WASHINGTON — Democrat and Republican senators pressed federal intelligence officials Wednesday on the propriety of a controversial surveillance operation that collects the telephone records of millions of Americans, less than a week after the program narrowly survived a House vote on whether it should be shut down.
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing represents yet another challenge to the government's surveillance activity since details about the programs were disclosed more than a month ago by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
"Is there any way to limit the collection of the data that would continue to minimize the threat?'' Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked representatives of the NSA, Justice Department and the Office of National Intelligence.
Intelligence officials, meanwhile, opened another defense of the telephone record collection program by declassifying documents that outline the legal restrictions on the phone collection operation and how it is monitored.
"Our goal is to get out as much information as we can to provide as much transparency as we can on this,'' Deputy Attorney General James Cole told the panel.
Deputy NSA Director Chris Inglis said the program has been useful in the disruption of at least 13 domestic terror threats. In all, Inglis and others said the program and another operation that tracks the communications of non-U.S. citizens abroad have played a role in disrupting a total of 54 threats in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa.
MORE: Documents declassified 'in the public interest'
MORE: Read the declassified documents
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., raised the prospect of creating an independent counsel to consider surveillance requests presented to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to guard against potential privacy violations.
"When you look at the reach of this (phone record collection) program, it envelopes a substantial number of Americans,'' Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "It seems to me that what is being described as a very narrow program is a very broad program.''
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the panel's chairman, promised that there are "going to be proposals for changes to the law."
The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing represents yet another challenge to the government's surveillance activity since details about the programs were disclosed more than a month ago by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.
"Is there any way to limit the collection of the data that would continue to minimize the threat?'' Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., asked representatives of the NSA, Justice Department and the Office of National Intelligence.
Intelligence officials, meanwhile, opened another defense of the telephone record collection program by declassifying documents that outline the legal restrictions on the phone collection operation and how it is monitored.
"Our goal is to get out as much information as we can to provide as much transparency as we can on this,'' Deputy Attorney General James Cole told the panel.
Deputy NSA Director Chris Inglis said the program has been useful in the disruption of at least 13 domestic terror threats. In all, Inglis and others said the program and another operation that tracks the communications of non-U.S. citizens abroad have played a role in disrupting a total of 54 threats in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Africa.
MORE: Documents declassified 'in the public interest'
MORE: Read the declassified documents
Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., raised the prospect of creating an independent counsel to consider surveillance requests presented to the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to guard against potential privacy violations.
"When you look at the reach of this (phone record collection) program, it envelopes a substantial number of Americans,'' Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "It seems to me that what is being described as a very narrow program is a very broad program.''
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the panel's chairman, promised that there are "going to be proposals for changes to the law."