Obama: Don't defund NSA surveillance

David Jackson | USA TODAY

The White House is weighing in against a congressional proposal that would block funding for the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone data.

"We oppose the current effort in the House to hastily dismantle one of our intelligence community's counterterrorism tools," said a statement from President Obama's press secretary, Jay Carney.

In opposing an amendment being pushed by Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., Carney said that Obama welcomes a debate on surveillance, but opposes a "blunt approach" that could compromise national security.

It's not known whether the full House will approve the Amash amendment, or if the Senate would follow suit.

In any event, Obama would likely veto any attempt to cut NSA surveillance funding.

Carney's full statement:

"In light of the recent unauthorized disclosures, the president has said that he welcomes a debate about how best to simultaneously safeguard both our national security and the privacy of our citizens.

"The administration has taken various proactive steps to advance this debate, including the president's meeting with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, his public statements on the disclosed programs, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's release of its own public statements, ODNI General Counsel Bob Litt's speech at Brookings, and ODNI's decision to declassify and disclose publicly that the Administration filed an application with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. We look forward to continuing to discuss these critical issues with the American people and the Congress.

"However, we oppose the current effort in the House to hastily dismantle one of our intelligence community's counterterrorism tools.

"This blunt approach is not the product of an informed, open, or deliberative process. We urge the House to reject the Amash Amendment, and instead move forward with an approach that appropriately takes into account the need for a reasoned review of what tools can best secure the nation."