I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4976 
To reiterate that chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United States Code, 
and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 are the exclusive 
means by which domestic electronic surveillance may be conducted, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 16, 2006 
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself and Mr. FLAKE) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the 
Select Committee on Intelligence (Permanent Select), 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 con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To reiterate that chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United 
States Code, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 
Act of 1978 are the exclusive 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, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NSA Oversight Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) On September 11, 2001, acts of treacherous 
violence were committed against the United States 
and its citizens. 
(2) Such acts render it both necessary and ap-
propriate that the United States exercise its right to 
self-defense by protecting United States citizens 
both at home and abroad. 
(3) The Federal Government has a duty to pur-
sue al Qaeda and other enemies of the United States 
with all available tools, including the use of elec-
tronic surveillance, to thwart future attacks on the 
United States and to destroy the enemy. 
(4) The President of the United States pos-
sesses the inherent authority to engage in electronic 
surveillance of the enemy outside of the United 
States consistent with his authority as Commander- 
in-Chief under Article II of the Constitution. 
(5) Congress possesses the authority to regulate 
electronic surveillance within the United States. 
(6) The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution 
guarantees to the American people the right ‘‘to be 
secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, 
against unreasonable searches and seizures’’ and 
provides that courts shall issue ‘‘warrants’’ to au-
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thorize searches and seizures, based upon probable 
cause. 
(7) The Supreme Court has consistently held 
for nearly 40 years that the monitoring and record-
ing of private conversations constitutes a ‘‘search 
and seizure’’ within the meaning of the Fourth 
Amendment. 
(8) The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and chapters 119 and 
121 of title 18, United States Code, were enacted to 
provide the legal authority for the Federal Govern-
ment to engage in searches of Americans in connec-
tion with criminal investigations, intelligence gath-
ering, and counterintelligence. 
(9) The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 and specified provisions of the Federal crimi-
nal code, were expressly enacted as the ‘‘exclusive 
means by which electronic surveillance . . . may be 
conducted’’ domestically pursuant to law (18 U.S.C. 
2511(2)(f)). 
(10) Warrantless electronic surveillance of 
Americans inside the United States conducted with-
out congressional authorization may have a serious 
impact on the civil liberties of citizens of the United 
States. 
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(11) United States citizens, such as journalists, 
academics, and researchers studying global ter-
rorism, who have made international phone calls 
subsequent to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 
2001, and are law-abiding citizens, may have the 
reasonable fear of being the subject of such surveil-
lance. 
(12) Since the nature and criteria of the Na-
tional Security Agency (NSA) program is highly 
classified and unknown to the public, many other 
Americans who make frequent international calls, 
such as Americans engaged in international busi-
ness, Americans with family overseas, and others, 
have a legitimate concern they may be the inad-
vertent targets of eavesdropping. 
(13) The President has sought and signed legis-
lation including the Uniting and Strengthening 
America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to 
Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT 
ACT) Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–56), and the In-
telligence Reform and Terrorism Protection Act of 
2004 (Public Law 108–458), that have expanded 
authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveil-
lance Act of 1978. 
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(14) It may be necessary and desirable to 
amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 to address new challenges in the Global War 
on Terrorism. The President should submit a re-
quest for legislation to Congress to amend the For-
eign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 if the 
President desires that the electronic surveillance au-
thority provided by such Act be further modified. 
(15) The Authorization for Use of Military 
Force (Public Law 107–40), passed by Congress on 
September 14, 2001, authorized military action 
against those responsible for the attacks on Sep-
tember 11, 2001, but did not contain legal author-
ization nor approve of domestic electronic surveil-
lance 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.). 
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. 
(a) EXCLUSIVE MEANS.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, chapters 119 and 121 of title 18, United 
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States Code, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 
of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) shall be the exclusive 
means by which electronic surveillance may be conducted. 
(b) FUTURE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION.—Subsection 
(a) shall apply until specific statutory authorization for 
electronic surveillance, other than as an amendment to 
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.), is enacted. Such specific statutory 
authorization shall be the only exception to subsection (a). 
SEC. 4. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS. 
Not later than 14 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the President shall submit to the Perma-
nent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate a report in classified form 
identifying the United States persons who have been the 
subject of electronic surveillance not authorized to be con-
ducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 
1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or chapters 119 or 121 
of title 18, United States Code, and the basis for the selec-
tion of such persons for such electronic surveillance. 
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SEC. 5. ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘electronic surveillance’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101(f) of the Foreign 
Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801(f)). 
Æ 
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