What does Preamble of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This bill is formally titled 'A bill to implement reforms relating to foreign intelligence surveillance authorities, and for other purposes.'

What does DEFINITIONS. of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to define several terms. It establishes definitions for 'Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court,' 'Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review,' and 'Court of Review.' The term 'appropriate committees of Congress' is defined to include congressional intelligence committees, and the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. A new definition of 'covered person' is added to section 701, encompassing U.S. persons and individuals known or believed to be in the United States at the time of a query or information acquisition. Numerous sections of FISA are amended to consistently refer to 'the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court' and 'the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review' instead of prior references to 'the court established...' Section 801 adds a definition for 'Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court' to align with section 101.

What does PROTECTIONS RELATED TO WARRANTLESS QUERIES FOR THE of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends Section 702(f) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. It defines new terms including 'covered information,' 'covered query,' and 'covered person.' It generally prohibits Federal officers and employees from accessing covered information returned in response to a covered query. Exceptions to this prohibition exist for situations involving concurrent authorization, consent, emergency situations, and certain defensive cybersecurity queries. If covered information is accessed pursuant to an emergency authorization and the subsequent application is denied, that information cannot be used in legal proceedings. Queries must be reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information and have a significant foreign intelligence purpose. Agencies must maintain records documenting queries and accesses, including justification for the query and authorization for access. Federal agencies are required to submit a report to Congress within 90 days of the Act's enactment regarding compliance with the query record system requirement.

What does LIMITATION ON USE OF INFORMATION OBTAINED UNDER SECTION 702 of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends paragraph (2) of section 706(a) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The heading of the paragraph is modified to replace 'United states persons' with 'Covered persons'. Within subparagraph (A), 'United States person' is replaced with 'covered person' in two instances. The phrase 'in any criminal proceeding' is changed to 'in any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding'. In clause (ii), 'the criminal proceeding' is replaced with 'the proceeding' in two instances.

What does PROHIBITION ON REVERSE TARGETING OF UNITED STATES PERSONS AND of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. It prohibits intentionally targeting individuals located outside the United States to acquire information about specific 'covered persons' unless certain conditions are met. These conditions include a reasonable belief of an imminent threat to those covered persons, assistance to those persons, and notification to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Congress within 14 days. Alternatively, targeting is permitted if the covered persons or a legally authorized third party provide consent. The amendments also clarify that acquisitions under subsection (a) should be limited to targeting non-United States persons located outside the United States and that acquiring information about particular covered persons should not be a significant purpose, except as provided in subsection (b)(6).

What does DATA RETENTION LIMITS FOR INFORMATION COLLECTED UNDER SECTION of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 by adding Section 710 regarding data retention limits. The Attorney General is tasked with developing procedures, and intelligence community heads must implement them, to govern the retention of information collected under Section 702. “Covered information” includes information or communications pertaining to a covered person that has not been evaluated, and unevaluated information unless it reasonably appears not to contain information related to a covered person. Covered information generally must be destroyed within 5 years of collection. Exceptions to the 5-year destruction requirement exist if the information is subject to a preservation obligation in pending litigation or is being used in a proceeding or investigation consistent with section 706(a).

What does FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE COURT SUPERVISION OF of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends Section 702(i)(1) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. It redesignates subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii) respectively. The Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence are now required to demonstrate that technical assistance from electronic communication service providers is necessary, narrowly tailored, and would not pose an undue burden. Electronic communication service providers are not obligated to comply with a directive unless the assistance is explicitly approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and an order describing the assistance is delivered to the provider.

What does PROHIBITION ON WARRANTLESS ACQUISITION OF DOMESTIC of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The amendments modify subsections (b)(4), (d)(1)(B), (h)(2)(A)(i)(II), and (j)(2)(B)(ii). The changes replace the phrase 'known at the time of the acquisition' with 'known or believed at the time of acquisition or communication'.

What does REQUIREMENT OF PRIMARY FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE PURPOSE. of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends Section 702(h)(2)(A)(v) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The amendment strikes the phrase 'a significant' and inserts the word 'the primary'.

What does REPORTS TO CONGRESS ON SENSITIVE QUERIES. of Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026 do?

This section amends Section 702(f)(3)(D) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. The Attorney General is required to submit an annual report to Congress. The report must detail the number of 'sensitive queries' made each year. The queries will be disaggregated by the subclause of clause (ii) under which they were approved.

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Government Surveillance Reform Act of 2026

Last updated: 3/12/2026 · Introduced: 3/12/2026

Author: Ron Wyden (D-OR)

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119th Congressin committeeOfficial page

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