are pushing for two amendments to be adopted onto the measure and said failing to do so would be an "unconscionable failure for a Republican House majority."

"Conservatives demand real reform of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. As we have seen over and over again, the FISA process has been abused and politically weaponized in intolerable ways, including as a means to spy on President Trump's campaign, thereby setting up the ‘Russia collusion’ scandal," the groups said in a statement Wednesday. 

"This is to say nothing of the millions of normal American citizens — including Members of Congress and state officials — whose phone calls, emails, social media posts, and so forth are obtained by the federal government under the FISA process without a warrant," the statement reads.

FBI IMPROPERLY USED WARRANTLESS SEARCH POWERS MORE THAN 278,000 TIMES IN 2021, FISA COURT FILING REVEALS

The House Rules Committee is set to vote on the measure Wednesday afternoon that could advance it to the House floor for a possible vote later this week. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

"Failing to reform FISA in the face of these scandals would be an unconscionable failure for a Republican House majority," they said. 

The groups pushed for two amendments, including the Judiciary Committee’s Warrant Amendment, offered by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., which prevents the improper use of intelligence by authorities by requiring a warrant or court order (with limited exceptions for emergencies) before FISA is used to query the data of an American citizen.

HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE DEFENDS FISA BUT SUGGESTS REFORMS AMID DEBATE OVER CONTROVERSIAL SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM

The FBI used FISA to investigate Americans more than 278,000 times in 2021, including Jan. 6 protesters and George Floyd demonstrators. (Getty)

The second, the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act, offered by Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, would prevent the U.S. government from circumventing constitutional protections by purchasing the data of American citizens for sale from third-party brokers.

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"We demand that Speaker Mike Johnson allow for consideration of these amendments and urge all members to support their passage," the groups said.

Johnson, R-La., spoke with reporters Tuesday and said, "We're excited to have gotten to an agreement among the various factions. We have a good base text, I believe, and there'll be an amendment process, so the will of the body will be done. So it took us a long time to get here."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.