WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed an amendment by Congressman Dan Crenshaw, a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, based on the Enhancing Intelligence Collection on Foreign Drug Traffickers Act of 2024, that will allow adds international narcotics trafficking to the definition of “foreign intelligence information” under FISA so the IC can specifically target foreign narco-traffickers to more effectively enable the government to stop the flow of deadly narcotics, including fentanyl, into the United States.
“It is insane that we have not been able to use FISA to target the affiliates of cartels, such as bankers, accountants, and others who help operate their business. This amendment corrects that mistake,” said Congressman Crenshaw. “Make no mistake, the cartels are a multi-billion dollar business that traffic in fentanyl and other illicit drugs. They are a national security threat, and this amendment will help to dismantle the cartels.”
The amendment was passed in coordination with the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, the largest reform to the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in a generation, while reauthorizing Section 702. The bill includes 56 reforms to prevent abuses and it drastically reduces FBI querying.
Background:
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act authorizes the intelligence community to collect the electronic communications of a non-U.S. person, located outside the United States, who possesses foreign intelligence information. The current categories of foreign intelligence information authorized to be collected by targeting these non-U.S. persons are covered by only three “certifications”:
- Foreign governments and related entities
- Counterterrorism
- Combatting proliferation
Today, the intelligence community can only target narco-traffickers if they have a connection to the above three certifications. This legislation is a modified version of Section 511 of H.R.6611, the HPSCI-passed FISA Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2023. It modifies the definition of “foreign intelligence information” in FISA to include information that relates to the “international production, distribution, or financing of illicit synthetic drugs, opioids, cocaine, or other drugs driving overdose deaths, or precursors of any aforementioned.”
This legislation would finally pave the way for the U.S. government to seek, and for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to approve, the creation of a fourth certification focused on international drug production, distribution, and financing of fentanyl.
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