Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has introduced legislation to reform America’s surveillance powers, Slate reports. The FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2013—which is cosponsored by nine additional senators—would narrow the scope of Section 215; allow for judicial review of “gag orders” provisions; move up the FISA Amendments Act sunset clause by two years; require the inspector general of the intelligence community to conduct a comprehensive review of the current law and its impact on citizens’ privacy, and mandate the release of an unclassified report for the public on the impact of the surveillance programs on individual privacy, the report states. The Senate Judiciary will host a hearing on privacy and the NSA disclosures on Wednesday.
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