US House Speaker again pulls hotly debated domestic surveillance bill

By Raphael Satter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday pulled back on plans to reauthorize one of America’s most hotly debated domestic surveillance programs, saying he was “still working on consensus” as bipartisan opposition mounted against the plan.

Johnson told reporters more time was needed to reach an agreement on a bill hawkish Republicans had planned to introduce on Thursday. The measure would have reauthorized the surveillance program – known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – ahead of its April expiry date.

The FISA bill, which would allow law enforcement to keep trawling through intercepts of Americans’ communications without a warrant, has drawn the ire of civil liberties advocates, rights defenders, and privacy-minded lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

With Republicans holding a thin 219-212 majority in the House of Representatives and opponents loudly promising to torpedo the legislation unless it came with a warrant requirement, its passage already looked uncertain.

“We’re still working on consensus on FISA. I’m 100% certain that we’ll be able to get there, and we’re optimistic about that,” Johnson said. “We still have two months to resolve it before it expires. And so there’s no reason to rush the product until we have the full consensus, since that’s what we’re working on.”

Advocates of surveillance reform said the real reason for the delay was because the reauthorization’s backers didn’t feel they could pass it without including the warrant requirement.

“It’s time to stop punting and bring the debate over warrantless FISA surveillance to the House floor,” said Jake Laperruque of the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology.

Earlier on Wednesday, at a hearing before the House Rules Committee, Republicans and Democrats alike voiced their opposition to any reauthorization of domestic surveillance powers that did not include a requirement for judicial sign off on surveillance.

“If the warrant requirement doesn’t go in the legislation, I ain’t supporting it,” Republican hardliner Jim Jordan told the committee.

Jerry Nadler – Jordan’s Democratic counterpart on the House Judiciary Committee – echoed his dissatisfaction.

“The bill before us is completely inadequate,” he said.

The hearing was notable for compliments being paid back and forth across the aisle as lawmakers dug in their heels over the warrant requirement.

“This is a rare occurrence and I hope it’s not too common but I find nothing to disagree with in your testimony,” Republican Thomas Massie told Nadler.

Republican Nick Langworthy said it was “remarkable” to see both sides fighting to protect Americans’ privacy.

“It’s kind of refreshing,” he said.