[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 168 (Friday, December 17, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10518-S10519]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Leahy):
  S. 4048. A bill to extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT 
Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, the Intelligence Reform 
and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, and the FISA Amendments Act of 
2008 until December 31, 2013, and for other purposes; to the Committee 
on the Judiciary.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I am introducing today, on behalf of 
Senator Leahy, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary and myself 
the FISA Sunsets Extension Act of 2010. Since early in this Congress, I 
have been working with Chairman Leahy, both in my capacity as Chairman 
of the Select Committee on Intelligence and as a member of the 
Judiciary Committee, to enact legislation that extends expiring 
authorities for the collection of foreign intelligence against 
terrorists, proliferators, foreign powers, and spies, while ensuring 
that adequate safeguards exist for the protection of the civil 
liberties and privacy of Americans.
  To that end, the Judiciary Committee reported, in October 2009, S. 
1692, a bill that sought to accomplish two main objectives. One was to 
extend the life of three authorities under FISA which were then due to 
sunset on December 31, 2009, described as roving, lone wolf, and 
business records collection, all of which have been previously 
described to the Senate during the consideration of earlier extensions. 
Through two short-term measures, those sunsets have been extended to 
February 28, 2010.
  The other main objective was to secure several amendments to statutes 
on intelligence collection that would improve the balance they strike 
between protecting national security and protecting civil liberties and 
privacy. In the course of this Congress, this second objective has been 
largely achieved through actions that have been taken by the Department 
of Justice and the FBI under administrative actions. On reviewing those 
actions, which have been described in a letter from the Attorney 
General to Chairman Leahy on

[[Page S10519]]

December 9, 2010, Chairman Leahy and I have determined that the one 
remaining action that we need to take legislatively this Congress is to 
extend the three important authorities that are now due to sunset on 
February 28, 2010. The Feinstein-Leahy bill will extend these sunsets 
to the same date as proposed in S. 1692, December 31, 2013. The 
Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence have asked 
the Congress to extend these authorities.
  Additionally, the authority established by the FISA Amendments Act of 
2008, regarding collection of foreign intelligence against persons 
reasonably believed to be outside of the United States, is scheduled to 
sunset on December 31, 2012. The Feinstein-Leahy bill would extend that 
authority for one year, to December 31, 2013, so that all of the 
sunsets of authority under FISA occur on the same date. This will allow 
the Congress to consider all of the temporary authorities in 
conjunction.
  By acting now on these approaching sunsets, Congress will ensure 
stability in the foreign intelligence collection system at a time of 
heightened threat levels and guarantee there are no inadvertent gaps in 
FISA collection at the beginning of next year.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation so we can achieve 
enactment this session.

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