WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) issued the following statement after voting to pass S. 1318, legislation reauthorizing FISA Section 702 for three years.
“FISA Section 702 is a critical intelligence tool that gives our national security professionals the information they need to make real-time decisions to keep Americans safe.
“After serious abuses of this authority, Congress took action to restore accountability through the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act (RISAA). Those reforms put stronger guardrails in place, increased oversight, and have already led to a significant drop in improper queries.
“The bill we passed today also includes new, critical reforms to build on the reforms in RISAA, including enhanced criminal penalties for knowingly and willingly violating query procedures, a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of targeting procedures under Section 702, and more. I’m also pleased this bill includes a ban on a central bank digital currency. A government-controlled digital dollar is a direct threat to privacy, financial freedom, and the American way of life.
“With those safeguards now in place and working as intended, along with these additional added reforms, this three-year reauthorization ensures our intelligence community can continue to protect Americans while maintaining the guardrails already in place to prevent future misuse of this authority.”
