House approves bill to extend divisive US surveillance program, but path
forward uncertain
[April 30, 2026]
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House approved a three-year
reauthorization of a divisive U.S. surveillance program ahead of its
expiration on Friday, adding new oversight measures but stopping short
of the warrant requirement that critics have demanded.
A large group of Democrats joined most Republicans in passing the bill
by a 235-191 vote. The law's renewal still faces an uncertain path to
passage, with a sign-off needed from the Senate and President Donald
Trump.
While the Senate could eventually be amenable to oversight measures
added by the House, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said late
Wednesday that another short-term extension will likely be needed ahead
of the Friday deadline. House leaders added separate legislation banning
a central bank digital currency to win more votes, and Thune said that
part of the bill is “dead on arrival” in the Senate.
Still, the passage in the House was a breakthrough for Republican
leaders after Speaker Mike Johnson earlier in the day secured the
support of several Republican holdouts to advance the bill to a final
vote. The chamber had been unable to pass a long-term extension since
Republican leaders earlier this month staged a hectic late-night effort
to extend the surveillance program, only to see multiple bills fail on
the floor.
“Two-thirds of the president’s daily national security briefing comes
from intelligence collected by that statute,” Johnson said about the
program. “We cannot allow it to go dark.”
Warrants remain central to the fight
The debate centers on a provision of the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act, or FISA, that allows the CIA, National Security
Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze communications
from foreign targets without a warrant. In doing so, the agencies can
incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact
with foreign targets, an element of the program many lawmakers find
unacceptable.
“The intel community always just comes in and says, ‘People will die if
you do this,’” Republican Rep. Chip Roy said Tuesday, arguing in favor
of a warrant requirement. “Well, I’m sorry. A lot of Americans died to
give us and protect that Fourth Amendment right that we don’t have
government looking at our stuff.”
The House bill does not include the warrant requirement. Instead, it
would impose new oversight measures, including a monthly civil liberties
review of U.S. person queries by an official within the Office of the
Director of National Intelligence, with any violations referred to the
Intelligence Community’s inspector general.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson takes questions at a news
conference following a closed-door GOP meeting at the Capitol in
Washington, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The bill would also create criminal penalties for officials who
knowingly misuse the system or falsify compliance, order a
government audit of targeting practices and require new procedures
to expand congressional access to FISA court proceedings.
House Democrats took turns criticizing the extension on the floor
ahead of Wednesday evening’s planned final vote. Maryland Rep. Jamie
Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, derided
the measure as a “three-year blank check” that comes “without any
meaningful guardrails.”
“Under this bill, FBI agents will still collect, search and review
Americans' communications without any review from a judge,” said
Raskin.
Rep. Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence
Committee, spoke in favor of the extension, calling the program
“without question, the most important foreign intelligence tool."
Himes, who voted for the extension, said the bill makes guardrails
on the program "marginally and modestly stronger.”
There are hurdles ahead in the Senate
Both chambers are expected to scramble Thursday to pass a short-term
extension of the law ahead of the Friday deadline — even as they
continue to negotiate the longer-term renewal.
Thune said Wednesday afternoon that the Senate would try to quickly
pass a 45-day extension. But any one senator can hold that up, and
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has already indicated he won't go along.
Wyden, who has long pushed to reform the law, will instead seek to
pass a three-week extension with some additional provisions,
according to his office.
Another obstacle in the Senate is that the House linked the
surveillance renewal with the separate digital currency legislation
— a proposal Thune has said would be “very, very hard to pass."
Senators from both parties said they were committed, though, to
ensuring that the law doesn't expire.
“There is clear consensus in the Senate as to how important it is,”
said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D.
___
Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington
contributed to this report.
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