Bill Summary
This piece of legislation, called the "Ending Mass Collection of Americans' Phone Records Act of 2019" aims to repeal the authority to access and collect business records for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations on an ongoing basis. It also includes provisions for the destruction of collected call detail records that are not relevant to the investigation. The bill also makes technical corrections and clarifications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. It will become effective upon enactment and will apply to all applications made under the Act after the effective date.
Possible Impacts
1. Individuals may feel a sense of privacy and protection knowing that their phone records will not be collected on an ongoing basis by the government.
2. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies may face difficulty in gathering evidence and information for investigations related to foreign intelligence and international terrorism without the authority to access business records.
3. Businesses that provide technical assistance to the government may receive compensation for their services under the new legislation.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 936 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 936
To repeal the authority to access on an ongoing basis business records
for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 28, 2019
Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Paul) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To repeal the authority to access on an ongoing basis business records
for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Ending Mass Collection of Americans'
Phone Records Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. REPEAL OF AUTHORITY TO ACCESS ON AN ONGOING BASIS BUSINESS
RECORDS FOR FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE AND INTERNATIONAL
TERRORISM INVESTIGATIONS.
(a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 501 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1861) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(4) The authority under paragraph (1) shall not include an
application for an order requiring the production--
``(A) on an ongoing basis of any tangible things; or
``(B) of any tangible things other than those identified by
the specific selection term included in the application
pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(A).''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Such Act is amended--
(1) in section 501 (50 U.S.C. 1861)--
(A) in subsection (b)(2)--
(i) by striking subparagraph (C);
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``in
the case of'' and all that follows through ``in
subparagraph (C)),'';
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as
subparagraph (C); and
(iv) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking
the semicolon at the end and inserting ``;
and'';
(B) in subsection (c)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ``with
subsection (b)(2)(D)'' and inserting ``with
subsection (b)(2)(C)''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking
subparagraph (F) and inserting the following:
``(F) in the case of an application for call detail
records, shall direct the Government--
``(i) to adopt minimization procedures that
require the prompt destruction of all call
detail records produced under the order that
the Government determines are not foreign
intelligence information; and
``(ii) to destroy all call detail records
produced under the order as prescribed by such
procedures.'';
(C) by amending subsection (j) to read as follows:
``(j) Compensation.--The Government shall compensate a person for
reasonable expenses incurred for providing technical assistance to the
Government under this section.''; and
(D) in subsection (k)(4)(B), by striking ``For
purposes of an application submitted under subsection
(b)(2)(C)'' and inserting ``In the case of an
application for a call detail record'';
(2) in section 502(b) (50 U.S.C. 1862(b))--
(A) by striking paragraph (4); and
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (8) as
paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively;
(3) in section 603(b)(6) (50 U.S.C. 1873(b)(6))--
(A) in the matter before subparagraph (A), by
striking ``under section 501(b)(2)(C)'' and inserting
``under section 501(b)(2)(B)''; and
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``any database
of''; and
(4) in section 604(a)(1)(F) (50 U.S.C. 1874(a)(1)(F))--
(A) by striking clause (iii);
(B) in clause (ii), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a period; and
(C) in clause (i), by striking the semicolon and
inserting ``; and''.
(c) Technical Correction.--Paragraph (3) of section 501(a) of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1861(a)) is
amended by indenting such paragraph 2 ems to the left.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect on the date of the enactment of this Act and shall apply with
respect to applications made under section 501 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1861) on or after such
date.
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