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Administration highlights surveillance reforms

With legislation to overhaul a key surveillance program stalled on Capitol Hill, the Obama Administration issued a report Tuesday highlighting reforms it has made to the nation's snooping efforts since Edward Snowden jump-started public debate on the issue with a series of unauthorized revelations more than a year ago.

The report, promised by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address (and posted here), incorporates previously announced changes to the intelligence-gathering programs as well as some new restrictions imposed as recently as Monday by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

The catalog of tweaks to surveillance efforts was released to mark the one-year anniversary of a speech Obama gave last January calling for surveillance reforms. Obama called for legislation to ease one of the key reforms he endorsed—an end to bulk collection of telephone records in the U.S.

Such legislation passed the House last year but died in the Senate. Its prospects for this year are unclear, although the legal authority for the program is set to expire on June 1. Critics of the program have called for Obama to simply shut it down, which he can do. But he wants to replace it with a streamlined system to acquire similar information from phone companies on a case-by-case basis—a system which would likely require legislation to establish.

Among the new surveillance safeguards discussed in Tuesday's report:

—A five-year limit on retention of information about foreigners who don't hold U.S. residency, subject to exceptions to be established by Clapper.

—No dissemination of such information solely because it pertains to a foreigner.

—A written statement of facts will be required before using a U.S. person's name or other identifier to query data produced by the so-called 702 program set up to collect intelligence on foreigners.

—Intelligence about Americans collected in the 702 program must be destroyed if it lacks foreign intelligence value.

—Use of 702 information to prosecute a U.S. citizen will require the approval of the attorney general and be available only in national security cases or "other serious crimes."

—Gag orders accompanying National Security Letters used by the FBI to obtain information will end when an investigation ends or three years after it is opened, unless officials take steps to extend the gag in a specific case.

"Our signals intelligence activities must take into account that all persons have legitimate privacy interests in the handling of their personal information. At the same time, we must ensure that our Intelligence Community has the resources and authorities necessary for the United States to advance its national security and foreign policy interests and to protect its citizens and the citizens of its allies and partners from harm," White House Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Adviser Lisa Monaco said in a statement. "As we continue to face threats from terrorism, proliferation, and cyber-attacks, we must use our intelligence capabilities in a way that optimally protects our national security and supports our foreign policy while keeping the public trust and respecting privacy and civil liberties."

Monaco's statement did not discuss any talks between Congress and the White House about surveillance legislation. She did indicate that an update on the collection of so-called "big data" by private companies is set to be released in the coming days.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a sharp critic of the phone-records program, said he didn't think much of the administration's update on its surveillance reforms.

"My first impression on reading this report is it’s hard to see much ‘there’ there. When it comes to reforming intelligence programs and protecting Americans’ privacy, there is much, much more work to be done,” Wyden said in a statement.

Many of the reforms outlined in Clapper's report were urged by the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. It issued a statement Tuesday noting the embrace of most of its recommendations, but also observing that Obama hasn't moved unilaterally to end the call-tracking program.

"The Administration has not implemented the Board’s recommendation to halt the NSA’s bulk telephone records program, which it could do at any time without congressional involvement," the panel noted.

Wyden also called on Obama to halt the program.

One congressman said Tuesday that the White House and the intelligence community could move forward with plans for an overhaul of the phone records program even before a bill addressing the issue passes.

"While legislation may ultimately be necessary and is certainly desirable, the technical work for this change can and should start now. We also need to move forward on further legislative reforms to establish an independent privacy advocate in the FISA Court and to otherwise increase transparency and civil liberties," said Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. "Congress should take up reform legislation to accomplish these goals as soon as possible."

UPDATE (Tuesday, 12:16 P.M.): This post has been updated with the statements from the White House and PCLOB.

UPDATE 2 (Tuesday, 12:37 P.M.): This post has been updated with Schiff's comment.

UPDATE 3 (Tuesday, 6:33 P.M.): This post has been updated with Wyden's comment.