Washington Indivisibles ask the Senate to OPPOSE the House’s expansion of FISA warrantless surveillance

Mail sent to Senators Murray and Cantwell

April 14, 2024

The Honorable Patty Murray and The Honorable Maria Cantwell

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Subject: Washington Indivisibles ask you to OPPOSE the House’s expansion of FISA Section 702 warrantless surveillance — and insist on a warrant requirement

Dear Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell,

Indivisible activists across the state of Washington are extremely concerned about the FISA Section 702 reauthorization bill the House just passed, which includes a massive expansion of warrantless surveillance targeting us and other Washingtonians — and doesn’t include key reforms.

The FBI has repeatedly abused FISA warrantless wiretapping. Members from both parties support significant reforms as part of the reauthorization process, including requiring a warrant to access data that has been incidentally collected. Unfortunately, the bill the House passed not only failed to introduce reforms, but significantly expanded FISA authority. As Senator Ron Wyden says, “The House bill represents one of the most dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history.”

The Senate still has a chance to protect us. Despite the scaremongering, intelligence agencies don’t need this added authority — and they will still be able to do their job if a warrant requirement is added. So we ask you to OPPOSE this expansion of surveillance:

• REMOVE the amendments the House added that would expand Section 702’s scope — and OPPOSE any attempts to expand warrantless surveillance
• SUPPORT amendments to add a warrant requirement and close the data broker loophole
• Only vote for reauthorization if powers are not expanded and a warrant requirement is added

Please don’t give in to the pressure from the intelligence agencies or the false urgency of the upcoming April 19 deadline. Even if FISA isn’t reauthorized by April 19, the FISA Court has already approved recertification for an additional year, so national security will not be compromised.

Signed,

Indivisible Eastside
Indivisible Plus Washington
Indivisible Skagit
Indivisible Washington’s 8th District
Indivisible Whidbey
North Kitsap Indivisible
Olympia Indivisible
Snohomish County Indivisible
Wallingford Indivisible
Indivisible Plus Washington