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Senate Judiciary Committee members Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) reintroduced the bipartisan Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act on February 11, 2026, seeking major reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before its April 20, 2026 expiration. The bill represents a carefully crafted compromise that would reauthorize the surveillance program while imposing meaningful civil liberties safeguards.
The SAFE Act's centerpiece provision requires intelligence agencies to obtain a FISA Title I order or a warrant before accessing the contents of Americans' communications collected under Section 702—though not before running queries. This narrow warrant requirement is designed to be feasible and flexible, applying only to searches specifically targeting Americans' communications, not searches of foreigners' communications or searches to uncover connections between targeted foreigners and Americans.
Senator Durbin stated: "Section 702 is being used to conduct thousands of warrantless searches of Americans' private communications. That's unacceptable. Our bipartisan SAFE Act is a commonsense solution to continue protecting our country from foreign threats—while safeguarding Americans' civil liberties and privacy." Senator Lee added: "Our bipartisan legislation creates commonsense safeguards against the abuse of FISA 702 and loopholes exploiting the commercial data of law-abiding citizens."
The bill also strengthens the role of amici curiae (independent advisors) who assist the FISA Court by creating a presumption they should participate in particularly sensitive or important matters and increasing their access to information. This provision mirrors an amendment the Senate passed 77-19 in 2020. Additional provisions require increased internal supervision of U.S. person queries and other measures to enhance accountability, compliance, and oversight.
The reintroduction comes as the FBI has acknowledged conducting more than 200,000 warrantless searches of Americans' communications in just one year—over 500 per day. The bureau has admitted to improperly searching for information on individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol attack and people arrested during 2020 racial justice protests, demonstrating systematic abuse of the surveillance authority.
During the 2024 reauthorization debate, an amendment requiring warrants for Americans' communications failed by a single vote in a 212-212 tie, highlighting the narrow margin between civil liberties protections and unchecked surveillance powers. The SAFE Act represents renewed bipartisan effort to close this gap before the April deadline.