Leahy Calls Another Hearing on NSA Surveillance Programs

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold another hearing on the National Security Agency's surveillance programs when Congress returns next month from its August recess, Chairman Patrick Leahy announced Friday.

The Vermont Democrat called the hearing after The Washington Post reported that the NSA has broken privacy rules or gone beyond its legal authority thousands of times a year since Congress conferred wide surveillance powers on the agency in 2008.

"The American people rely on the intelligence community to provide forthright and complete information so that Congress and the courts can properly conduct oversight. I remain concerned that we are still not getting straightforward answers from the NSA," Leahy said in a statement, The Hill reported Friday afternoon.

"I plan to hold another hearing on these matters in the Judiciary Committee and will continue to demand honest and forthright answers from the intelligence community."

The committee conducted a hearing last month concerning supervision of the U.S. intelligence surveillance programs. Top intelligence officials testified, including NSA officials.

Leahy has been one of Congress' biggest critics of NSA data collection programs.

"Using advanced surveillance technologies in secret demands close oversight and appropriate checks and balances, and the American people deserve no less than that," he said in his statement.