I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1739 

To require the approval of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge 

or designated United States Magistrate Judge for the issuance of a 

national security letter, to require the Attorney General to submit semiannual reports on national security letters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 28, 2007 

Ms. HARMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Intelligence (Permanent Select) and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the approval of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

Court judge or designated United States Magistrate 

Judge for the issuance of a national security letter, to 

require the Attorney General to submit semiannual reports on national security letters, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Security Let5 ter Judicial and Congressional Oversight Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE COURT 

2 JUDGE OR UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE 

3 JUDGE APPROVAL OF NATIONAL SECURITY 

4 LETTERS. 

5 (a) REVIEW OF NATIONAL SECURITY LETTER RE6 QUESTS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—No national security letter 

8 shall issue unless a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

9 Court judge or a designated United States Mag10 istrate Judge finds that— 

11 (A) the information sought is relevant to 

12 an authorized investigation to protect against 

13 international terrorism or clandestine intel14 ligence activities; 

15 (B) such an investigation of a United 

16 States person is not conducted solely upon the 

17 basis of activities protected by the first amend18 ment to the Constitution of the United States; 

19 and 

20 (C) there are specific and articulable facts 

21 giving reason to believe that the information 

22 sought pertains to a foreign power or an agent 

23 of a foreign power (as those terms are defined 

24 in section 101 of the Foreign Intelligence Sur25 veillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801)). 


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1 (2) ELECTRONIC FILING.—The court estab2 lished under section 103(a) of the Foreign Intel3 ligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1803) 

4 shall establish an electronic system for the submis5 sion of documents and other information relating to 

6 proceedings under paragraph (1) and for the 

7 issuance of orders relating to national security let8 ters under paragraph (1). 

9 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING CHALLENGES

10 TO NONDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS OF NATIONAL SE11 CURITY LETTERS.—It is the sense of Congress that in the 

12 case of a challenge to a nondisclosure requirement of a 

13 national security letter, a certification by the Attorney 

14 General or other appropriate head or deputy head of a 

15 department, agency, or instrumentality of the Federal 

16 Government that disclosure of such national security letter 

17 may endanger the national security of the United States 

18 or interfere with diplomatic relations— 

19 (1) should not be considered conclusive evidence 

20 that such disclosure would endanger the national se21 curity of the United States or interfere with diplo22 matic relations; and 

23 (2) should be considered a rebuttable presump24 tion that such disclosure would endanger the naVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:40 Apr 04, 2007 Jkt 059196 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1739.IH H1739

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1 tional security of the United States or interfere with 

2 diplomatic relations. 

3 (c) MINIMIZATION PROCEDURES.—The Attorney 

4 General shall establish minimization and destruction pro5 cedures to ensure that information obtained pursuant to 

6 a national security letter regarding persons that are no 

7 longer of interest in an authorized investigation is de8 stroyed. 

9 (d) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall, semiannu10 ally, submit to the Permanent Select Committee on Intel11 ligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 

12 of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intel13 ligence and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

14 a report containing— 

15 (1) the total number of national security letters 

16 issued during the preceding six months, in unclassi17 fied form; 

18 (2) for each of subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

19 of subsection (f)(3), the total number of national se20 curity letters issued during the preceding six months 

21 under the authority of each such subparagraph; 

22 (3) for each of subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

23 of subsection (f)(3), the total number of national se24 curity letters issued during the preceding six months 


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1 under the authority of each such subparagraph for 

2 United States persons; 

3 (4) for each of subparagraphs (A) through (E) 

4 of subsection (f)(3), the total number of national se5 curity letters issued during the preceding six months 

6 under the authority of each such subparagraph for 

7 non-United States persons; 

8 (5) a description of the minimization procedures 

9 adopted by the Attorney General pursuant to sub10 section (c), including any changes to minimization 

11 procedures previously adopted by the Attorney Gen12 eral; 

13 (6) a summary of the challenges made by re14 cipients of national security letters in court; 

15 (7) a description of the extent to which infor16 mation obtained with national security letters has 

17 aided investigations and an explanation of how such 

18 information has aided such investigations; and 

19 (8) a description of the extent to which infor20 mation obtained with national security letters has 

21 aided prosecutions and an explanation of how such 

22 information has been used in or aided such prosecu23 tions. 

24 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE

2 COURT JUDGE.—The term ‘‘Foreign Intelligence 

3 Surveillance Court judge’’ means a judge of the 

4 court established by section 103(a) of the Foreign 

5 Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 

6 1803(a)). 

7 (2) DESIGNATED UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE

8 JUDGE.—The term ‘‘designated United States Mag9 istrate Judge’’ means, for each district court of the 

10 United States, a United States Magistrate Judge 

11 under chapter 43 of title 28, United States Code, 

12 who is— 

13 (A) the Chief United States Magistrate 

14 Judge of such district court; or 

15 (B) if a Chief United States Magistrate 

16 Judge has not been designated in such district 

17 court, another United States Magistrate Judge 

18 of such district court that is publicly designated 

19 by the Chief Justice of the United States to 

20 have the power to hear applications and grant 

21 orders for the issuance of national security let22 ters under subsection (a). 

23 (3) NATIONAL SECURITY LETTER.—The term 

24 ‘‘national security letter’’ means a request for infor25 mation under— 


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1 (A) section 2709(b) of title 18, United 

2 States Code; 

3 (B) section 1114(a)(5)(A) of the Right to 

4 Financial Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 

5 3414(a)(5)(A)); 

6 (C) subsections (a) or (b) of section 626 of 

7 the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 1681u(a), 1681u(b)); 

9 (D) section 627(a) of the Fair Credit Re10 porting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681v(a)); or 

11 (E) section 802(a) of the National Security 

12 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 436(a)). 

Æ 


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