Consensus Nears to Overhaul NSA Phone Surveillance

The White House and congressional leaders have settled on comparable proposals for ending the government's mass collection of telephone records, signaling the eventual end of a practice that critics said had come to epitomize US surveillance overreach in the post-9/11 era.

The proposals signified a rapidly expanding consensus among lawmakers, intelligence agencies and civil-liberties groups on how to overhaul the National Security Agency program. But the developments didn't offer assurance of quick congressional passage, which would require support from lawmakers who favor more limitations on surveillance. Moving any legislation through Congress in an election year will be challenging, particularly highly sensitive bills. Yet, the clock is ticking. If Congress doesn't approve a revamped version of the program, the current one is likely to end when the law that authorizes it expires next year, lawmakers say. The proposals from the White House and House intelligence committee both would replace a system reliant on daily data feeds to the NSA with one that directs phone companies to conduct individual searches of their data on the NSA's behalf.

There is one key difference between the proposals: The White House would have a judge approve each search beforehand, while the House panel wants the approval afterward. Civil libertarians prefer the White House approach.