House Renews Key NSA Surveillance Program 'FISA' The House passed the vote 256-164 and now goes to the Senate for consideration. FISA stands for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. President Trump spoke out against the bill Thursday morning, which has received criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Section 702 of the bill, which allows the US government to track and collect the communications of foreigners overseas without a warrant, has come into question. The program was initially approved by Congress in 2008 and designed to track and thwart foreign terrorists in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Trump later endorsed the bill.