The central change the new bill would make is in a third category of surveillance. If the government wants to eavesdrop on a foreign target or group of targets located outside the United States, and there is a possibility they will be communicating with Americans, the government can get an ''umbrella'' or ''blanket'' court order for up to one year.
That order would have to explain how the collection of data would be minimized, and how much of the communication could be collected before a regular warrant would be needed to continue listening. That is to prevent the government from ''reverse targeting'' — that is, wiretapping a foreigner to listen in on their calls to an American, which would otherwise require a court's permission.
The American Civil Liberties Union said that approach is too lax, and that a warrant should be required anytime an American's communications are intercepted or archived for later examination.
In an emergency, the government could begin surveillance without a blanket order as long as it applies for court approval within seven days, under the Democratic bill.
The bill would also require the Justice Department to reveal to Congress the details of all electronic surveillance conducted without court orders since Sept. 11, 2001, including the so-called Terrorist Surveillance Program.
The Terrorist Surveillance Program was a secret eavesdropping program undertaken after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks without the approval of the FISA court created 30 years ago to monitor such programs.
The Bush administration agreed on Oct. 5 to ''assemble'' that information by Oct. 22 — after the bill is supposed to be voted on by Congress — but warned that many of the requested documents may be withheld.