Congress unveils bill to limit NSA's powers

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A bipartisan group of senators introduces a bill that would prohibit the bulk collection of e-mail and phone records of US citizens.

Several US senators are trying to clamp down on the activities of the National Security Agency through a new bill.

Unveiled in Congress on Wednesday, the Intelligence Oversight and Surveillance Reform Act aims to stop the NSA's bulk collection of the records of US citizens. Specifically, the bill wants to amend certain sections of the Foreign Intelligence Services Act (FISA), which the NSA has used to justify its data gathering.

One amendment to FISA would prohibit the bulk collection of phone records, while another would prevent the bulk gathering of e-mail records. In the case of phone records, the government would still be able to get the records of anyone suspected of terrorism or anyone in contact with a suspected terrorist.

The bill would also end a loophole for "back door searches," which allow the government to access the records of American citizens without a warrant. The government would only be allowed to gather records that are to or from a suspected terrorist, rather than those that are simply "about the target."

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