[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4976 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4976
To reiterate that chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United States Code,
and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 are the exclusive
means by which domestic electronic surveillance may be conducted, and
for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2006
Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Flake) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition
to the Select Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reiterate that chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United States Code,
and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 are the exclusive
means by which domestic electronic surveillance may be conducted, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``NSA Oversight Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) On September 11, 2001, acts of treacherous violence
were committed against the United States and its citizens.
(2) Such acts render it both necessary and appropriate that
the United States exercise its right to self-defense by
protecting United States citizens both at home and abroad.
(3) The Federal Government has a duty to pursue al Qaeda
and other enemies of the United States with all available
tools, including the use of electronic surveillance, to thwart
future attacks on the United States and to destroy the enemy.
(4) The President of the United States possesses the
inherent authority to engage in electronic surveillance of the
enemy outside of the United States consistent with his
authority as Commander-in-Chief under Article II of the
Constitution.
(5) Congress possesses the authority to regulate electronic
surveillance within the United States.
(6) The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees to
the American people the right ``to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures'' and provides that courts shall issue ``warrants'' to
authorize searches and seizures, based upon probable cause.
(7) The Supreme Court has consistently held for nearly 40
years that the monitoring and recording of private
conversations constitutes a ``search and seizure'' within the
meaning of the Fourth Amendment.
(8) The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and chapters 119 and 121 of title 18,
United States Code, were enacted to provide the legal authority
for the Federal Government to engage in searches of Americans
in connection with criminal investigations, intelligence
gathering, and counterintelligence.
(9) The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and
specified provisions of the Federal criminal code, were
expressly enacted as the ``exclusive means by which electronic
surveillance . . . may be conducted'' domestically pursuant to
law (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(f)).
(10) Warrantless electronic surveillance of Americans
inside the United States conducted without congressional
authorization may have a serious impact on the civil liberties
of citizens of the United States.
(11) United States citizens, such as journalists,
academics, and researchers studying global terrorism, who have
made international phone calls subsequent to the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001, and are law-abiding citizens,
may have the reasonable fear of being the subject of such
surveillance.
(12) Since the nature and criteria of the National Security
Agency (NSA) program is highly classified and unknown to the
public, many other Americans who make frequent international
calls, such as Americans engaged in international business,
Americans with family overseas, and others, have a legitimate
concern they may be the inadvertent targets of eavesdropping.
(13) The President has sought and signed legislation
including the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism
(USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-56), and the
Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Protection Act of 2004
(Public Law 108-458), that have expanded authorities under the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.
(14) It may be necessary and desirable to amend the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to address new challenges
in the Global War on Terrorism. The President should submit a
request for legislation to Congress to amend the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 if the President desires
that the electronic surveillance authority provided by such Act
be further modified.
(15) The Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public
Law 107-40), passed by Congress on September 14, 2001,
authorized military action against those responsible for the
attacks on September 11, 2001, but did not contain legal
authorization nor approve of domestic electronic surveillance
not authorized by chapters 119 or 121 of title 18, United
States Code, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of
1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.).
SEC. 3. REITERATION OF CHAPTERS 119 AND 121 OF TITLE 18, UNITED STATES
CODE, AND THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT OF
1978 AS THE EXCLUSIVE MEANS BY WHICH DOMESTIC ELECTRONIC
SURVEILLANCE MAY BE CONDUCTED.
(a) Exclusive Means.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United States Code, and the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) shall be
the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance may be conducted.
(b) Future Congressional Action.--Subsection (a) shall apply until
specific statutory authorization for electronic surveillance, other
than as an amendment to chapters 119 or 121 of title 18, United States
Code, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C.
1801 et seq.), is enacted. Such specific statutory authorization shall
be the only exception to subsection (a).
SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.
Not later than 14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the President shall submit to the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report in classified form
identifying the United States persons who have been the subject of
electronic surveillance not authorized to be conducted under the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.)
or chapters 119 or 121 of title 18, United States Code, and the basis
for the selection of such persons for such electronic surveillance.
SEC. 5. ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE DEFINED.
In this Act, the term ``electronic surveillance'' has the meaning
given the term in section 101(f) of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801(f)).
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