[JURIST] The Bush administration Friday officially proposed amendments [JURIST report] to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; JURIST news archive] that would subject more people to electronic surveillance within the United States. The proposed legislation, submitted a week before a Senate Intelligence Committee [official website] hearing on government surveillance slated for April 17, would allow US intelligence agencies to monitor foreign nationals - including those with US permanent residence status - without approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [FJC backgrounder]. The proposed amendments also seek to extend the life of warrants issued by the FISC from 120-days to one-year.

Earlier this week, US Director of National Intelligence John M. "Mike" McConnell [official profile] informally circulated copies of the amendments as part of a White House response to what it considers FISA's inflexibility and inability to meet the threat of terrorism. Reuters has more.