Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Newsmax on Thursday that Congress should revisit Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to preserve its foreign intelligence mission while preventing warrantless surveillance of Americans.

Perry told "Ed Henry the Big Take" and guest host Christina Bobb that he supports the authority when it's used against foreign targets but opposes searches involving U.S. citizens without judicial approval.

"Look, I'm for 702 as long as it's spying on foreigners, because we have to keep our country safe in a dangerous world," Perry said.

"What I'm not for is spying on American citizens without a warrant. And so, there's got to be some protections in there. And that's been the fight all along," he said.

Section 702 authorizes U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications of non-U.S. people located abroad to obtain foreign intelligence.

The program has long drawn criticism because Americans' communications can be collected incidentally, and the FBI has been permitted to query that data under certain circumstances without obtaining a warrant.

Although Congress allowed Section 702's statutory authorization to lapse in June after failing to approve another extension, surveillance conducted under existing certifications approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is expected to continue until roughly March, leaving lawmakers to debate whether and how to reauthorize the program.

Perry said previous efforts to pass a clean reauthorization without additional privacy protections fell short of what voters expected.

"The president was told the only thing that would pass was a clean FISA. That means just reauthorizing it," Perry said.

"Look, I didn't come here, the president didn't come here, and a lot of people didn't come to Washington, D.C., to maintain the status quo.

"We might not win the fights that we're in, but Americans want to see us have the fight on their behalf," he added.

Asked whether Congress has effectively deferred to the FISA court after its latest certification, Perry said lawmakers are likely to return to the issue.

"No, no, I think there are going to be ongoing discussions. I think it's going to come back," Perry said.

He added that President Donald Trump is focused on election integrity following recent Supreme Court rulings.

"We can't be acting like a Third World country and expect first world outcomes," Perry said.

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