[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 76 (Thursday, May 2, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3309]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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 REFORMING INTELLIGENCE AND SECURING AMERICA ACT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

  Mr. WARNER. Madam President, this explanatory statement memorializes 
the understanding of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 
regarding the implementation of section 25 of Reforming Intelligence 
and Securing America Act.
  I ask unanimous consent that the explanatory statement be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   Explanatory Statement on the Reforming Intelligence and Securing 
                              America Act

       The following is the Explanatory Statement to accompany the 
     Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, Public Law 
     118-49 (``the Act''). This Explanatory Statement memorializes 
     the intent of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence 
     regarding the implementation of Section 25 of the Act.
       Section 25 of the Act includes a technical modification to 
     the definition of ``electronic communication service 
     provider'' (ECSP) in Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence 
     Surveillance Act (FISA) to address unforeseen changes in 
     electronic communications technology in the sixteen years 
     since Section 702 of FISA was first enacted.
       The technical modification is intended to fill a critical 
     intelligence gap regarding the types of communications 
     services used by non-U.S. persons outside the United States 
     that arose following litigation before the Foreign 
     Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) and the Foreign 
     Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISC-R).
       Section 25 does not affect the overall structure of Section 
     702, or the protections codified in the statute. It remains 
     unlawful under Section 702 for the government to target any 
     entity inside the United States including, for example, any 
     business, home, school, recreational facility, or place of 
     worship. Further, it remains unlawful under Section 702 to 
     compel any service provider to target the communications of 
     Americans or any person inside the United States.
       Congress intends that the amended ECSP definition will be 
     used exclusively to cover the type of service provider at 
     issue in the litigation before the FISC--that is, those 
     technology companies providing the service the FISC concluded 
     (and the FISC-R affirmed) fell outside the then-existing 
     statutory definition. As of the enactment of this 
     legislation, the number of technology companies providing 
     such a service from which the government intends to seek 
     compelled assistance under Section 702 is extremely small. In 
     a letter dated April 18, 2024, and placed into the 
     Congressional Record the same day, the Department of Justice 
     committed to provide, and Congress intends to receive, a list 
     of such technology companies in classified form.
       To facilitate appropriate oversight of the government's 
     commitment to apply the updated definition of ECSP for the 
     limited purposes described above, the Department will also 
     report to Congress every six months regarding any application 
     of the updated definition. This additional reporting will 
     allow Congress to ensure the government adheres to its 
     commitment regarding the application of this narrow 
     definition. Further, the Senate Select Committee on 
     Intelligence will work to ensure that application of this 
     revised definition is circumscribed to the specific services 
     at issue in the litigation before the FISC and FISC-R in the 
     Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.

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