Boehner says Obama should explain NSA program

WASHINGTON (AP) ? House Speaker John Boehner is calling on President Barack Obama to explain why the data-collecting tools used by the National Security Agency are necessary.

Boehner also won't say whether he was briefed or knew about the program.

Boehner responded to the publication of a top secret court order for telephone records of millions of U.S. customers of Verizon. The Ohiol Republican says he's confident that House and Senate intelligence committees are providing oversight of the NSA. But he says it's time for Obama to "outline the issues" and explain why such tools are critical. He says Congress will look at any policy and privacy concerns of citizens.

The Obama administration has defended the NSA's activities, calling them important and saying they were approved by all three branches of government.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-06-NSA-Phone%20Records-Boehner/id-9b3a46aef32a42cdb5a386b9906e5f5c

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