The House on Wednesday passed a three-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the government's warrantless surveillance program, by a 235-191 vote that drew bipartisan opposition. The bill now heads to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future, with the current authorization set to expire at midnight Thursday.
The legislation includes a House-added ban on a central bank digital currency, a provision GOP leaders attached to win over conservative holdouts who had demanded broader surveillance reforms. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has called the CBDC ban a "poison pill," signaling it will likely block passage in the upper chamber.
The vote came after weeks of internal GOP negotiations and follows a short-term extension passed earlier this month when House Republicans blocked longer renewals. The stopgap measure was intended to give leadership two more weeks to secure a long-term deal.
If the Senate cannot reach an agreement, Section 702 will lapse, threatening a key national security tool used for foreign intelligence gathering. Thune has indicated the chamber will attempt to pass its own version, but the timeline remains tight and the outcome uncertain.