Highs and Lows: The FISA Challenge

One of my responsibilities—and a duty I share with my colleagues—is presiding over the United States Senate. Most of the time, sitting in the chair means managing the floor: recognizing speakers, directing procedure, and keeping the institution moving. But this week, I happened to be presiding when the federal law enforcement funding bill returned from the House for its final congressional signature. So, my high was signing that legislation on behalf of the Senate before sending it to the President’s desk to become law. Because of this step, DHS finally has the resources it needs to protect our borders and ensure the safety of the American people. My low has to do with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows our intelligence agencies to gather the information they need for national security. It deals with two issues that sometimes conflict: The absolute need to stop terrorism and gather important national security intelligence and The absolute need to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens. With that said, this is an incredibly important law. In fact, it played a critical role in deterring what would have been a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Europe. Yet because of some political problems, we weren’t able to get an extension passed. Both sides need to come together to get this done, and I’m hopeful we will. But it’s a low that we’ve let it expire this week. Read Newsletter