Groups tell Congress to go big on NSA overhaul

Dozens of privacy, technology and political organizations are calling on Congress to radically overhaul surveillance programs at the National Security Agency (NSA) and other government offices.

As lawmakers spar over President Obama’s proposal to end the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records, the groups called for them to take up broader changes to the country’s spy agencies.

“Overbroad national security surveillance raises a host of Constitutional, human rights, and practical concerns, and we urge Congress and the Administration to address systemic reform,” the organizations wrote in a letter to top lawmakers, along with President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder. “The trust of the American people and the global public cannot be regained with legislation that achieves only modest changes to discrete programs.”

The American Civil Liberties Union, online forum reddit and conservative outfit FreedomWorks were among the 42 organizations signing the letter, which went to House and Senate leaders and top lawmakers on the Judiciary and Intelligence committees.