World News Korner

President Obama seeks end to the NSA's bulk data mining.

President Obama in Hague.

Courtesy of Fox Politics:

President Obama is calling on Congress to pass new legislation that would prevent the National Security Agency from collecting and holding vast amounts of data on Americans' phone calls.

The president discussed the plans during a press conference at The Hague in The Netherlands. Previewing his proposal, he claimed it would address concerns about how the bulk data collection could be exploited.

"I'm confident that [the proposal] allows us to do what is necessary in order to deal with the dangers of a terrorist threat but does so in a way that addresses some of the concerns that people have raised," Obama said.

The New York Times first reported late Monday that the administration was expected to propose that Congress overhaul the electronic surveillance program by having phone companies hold onto the call records, according to a government official briefed on the proposal.

The proposal would require that phone companies only keep the records for the 18 months currently required by federal law and allow the government to see certain records when the request is approved by a federal judge. Currently, the government holds onto those phone records for five years so the numbers can be searched for national security purposes.

A senior administration official told Fox News that the president would present "a sound approach to ensuring the government no longer collects or holds this data, but still ensures that the government has access to the information it needs to meet the national security needs his team has identified." The official also said that until the legislation is passed by Congress "the president has directed his administration to renew the current program, as modified substantially by the president in his January speech."

Yeah I know this is Fox but I watched the President say this in his press conference, and of course there is the New York times story, so it is verified.

Of course this is not enough to put every American's fears to rest, but it is certainly a necessary step in the right direction.

Of course leaving it up to Congress to pass legislation on this may be akin to dropping a container of Lego's amidst a pack of wild dogs and asking them to build you a house. And let's ask ourselves, do the Republicans in the House REALLY want to take away some of the NSA's powers?

Hmm, does anybody else smell a potential trap?

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