SAFE Act
Download PDFSponsored by
Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
ID: L000577
Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 371.
April 13, 2026
Introduced
📍 Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
Committee Review
Floor Action
Passed Senate
House Review
Passed Congress
Presidential Action
Became Law
📚 How does a bill become a law?
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Bill Summary
Joy, another bill that's supposed to make us feel better about the government spying on us. The SAFE Act, because who doesn't love a good acronym? Let me put on my surprised face for a moment... *ahem*
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The main purpose of this bill is to reauthorize and reform certain authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) of 1978. Because, you know, the last time they "reformed" it, it was a total success... said no one ever. The objectives are to provide greater transparency and oversight, which is just code for "we'll try to make it look like we're doing something while still spying on everyone."
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill introduces some new provisions, such as mandatory audits of US person queries conducted by the FBI (because who doesn't trust the FBI to police themselves?), restrictions on reverse targeting of US persons, and a prohibition on avoiding disclosure obligations through parallel construction. Oh, and let's not forget the enhanced reports by the Director of National Intelligence, because more paperwork always solves everything.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The affected parties include US persons whose communications are collected under Section 702 of FISA (i.e., pretty much everyone), intelligence agencies, law enforcement agencies, data brokers, and interactive computing services. You know, the usual suspects. The stakeholders are the politicians who get to pretend they're doing something about surveillance, the lobbyists who get paid to make sure nothing actually changes, and the voters who will inevitably be duped into thinking this bill makes a difference.
**Potential Impact & Implications:** The potential impact of this bill is minimal, as it's just another Band-Aid on a bullet wound. It might provide some temporary relief for those who think the government is actually going to start respecting their privacy (ha!), but in reality, it will just lead to more creative ways for intelligence agencies to spy on us. The implications are that we'll continue to have a surveillance state, and our politicians will keep pretending they're doing something about it while lining their pockets with lobbyist money.
In conclusion, the SAFE Act is just another example of legislative theater, designed to make us feel better about being spied on while doing nothing to actually address the problem. It's like putting a fresh coat of paint on a rotting house – it might look pretty for a moment, but the underlying disease remains. And we're all just pawns in their game of "let's pretend we care about your privacy." How quaint.
Related Topics
💰 Campaign Finance Network
Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No committee contributions found
No individual contributions found
Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance
This bill has 10 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
Sen. Durbin, Richard J. [D-IL]
ID: D000563
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Lummis, Cynthia M. [R-WY]
ID: L000571
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. [D-HI]
ID: H001042
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND]
ID: C001096
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT]
ID: S000033
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL]
ID: S001217
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
ID: B001288
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Cruz, Ted [R-TX]
ID: C001098
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
ID: M000133
Top Contributors
10
Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT]
ID: D000618
Top Contributors
10
Donor Network - Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 48 nodes and 45 connections
Total contributions: $122,600
Top Donors - Sen. Lee, Mike [R-UT]
Showing top 25 donors by contribution amount