Congress quietly extends warrantless foreign surveillance powers to 2027

What it does

This bill extends the expiration date of Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) from its current sunset date to October 20, 2027. Title VII authorizes the government to conduct surveillance of foreign intelligence targets without a warrant when they are reasonably believed to be outside the United States. The bill delays the automatic repeal of this surveillance authority by approximately one year.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative function is to extend an existing warrantless foreign surveillance authority by approximately one year. It is a technical reauthorization of Title VII FISA powers, not a policy innovation or reform.

What the text implies

• The extension preserves the government's ability to collect communications of U.S. persons who communicate with foreign targets, without requiring individualized warrants for those U.S. persons.
• By setting a specific expiration date (October 20, 2027) rather than a relative one ('two years after'), the bill removes the automatic reauthorization trigger and requires affirmative congressional action to extend again.
• The bill references but does not restate the 'Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act,' suggesting parallel legislation may have modified FISA procedures; the full effect depends on that separate statute.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill extends government surveillance authority without new judicial oversight or transparency measures, which may increase collection of Americans' communications with foreign contacts. However, Title VII is narrowly targeted at foreign intelligence targets reasonably believed to be outside the U.S., and the extension is temporary rather than permanent, preserving Congress's ability to revisit the authority in 2027.

Named in the bill

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), FISA Amendments Act of 2008, Title VII FISA, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act

Where it stands

• Mar 24, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Mar 24, 2026 — Referred to House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Intelligence (Permanent…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

7 lobbying clients named this bill on 7 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,112,972 in lobbying spend. A filing names 10 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 86% of bills with at least one filing.

Rick Crawford, the sponsor, reported $590,291 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Planned Parenthood Federation of America Inc — $652,972 on 1 filing
• Heritage Action for America — $140,000 on 1 filing
• Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability, Inc. — $120,000 on 1 filing
• Demand Progress Action, Inc — $70,000 on 1 filing
• American Civil Liberties Union — $60,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.