Patriot Act author preps Freedom Act to rein in NSA

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), the original author of the USA Patriot Act, plans to introduce legislation in the "next few days" to restrict the National Security Agency's surveillance power. His bill, which is co-authored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), will be titled the USA Freedom Act.

The legislation would end the NSA's bulk collection of U.S. phone records, strengthen prohibitions against targeting the communications of Americans and require the government to more aggressively delete information accidentally collected on Americans. The bill would also create a special advocate's office tasked with arguing in favor of stronger privacy protections before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. In a speech at the Cato Institute, Sensenbrenner argued that the Patriot Act's "relevance" requirement was meant to prevent the kind of bulk collection the NSA is now conducting. Rep Sensebrenner argued that legislation from Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the heads of the Intelligence committees, is "a way to provide a fig leaf" to continue the surveillance programs unchanged.