H.R. 2399: LIBERT-E Act

Before you vote › Federal bills

H.R. 2399: LIBERT-E Act

113th Congress · introduced 2013-06-17 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.

federal

Save to my notebook What does this mean? Print

Official title

LIBERT-E Act

Plain summary

Limiting Internet and Blanket Electronic Review of Telecommunications and Email Act or the LIBERT-E Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) (as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act) to require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in applications for court orders requiring the production of tangible things (commonly referred to as business records, including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, to include a statement of specific and articulable facts showing reasonable grounds to believe that such things are relevant and material to an authorized investigation. (Currently, a general statement of facts must only show that the tangible things are relevant to an authorized investigation.) Requires that the items sought pertain only to an individual that is the subject of such investigation. Removes a list of production items currently designated as presumptively relevant. Requires a judge approving the release of such tangible things to enter orders directing the applicant to notify each person required to produce items of the right to challenge the legality of a production or nondisclosure order as well as the procedures for filing a petition for such a challenge. Removes a requirement that a judge considering a petition to modify or set aside a nondisclosure order treat as conclusive a certification by the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, an Assistant Attorney General, or the FBI Director that disclosure may endanger national security or interfere with diplomatic relations. Directs the Attorney General to make available to all Members of Congress information currently provided to House and Senate intelligence and judiciary committees, including the number of persons targeted for FISA orders, the number of times the Attorney General has authorized such information to be used in a criminal proceeding, and copies of applications, pleadings, orders, and decisions in matters before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. Requires unclassified summaries of significant decisions, orders, or opinions of such Courts to be made available to the public. Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and inspectors general of each element of the intelligence community authorized to acquire information pursuant to specified FISA orders to jointly report to Congress on the impact of such acquisitions on the privacy interests of U.S. persons. Requires the DOJ Inspector General to make such report available to the public, with any redactions limited to those necessary to protect properly classified information. Requires assessments and reviews regarding guidelines for targeting certain persons located outside the United States and minimization procedures to be submitted in unclassified form, with a classified annex permitted.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

The strongest published arguments

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Conyers, John, Jr. [D-MI-13] · 53 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Judy Chu (D-CA), H. Morgan Griffith (R-VA), Suzan K. DelBene (D-WA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Tom McClintock (R-CA), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Paul A. Gosar (R-AZ), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Jim Jordan (R-OH), Jared Huffman (D-CA), John Garamendi (D-CA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

• Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
• Congress.gov
• Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113hr2399.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/hr>

Record fed-us-cong113-hr2399 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113