II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2093 

To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to modify the 

purposes of authorized collection of business records and to prohibit 

the bulk collection of metadata, to require judicial review of national 

security letters, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 6, 2014 

Mr. WALSH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 

to modify the purposes of authorized collection of business records and to prohibit the bulk collection of 

metadata, to require judicial review of 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 ‘‘Civil Liberties Protec5 tion Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZED PURPOSES FOR COLLECTION OF 

2 BUSINESS RECORDS FOR CERTAIN INVES3 TIGATIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a)(1) of section 501 

5 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 

6 U.S.C. 1861) is amended by striking ‘‘to obtain’’ and all 

7 that follows through ‘‘clandestine intelligence activities’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘to protect against international terrorism, 

9 clandestine intelligence activities, or the proliferation of 

10 weapons of mass destruction, or activities in preparation 

11 therefor,’’. 

12 (b) APPLICATIONS.—Subsection (b)(2)(A) of such 

13 section is amended by striking ‘‘to obtain’’ and all that 

14 follows through ‘‘clandestine intelligence activities’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘to protect against international terrorism, clan16 destine intelligence activities, or the proliferation of weap17 ons of mass destruction, or activities in preparation there18 for,’’. 

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading of 

20 such section is amended by striking ‘‘FOREIGN INTEL21 LIGENCE AND INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM INVES22 TIGATIONS’’ and inserting ‘‘INTERNATIONAL TER23 RORISM AND CERTAIN OTHER INVESTIGATIONS’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON BULK COLLECTION OF 

2 METADATA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(2)(A) of section 

4 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 

5 (50 U.S.C. 1861), as amended by section 2(b) of this Act, 

6 is further amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘specific and articulable’’ be8 fore ‘‘facts showing’’; and 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘of a specific individual’’ before 

10 ‘‘(other than a threat assessment)’’. 

11 (b) FINDINGS AUTHORIZING ORDERS.—Subsection 

12 (c)(1) of such section 501 is amended by striking ‘‘and 

13 (b),’’ and inserting ‘‘and (b), and is reasonable in focus, 

14 scope, and breadth in the requested production of mate15 rials pertaining to the specific individual,’’. 

16 (c) REPORT ON TELEPHONY METADATA DATA17 BASE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Di20 rector of the National Security Agency shall submit 

21 to Congress a report on the plans of the Agency for 

22 the telephony metadata database of the Agency. 

23 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report shall include the 

24 following: 

25 (A) The plans of the Agency for complying 

26 with the requirements of section 501 of the 


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1 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, 

2 as amended by subsection (a), with respect to 

3 the telephony metadata database of the Agency, 

4 including plans for transitioning to a database 

5 containing information that, except as described 

6 in subparagraph (B), contains only information 

7 which complies with such requirements, as so 

8 amended, and is purged of information that 

9 does not so comply. 

10 (B) The plans of the Agency for retaining 

11 information in the database relating to on-going 

12 lawsuits with respect to the database. 

13 SEC. 4. MODIFICATION OF REQUIREMENTS AND AUTHORI14 TIES RELATING TO NONDISCLOSURE RE15 QUIREMENTS IN REQUESTS FOR ACCESS TO 

16 BUSINESS RECORDS FOR INTERNATIONAL 

17 TERRORISM AND CERTAIN OTHER INVES18 TIGATIONS. 

19 (a) JUDICIAL APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR ORIGINAL

20 IMPOSITION OF NONDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—Sub21 section (d) of section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Sur22 veillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1861) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘No person’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (2), no person’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para2 graph (3); and 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol4 lowing new paragraph (2): 

5 ‘‘(2) Nondisclosure requirements may be included in 

6 an order under this section only if the judge entering the 

7 order finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe 

8 that a violation of such nondisclosure requirements 

9 would— 

10 ‘‘(A) significantly threaten national security; 

11 ‘‘(B) interfere with an ongoing investigation; 

12 ‘‘(C) endanger the life or physical safety of any 

13 person; or 

14 ‘‘(D) impair diplomatic relations.’’. 

15 (b) EFFECTIVE PERIOD OF NONDISCLOSURE RE16 QUIREMENTS.—Such subsection is further amended by 

17 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(4) Nondisclosure requirements under this sub19 section— 

20 ‘‘(A) may not be effective for a period of more 

21 than 180 days; and 

22 ‘‘(B) may be renewed for additional 180-day pe23 riods if a judge serving in the pool established by 

24 section 103(a) cannot make a finding described in 

25 subsection (f)(2)(C)(i) with respect to such nonVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:22 Mar 11, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2093.IS S2093

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1 disclosure requirements at the time of such re2 newal.’’. 

3 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW OF NONDISCLOSURE RE4 QUIREMENTS AFTER ISSUANCE.—Subsection (f)(2)(C) of 

5 such section is amended— 

6 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘may endanger’’ 

7 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘may significantly 

8 threaten national security, interfere with an ongoing 

9 investigation, endanger the life of physical safety of 

10 any person, or impair diplomatic relations.’’; 

11 (2) by striking clause (ii); 

12 (3) by redesignating clause (iii) as clause (ii); 

13 and 

14 (4) in clause (ii), as redesignated by paragraph 

15 (3), by striking ‘‘1 year’’ and inserting ‘‘180 days’’. 

16 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OR STORAGE OF TAN17 GIBLE THINGS DERIVED FROM ACCESS TO 

18 BUSINESS RECORDS FOR INTERNATIONAL 

19 TERRORISM AND CERTAIN OTHER INVES20 TIGATIONS TO PRIVATE ENTITIES. 

21 Section 501 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 

22 Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1861), as amended by this Act, 

23 is further amended by adding at the end the following new 

24 subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(i) PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER OR STORAGE OF

2 TANGIBLE THINGS TO OR WITH PRIVATE ENTITIES.—No 

3 tangible thing received by the Federal Bureau of Inves4 tigation in response to an order under this section, or any 

5 database of such tangible things, may be stored by a pri6 vate entity or transferred to a private entity for storage.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. LIMITATIONS ON NATIONAL SECURITY LETTERS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.— 

9 (1) FISA COURT.—The term ‘‘FISA Court’’ 

10 means the court established under section 103(a) of 

11 the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 

12 (50 U.S.C. 1803(a)). 

13 (2) MINIMIZATION PROCEDURES.—The term 

14 ‘‘minimization procedures’’ has the meaning given 

15 that term in section 501(g)(2) of the Foreign Intel16 ligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 

17 1861(g)(2)). 

18 (3) NATIONAL SECURITY LETTER.—The term 

19 ‘‘national security letter’’ means a request for infor20 mation under— 

21 (A) section 2709 of title 18, United States 

22 Code (to access certain communication service 

23 provider records); 


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1 (B) section 1114 of the Right to Financial 

2 Privacy Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3414) (to ob3 tain financial institution customer records); 

4 (C) section 802 of the National Security 

5 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3162) (to obtain finan6 cial information, records, and consumer re7 ports); 

8 (D) section 626 of the Fair Credit Report9 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681u) (to obtain certain fi10 nancial information and consumer reports); or 

11 (E) section 627 of the Fair Credit Report12 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1681v) (to obtain certain 

13 consumer reports). 

14 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

15 ‘‘United States person’’ has the meaning given that 

16 term in section 101(i) of the Foreign Intelligence 

17 Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801(i)). 

18 (b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub20 section (c), no officer or employee of the United 

21 States may issue a national security letter unless the 

22 FISA Court, a United States district court, or a 

23 United States Magistrate judge issues an order ap24 proving an application for the national security let25 ter. 


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1 (2) REVIEW OF APPLICATION.—The FISA 

2 Court, a United States district court, or a United 

3 States Magistrate judge may not issue an order ap4 proving an application for a national security letter 

5 unless such court or judge finds that— 

6 (A) there are specific and articulable facts 

7 giving reason to believe that the information 

8 sought by the national security letter is relevant 

9 and material to an authorized investigation to 

10 protect against international terrorism or clan11 destine intelligence activities; 

12 (B) the national security letter is reason13 able in scope, focus, and breadth; and 

14 (C) such an investigation of a United 

15 States person is not conducted solely upon the 

16 basis of activities protected by the first amend17 ment to the Constitution of the United States. 

18 (3) MINIMIZATION PROCEDURES.—An order ap19 proving an application for a national security letter 

20 issued under this subsection shall set out the mini21 mization procedures that apply to the national secu22 rity letter. 

23 (4) JUDICIAL APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR ORIGI24 NAL IMPOSITION OF NONDISCLOSURE REQUIRE25 MENTS.—A national security letter may contain nonVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:22 Mar 11, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2093.IS S2093

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1 disclosure requirements only if the FISA Court, a 

2 United States district court, or a United States 

3 Magistrate judge finds that there are reasonable 

4 grounds, relevant to the authorized investigation 

5 concerned, to believe that a violation of the non6 disclosure requirements would— 

7 (A) significantly threaten national security; 

8 (B) interfere with an ongoing investigation; 

9 (C) endanger the life or physical safety of 

10 any person; or 

11 (D) impair diplomatic relations. 

12 (c) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), the requirement for an order approving 

15 an application for a national security letter under 

16 subsection (b) shall not apply if the Attorney Gen17 eral— 

18 (A) reasonably determines that the factual 

19 basis for the issuance of the national security 

20 letter exists; 

21 (B) reasonably determines that an emer22 gency situation exists with respect to the 

23 issuance of a national security letter before an 

24 order approving an application for the national 


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1 security letter can with due diligence be ob2 tained; 

3 (C) informs, either personally or through a 

4 designee, the FISA Court, a United States dis5 trict court, or a United States Magistrate judge 

6 of the decision to issue the national security let7 ter at the time the decision is made; and 

8 (D) makes an application for approval of 

9 the issuance of the national security letter to 

10 the FISA Court, a United States district court, 

11 or a United States Magistrate judge in accord12 ance with subsection (b) as soon as practicable, 

13 but not later than 7 days after the Attorney 

14 General decides to issue the national security 

15 letter. 

16 (2) MINIMIZATION PROCEDURES.—Any national 

17 security letter issued pursuant to this subsection 

18 shall comply with and include applicable minimiza19 tion procedures. 

20 (3) TERMINATION.—A national security letter 

21 issued pursuant to this subsection, and any non22 disclosure requirements included in the national se23 curity letter, shall terminate upon the earlier of the 

24 following: 


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1 (A) When information sought by the na2 tional security letter is obtained. 

3 (B) In the event an application for ap4 proval of the issuance of the national security 

5 letter described in paragraph (1)(D) is made, 

6 when the application is denied. 

7 (C) The date that is seven days after the 

8 date of the decision of the Attorney General to 

9 issue the national security letter. 

10 (4) ANNUAL REPORTS ON ISSUANCE.—The Di11 rector of the Federal Bureau of Investigation shall 

12 submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

13 Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

14 House of Representatives each year a report on the 

15 national security letters issued pursuant to this sub16 section during the preceding year, including a state17 ment of the number of national security letters so 

18 issued during such year. 

19 (d) NONDISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 (1) DISCLOSURE FOR COMPLIANCE OR LEGAL

21 ASSISTANCE.— 

22 (A) DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZED.—A recipi23 ent of a national security letter containing non24 disclosure requirements may disclose receipt of 

25 the national security letter to persons necessary 


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1 to comply with the national security letter or an 

2 attorney to obtain legal advice or legal assist3 ance with respect to the national security letter. 

4 (B) NOTICE DURING DISCLOSURE OF AP5 PLICABILITY OF NONDISCLOSURE REQUIRE6 MENTS.—A recipient disclosing receipt of a na7 tional security letter to persons or an attorney 

8 pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall inform such 

9 persons or attorney of the nondisclosure re10 quirements contained in the national security 

11 letter. 

12 (C) COMPLIANCE WITH NONDISCLOSURE

13 REQUIREMENTS.—Any person or attorney who 

14 receives a disclosure under subparagraph (A) 

15 shall be subject to the nondisclosure require16 ments contained in the national security letter 

17 concerned. 

18 (2) LIMITATION ON EFFECTIVE PERIOD.— 

19 (A) INITIAL EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—Except 

20 as provided in section 3511(b) of title 18, 

21 United States Code (as amended by subpara22 graph (B)), nondisclosure requirements con23 tained in a national security letter following ju24 dicial approval in accordance with subsection 

25 (b)(4) shall be effective for not more than 60 


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1 days from the date of the issuance of the na2 tional security letter. In the case of a national 

3 security letter issued in accordance with sub4 section (b) after application described in sub5 section (c)(1)(D), the date of the issuance of 

6 the national security letter in accordance with 

7 subsection (b) shall be treated as the date of 

8 the issuance of the national security letter for 

9 purposes of this subparagraph. 

10 (B) EXTENSIONS.—Subsection (b) of sec11 tion 3511 of title 18, United States Code, is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(b)(1) Upon the expiration pursuant to section 

14 6(d)(2)(A) of the Civil Liberties Protection Act of the ini15 tial period of effectiveness of nondisclosure requirements 

16 imposed in connection with a request for records, a report, 

17 or other information under section 2709(b) of this title, 

18 section 626(a) or 627(a) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 

19 section 1154(a)(5)(A) of the Right to Financial Privacy 

20 Act or section 802(a) of the National Security Act of 

21 1947, the Attorney General may petition the United 

22 States district court for the district in which the recipient 

23 of the request does business or resides for an extension 

24 of the period of effectiveness of the nondisclosure require25 ments for not more than 180 days. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Upon petition by the Attorney General pursuant 

2 to paragraph (1), the court may grant an extension of the 

3 period of effectiveness of nondisclosure requirements de4 scribed in that paragraph for not more than 180 days if 

5 the court finds that there are reasonable grounds, relevant 

6 to the authorized investigation to protect against inter7 national terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities 

8 concerned, to believe that a violation of the nondisclosure 

9 requirements would— 

10 ‘‘(A) significantly threaten national security; 

11 ‘‘(B) interfere with an ongoing investigation; 

12 ‘‘(C) endanger the life or physical safety of any 

13 person; or 

14 ‘‘(D) impair diplomatic relations. 

15 ‘‘(3) Any extension of the period of effectiveness of 

16 nondisclosure requirements under paragraph (2) may be 

17 extended for additional periods of not more than 180 days 

18 each in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. 

19 ‘‘(4) The Attorney General shall notify the recipient 

20 of a request described in paragraph (1) that contains non21 disclosure requirements of each petition for the extension 

22 of the period of effectiveness of such nondisclosure re23 quirements that is filed by the Attorney General under 

24 this subsection.’’. 

25 (e) USE OF INFORMATION.— 


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1 (1) INFORMATION CONCERNING A UNITED

2 STATES PERSON.—No information acquired pursu3 ant to a national security letter concerning a United 

4 States person may be used in violation of the mini5 mization procedures adopted pursuant to subsection 

6 (b)(3) or required pursuant to subsection (c)(2), as 

7 applicable. 

8 (2) CERTAIN INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING

9 EMERGENCIES.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a na11 tional security letter issued pursuant to sub12 section (c), if the application for approval of 

13 issuance described in paragraph (1)(D) of that 

14 subsection is denied or if the production of in15 formation is terminated without the issuance of 

16 an order of approval, no information obtained 

17 or evidence derived from the national security 

18 letter shall be received in evidence or otherwise 

19 disclosed in any trial, hearing, or other pro20 ceeding in or before any court, grand jury, de21 partment, office, agency, regulatory body, legis22 lative committee, or any authority of the United 

23 States, a State, or political subdivision thereof, 

24 and no information concerning any United 

25 States person acquired from such production 


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1 shall subsequently be used or disclosed in any 

2 other manner by any officer or employee of the 

3 United States without the consent of such per4 son, except with the approval of the Attorney 

5 General if the information indicates a threat of 

6 death or serious bodily harm to any person. 

7 (B) ASSESSMENT OF COMPLIANCE.—The 

8 Attorney General shall assess and ensure com9 pliance with the limitations in subparagraph 

10 (A). 

11 (3) PRIVILEGED.—No otherwise privileged in12 formation acquired pursuant to a national security 

13 letter shall lose its privileged character. 

14 (4) LAWFUL PURPOSES.—No information ac15 quired pursuant to a national security letter may be 

16 used or disclosed by officers or employees of the 

17 United States except for lawful purposes. 

18 SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

19 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

20 take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

21 this Act. 

Æ 


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