The House of Representatives is considering whether and how to reauthorize the U.S. person query protocols for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. FISA 702 authorizes the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies to search the names of American residents against National Security Agency intercepts of foreign intelligence communications. It allows investigators to see whether a U.S. resident has either been in contact with a foreign intelligence service or terrorist/organized crime group, or is being discussed by said group.

Due to prior gross mismanagement of the system by the FBI, which regularly ran 702 queries on Americans the FBI had no evidentiary indication were engaged in espionage or terrorism, 702 reauthorization is now in question. Some House members are trying to reach a compromise that would balance individual privacy alongside FISA’s national security interests. Other Republicans, however, are putting ignorant posturing before basic national security realities.