summary
Introduced
12/16/2015
12/16/2015
In Committee
01/15/2016
01/15/2016
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
01/03/2017
01/03/2017
Introduced Session
114th Congress
Bill Summary
Liberty Through Strength Act II This bill requires the National Security Agency (NSA) to have access to business records, telephone call records, and other tangible things collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) prior to November 29, 2015, in the same manner and for the same purposes for which the NSA had access to such records prior to such date (thereby allowing the NSA to access such records in the same manner as prior to the effective date of amendments made by the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015). The NSA must maintain such records for five years after they are acquired. The NSA's authority to access such business records under this Act shall be in effect for five years after enactment of this Act. The bill amends 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 to make permanent expiring FISA provisions concerning: (1) roving electronic surveillance orders, (2) a revised definition of "agent of a foreign power" that includes any non-U.S. persons who engage in international terrorism or preparatory activities (commonly referred to as the "lone wolf" provision), and (3) authority for the Department of Justice and the Director of National Intelligence to authorize the targeting of non-U.S. persons located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information. The federal criminal code is amended to: (1) return procedures for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) access to toll and transactional records to how they operated prior to the USA FREEDOM Act in order to allow the FBI (without using a term that specifically identifies a person, entity, telephone, or account) to request the name, address, length of service, and local and long distance toll billing records of a person or entity if the FBI certifies to the wire or electronic communication service provider that such information is relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities; and (2) add electronic communications transactional records as information that the FBI may request under such certification procedures.
AI Summary
This bill, the Liberty Through Strength Act II, aims to restore and make permanent certain national security authorities. It allows the National Security Agency (NSA) to access business and telephone records collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) prior to November 29, 2015, in the same way it did before the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015, and requires the NSA to keep these records for five years. The bill also makes permanent expiring FISA provisions related to roving electronic surveillance orders, a broadened definition of "agent of a foreign power" to include non-U.S. persons involved in international terrorism (often called the "lone wolf" provision), and the authority for the Department of Justice and the Director of National Intelligence to target non-U.S. persons outside the United States for foreign intelligence gathering. Additionally, it modifies how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) can access telephone toll and transactional records, reverting to procedures that existed before the USA FREEDOM Act, allowing the FBI to request specific customer information from communication providers by certifying its relevance to an authorized investigation against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, without needing to specifically identify a person or account in the initial request.
Committee Categories
Justice, Military Affairs and Security
Sponsors (1)
Last Action
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations. (on 01/15/2016)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
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bill summary
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bill summary
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