Group Reports on US Intelligence-Gathering

Song Group Reports on US Intelligence-Gathering
Artist 英语听力
Album VOA慢速英语:时事报道

Lyrics

[00:00.10] From VOA Learning English,
[00:06.97] this is In the News.
[00:09.17] A special advisory group in the United States
[00:12.93] is urging President Barack Obama to make changes
[00:17.09] to the government's surveillance programs.
[00:20.43] The group offered its suggestions
[00:22.67] in a report released this week.
[00:25.68] Mr. Obama ordered the report
[00:28.56] on the intelligence gathering activities
[00:31.21] earlier this year.
[00:32.86] The order followed information leaks from Edward Snowden,
[00:37.86] a former National Security Agency contract worker.
[00:42.26] The leaks created a huge problem
[00:46.00] for the NSA and the president.
[00:48.60] They also added to public knowledge
[00:52.66] about government information gathering,
[00:56.00] including the collection of data
[00:58.71] from telephone calls and activities on the Internet.
[01:03.07] The surveillance programs are operating
[01:07.21] under U.S. congressional approval.
[01:09.91] They have been amended at different times,
[01:13.36] and are under the supervision of a special court.
[01:17.55] Mr. Obama has described the programs
[01:22.09] as important to keeping Americans safe.
[01:26.44] But he has called for more "self-restraint" by the NSA.
[01:32.53] In its report, the Review Group on Intelligence
[01:38.53] and Communications Technologies proposes 46 changes.
[01:44.03] One is to end the government's storage of "metadata"
[01:50.04] of the telephone records of Americans.
[01:53.17] The report proposes that private companies
[01:57.52] or a non-government agency keep the records instead, not the NSA.
[02:04.86] Another proposal is to require a court to approve
[02:10.70] individual searches of phone and Internet data records.
[02:15.80] The report also proposes limits on the NSA's power
[02:21.39] to study known targets of counter terrorism surveillance
[02:26.44] after they enter the United States.
[02:29.33] The report is calling for a new process to identify
[02:35.04] "uses and limits of surveillance
[02:38.98] on foreign leaders and in foreign nations."
[02:42.67] It says decisions should consider whether other methods
[02:47.73] or targets of collection could provide needed information.
[02:52.72] The review group met with President Obama on Wednesday
[02:58.17] after sending him their report last week.
[03:01.66] Press secretary Jay Carney said President Obama
[03:07.21] plans to study the document over the holidays.
[03:10.75] He will speak to the nation about it next month
[03:15.14] after a separate government investigation is completed.
[03:19.29] "The president has been clear
[03:20.43] that even as we review our efforts
[03:21.94] and make some changes in how we do things,
[03:25.98] we will not harm our ability to face those threats.
[03:30.29] That is, his number one obligation as commander-in-chief."
[03:34.33] The official US position on Edward Snowden remains unchanged.
[03:40.41] The Obama administration says he should return
[03:44.80] to the United States to face criminal charges.
[03:48.49] It disagrees with suggestions that he receive a pardon
[03:53.44] to prevent him from releasing additional information.
[03:57.74] Earlier this week a federal court ruled
[04:02.73] that secretly collecting the telephone records of Americans
[04:06.82] is likely unconstitutional.
[04:10.07] Mr. Obama also faced pressure from leaders of high-tech companies.
[04:16.49] Reports said they urged him to make aggressive reforms,
[04:21.38] and expressed concern about damage to the United States' image
[04:26.42] and business interests overseas.
[04:29.41] The "60 Minutes" television program recently spoke
[04:34.55] with the head of the NSA, Keith Alexander.
[04:38.42] He denied that the agency is collecting e-mails
[04:42.06] or listening to the phone calls of Americans.
[04:46.00] He said the NSA's job is foreign intelligence.
[04:50.75] And that's In the News, from VOA Learning English.
[04:54.94] I'm Faith Lapidus.