I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5371 
To reiterate that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 and 
title 18, United States Code, are the exclusive means by which domestic 
electronic surveillance may be conducted, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 11, 2006 
Ms. HARMAN (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. BOS-
WELL, Mr. REYES, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 
BOUCHER, Mr. NADLER, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of 
California, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. WEXLER, and Ms. HOOLEY) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, and in addition to the Select Committee on Intelligence (Per-
manent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reiterate that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 
of 1978 and title 18, United States Code, are the exclu-
sive means by which domestic electronic surveillance may 
be conducted, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lawful Intelligence 
and Surveillance of Terrorists in an Emergency by NSA 
Act’’ or the ‘‘LISTEN Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Conducting electronic surveillance of al 
Qaeda and other international terrorist groups is in-
tegral to protecting people in the United States from 
terrorism. Electronic surveillance can assist in the 
detection and prevention of terrorist plots. 
(2) Electronic surveillance may, at times, in-
volve surveillance of persons in the United States. 
Such electronic surveillance is lawful if conducted in 
accordance with the Fourth Amendment to the Con-
stitution and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 
Act of 1978 or chapters 119 or 121 of title 18, 
United States Code. 
(3) It is essential that in protecting the United 
States from enemies, the President does not com-
promise the civil liberties that the President is 
charged with safeguarding. In 2004, Justice Sandra 
Day O’Connor explained in a plurality opinion for 
the Supreme Court in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, ‘‘We have 
long since made clear that a state of war is not a 
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blank check for the President when it comes to the 
rights of the Nation’s citizens’’. 
(4) Section 8 of article I of the Constitution of 
the United States provides that ‘‘Congress shall have 
the Power . . . to make all Laws which shall be nec-
essary and proper for carrying into Execution the 
foregoing Powers and all other Powers vested in this 
Constitution in the Government of the United 
States, or in any Department or Officer thereof’’. 
(5) In passing the Foreign Intelligence Surveil-
lance Act of 1978, Congress expressly determined 
that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 and chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United 
States Code, are the exclusive means by which sur-
veillance can be conducted in the United States. 
(6) The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) authorizes the Fed-
eral Government to conduct electronic surveillance of 
persons in the United States for purposes of gath-
ering intelligence and counterintelligence. The Act 
contains emergency procedures under which elec-
tronic surveillance may begin up to 72 hours before 
the Federal Government presents to the Foreign In-
telligence Surveillance Court an application for a 
court order approving electronic surveillance. 
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(7) The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution 
of the United States declares that ‘‘The right of the 
people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects, against unreasonable searches and sei-
zures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall 
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath 
or affirmation, and particularly describing the place 
to be searched, and the persons or things to be 
seized’’. 
(8) A determination of reasonableness under 
the Fourth Amendment must ultimately be made by 
an independent magistrate, not by an executive 
branch official. 
(9) The Authorization for Use of Military Force 
(Public Law 107–40), passed by Congress on Sep-
tember 14, 2001, does not constitute legal authoriza-
tion for electronic surveillance not authorized by 
chapters 119 or 121 of title 18, United States Code, 
or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 
(50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
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SEC. 3. REITERATION OF CHAPTERS 119 AND 121 OF TITLE 
18, UNITED STATES CODE, AND THE FOREIGN 
INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT OF 1978 
AS THE EXCLUSIVE MEANS BY WHICH DO-
MESTIC ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE MAY BE 
CONDUCTED. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, chapters 
119 and 121 of title 18, United States Code, and the For-
eign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 
1801 et seq.) shall be the exclusive means by which elec-
tronic surveillance may be conducted. 
SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH FISA REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) ENSURING COMPLIANCE.—The President shall 
ensure that all electronic surveillance of persons in the 
United States is conducted in accordance with chapters 
119 or 121 of title 18, United States Code, or title I of 
the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 
U.S.C. 1801 et seq.). 
(b) PROCEDURES.—The President shall ensure that 
the procedures for applying for an order for electronic sur-
veillance under title I of the Foreign Intelligence Surveil-
lance Act of 1978 continue to be adequate for the timely 
and efficient electronic surveillance of appropriate targets. 
(c) REPORT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—If at any time the President 
determines that the procedures described in sub-
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