This bill proposes substantial amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) and places new limitations on surveillance conducted under Executive Order 12333. Its primary goal is to enhance privacy protections for United States persons by restricting the government's ability to collect and use their information without specific legal authorization. Under the proposed changes to FISA, government officers would be prohibited from targeting a United States person for various forms of surveillance, including electronic surveillance, physical searches, and data collection via pen registers or tangible things. It also explicitly forbids querying information collected under FISA Section 702 using search terms associated with a United States person . A critical provision is the prohibition on using any information concerning a United States person , acquired or derived from FISA surveillance, as evidence in any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding or investigation against that person. The term "derived" is broadly defined to prevent claims of attenuation or inevitable discovery, though an aggrieved person may use such information in their own legal proceedings. The legislation extends similar protections to surveillance under Executive Order 12333, making statutory authorizations the exclusive means for physical searches or acquiring communications and records if the target is a United States person . It also prohibits querying such information and bans its use in legal proceedings against a United States person .
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Armed Forces and National Security
Fourth Amendment Restoration and Protection Act of 2026
USA119th CongressS-4998| Senate
| Updated: 7/15/2026
This bill proposes substantial amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) and places new limitations on surveillance conducted under Executive Order 12333. Its primary goal is to enhance privacy protections for United States persons by restricting the government's ability to collect and use their information without specific legal authorization. Under the proposed changes to FISA, government officers would be prohibited from targeting a United States person for various forms of surveillance, including electronic surveillance, physical searches, and data collection via pen registers or tangible things. It also explicitly forbids querying information collected under FISA Section 702 using search terms associated with a United States person . A critical provision is the prohibition on using any information concerning a United States person , acquired or derived from FISA surveillance, as evidence in any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding or investigation against that person. The term "derived" is broadly defined to prevent claims of attenuation or inevitable discovery, though an aggrieved person may use such information in their own legal proceedings. The legislation extends similar protections to surveillance under Executive Order 12333, making statutory authorizations the exclusive means for physical searches or acquiring communications and records if the target is a United States person . It also prohibits querying such information and bans its use in legal proceedings against a United States person .