Senate Overcomes Procedural Hurdle to Reauthorize Spying Authority

The bill, now set for swift passage in the Senate, does not require that intelligence officials have a warrant to search Americans’ data and communications.

The Senate side of the U.S. Capitol on April 8, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The U.S. Senate on April 18 overcame a key procedural hurdle to reauthorizing a controversial spying authority.

The authority in question, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), easily overcame the filibuster threshold of 60 votes. In a 67–32 vote, the Senate voted to limit debate on the issue, clearing the way for it to come up for a final vote on the Senate floor by Section 702’s expiration date of April 19.