# Cato Expert: Letting Section 702 Expire Would Force Real Surveillance Reform 

As FISA is set to expire at the end of April, members of Congress are working to reauthorize the surveillance program.

March 24, 2026 • News Releases 

As FISA is set to expire at the end of April, members of Congress are working to reauthorize the surveillance program. A recent [op-ed](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fthedispatch.com*2Farticle*2Ffisa-section-702-surveillance-intelligence*2F/1/0100019d204554e2-91643f95-44cf-4fc8-9a42-dd11be6b7ac9-000000/P4qmVzDdqQKRwy-RTiYklhAtPMk=471___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmE3Nzc1MGNlZmNmNTJmZjYxMmEzZDZlMWM0ODA4MmMzOjc6NzYyZTowMzZmN2ZjZWNlZjFlMjU2ZWRjZDUzODZlZWFiYzNiOGQ0MTA0YmM0ZGNkNTk4Y2NkMWM2OWQ5NTA1MjFmYzAyOmg6VDpO) by [Pat Eddington](https://url.avanan.click/v2/r01/___https://zwly9k6z.r.us-east-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:*2F*2Fwww.cato.org*2Fpeople*2Fpatrick-g-eddington/1/0100019d204554e2-91643f95-44cf-4fc8-9a42-dd11be6b7ac9-000000/j9fcBWzxCWaUWoRQNPPVnh18AnE=471___.YXAzOmNhdG9pbnN0aXR1dGU6YTpvOmE3Nzc1MGNlZmNmNTJmZjYxMmEzZDZlMWM0ODA4MmMzOjc6NjkyMDowNDM1ZTI2N2VkYmVhMTJhYWNlNzYxYWRmZDExZDY0MzgwMjkzYmYyNDFjZDk3OGMzY2NiY2ZkMGQxN2UzMTkzOmg6VDpO), a senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute, details the issues with the current program and discusses why letting the program expire will allow for true reforms to the program, writing in part:

> *“If Section 702 expires for a time, it wouldn’t be the end of FISA. But it would force a badly needed reckoning with its abuses — and provide Congress with time to agree on a bill that would preclude such abuses in the future. If the executive branch resists such reforms, that resistance itself would be telling: Maybe the current system depends less on legitimate intelligence needs than on the continued availability of sweeping surveillance powers.”*

To speak with Eddington on the FISA program, contact [Christopher Tarvardian](mailto:ctarvardian@cato.org).

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