Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978

Long title	An Act to authorize electronic surveillance to obtain foreign intelligence information.
Acronyms (colloquial)	FISA
Enacted by	the 95th United States Congress
Effective	October 25, 1978
Citations
Public law	95-511
Statutes at Large	92 Stat. 1783
Codification
Titles amended	50 U.S.C.: War and National Defense
U.S.C. sections created	50 U.S.C. ch. 36 § 1801 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 1566 by Edward Kennedy (D–MA) on May 18, 1977 Committee consideration by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee on the Judiciary Passed the Senate on March 20, 1978 (95–1) Passed the House on September 7, 1978 (246–128, in lieu of H.R. 7308) Reported by the joint conference committee on October 5, 1978; agreed to by the Senate on October 9, 1978 (Without objection) and by the House on October 12, 1978 (226–176) Signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on October 25, 1978
Major amendments
USA PATRIOT Act Protect America Act of 2007 FISA Amendments Act of 2008 USA Freedom Act

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" Pub.L. 95–511, 92 Stat. 1783, 50 U.S.C. ch. 36) is a United States federal law which prescribes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign powers" and "agents of foreign powers" (which may include American citizens and permanent residents suspected of espionage or terrorism). It has been repeatedly amended since the September 11 attacks.

The Act was amended in 2001 by the USA PATRIOT Act, primarily to include terrorism on behalf of groups that are not specifically backed by a foreign government.

An overhaul of the bill, the Protect America Act of 2007 was signed into law on August 5, 2007. It expired on February 17, 2008.

The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 passed by the United States Congress on July 9, 2008.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was introduced on May 18, 1977, by Senator Ted Kennedy and was signed into law by President Carter in 1978. The bill was cosponsored by nine Senators: Birch Bayh, James O. Eastland, Jake Garn, Walter Huddleston, Daniel Inouye, Charles Mathias, John L. McClellan, Gaylord Nelson, and Strom Thurmond.

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