US Senate debates extension of government spying powers in FISA law

The US Senate debated a bill today to extend the government’s spying powers until 2017. The controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is set to expire the end of this month. The Bush-era law allows the government to monitor e-mail and phone communications between foreign nationals and US citizens, without proving probable cause or identifying a national security threat. Several Senators are demanding more oversight of the program to prevent violations of privacy, but pressure from both sides of the aisle to pass the bill before it expires could postpone the debate around the secrecy and constitutionality of government surveillance until 2013.  On Capitol Hill, FSRN’s Alice Ollstein reports.