House Intel panel working on bill to save NSA spying

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) hinted that his National Security Agency reform legislation would preserve the bulk of the agency's surveillance powers.

He said he and ranking member Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) have held a series of meeting with their Senate counterparts, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), to discuss the legislation. "We went over some of these confidence-builders to rebuild trust in these programs and at the end of the day still allow us to do it [conduct surveillance]," Chairman Rogers said. Privacy advocates are urging Congress to rein in the NSA's power in the wake of leaks by Edward Snowden, but Chairman Rogers argued that the surveillance programs are critical for thwarting terrorist attacks. He said his legislation would rebuild trust in the NSA by requiring "as much transparency as we can possibly get" and "showing the level of oversight."