10-November-2014

Prompted by the disclosure of NSA surveillance by Edward Snowden in 2013, The FISA Improvements Act was proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein, Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The aim of the act is to establish the surveillance program as legal, but impose certain limitations on availability of data.

FaegreBD Consulting senior vice president and former U.S. Representative, Mary Bono expects that the FISA bill will be passed in the new congress which will be sworn in on Jan. 3, 2015.

In the National Law Journal, Bono said that the FISA Improvements Act would bring much needed surveillance reform that most senators could support. "That bill could pass the Senate now and in the next Congress," Bono said.

While not mentioned in the National Law Journal article, Kathleen Rice, senior director at FaegreBD Consulting, agreed with Bono's assessment of the climate in congress to get the FISA Improvements Act passed. Prior to joining FaegreBD Consulting, Rice was the lead negotiator on cybersecurity information sharing legislation in the Senate during the 112th and 113th Congresses and was heavily involved in the initial passage of legislation relating FISA as well as the USA PATRIOT Act.

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