Lawmakers expect President Barack Obama to announce changes to the National Security Agency's metadata surveillance program before he makes his State of the Union address on Jan. 28.
The president met in private session with 16 members of the House and Senate Thursday,
reports The Hill, and while he did not endorse any specific reforms, he said the NSA's surveillance programs will have to undergo reform, said lawmakers after the meeting.
"Close to half the members of Congress" think reforms and reductions should be made to Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows the NSA to collect bulk data on phone calls inside the United States, said Colorado Democratic Sen. Mark Udall.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama is still considering options,
reports CBS News.
"He's not yet finished with that and he is still soliciting input, which he did today, sort of reviewing the scope of the matter and some of the ideas that were presented," Carney said.
Some parts of the program will still require reviews beyond the next few weeks, even if Obama makes an announcement, he added.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said after the meeting that he "wouldn't be surprised a bit" if Obama makes an announcement next week.
"Many of us made clear our belief that the bulk collection of Americans’ phone calls must end,” Leahy said in a press statement. "This is consistent with the recommendations made by the President’s Review Group."
Leahy acknowledged there are differences of opinion among lawmakers, "but at least the president knows where we stand."
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has said she will kill legislation sponsored by Leahy and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., to end the phone records collections.
The Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technology
last month proposed ending the government's storage of metadata. After the meeting, Feinstein bashed that plan, saying it could cost phone carriers as much as $60 million a year to store records.
But lawmakers said Obama is more likely to take other actions, including adding a public advocate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
Other senators at Thursday's meeting included Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-G
a., the ranking GOP member on the intelligence panel; Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.; Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. However, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a prominent NSA critic, was not invited.
House members present were House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers , R-Mich.; House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va.; Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.; Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J.; Rep. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind.; Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Sensenbrenner.
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