Group Reports on US Intelligence-Gathering-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:06.97]this is In the News. [00:09.17]A special advisory group in the United States [00:12.93]is urging President Barack Obama to make changes [00:17.09]to the government's surveillance programs. [00:20.43]The group offered its suggestions [00:22.67]in a report released this week. [00:25.68]Mr. Obama ordered the report [00:28.56]on the intelligence gathering activities [00:31.21]earlier this year. [00:32.86]The order followed information leaks from Edward Snowden, [00:37.86]a former National Security Agency contract worker. [00:42.26]The leaks created a huge problem [00:46.00]for the NSA and the president. [00:48.60]They also added to public knowledge [00:52.66]about government information gathering, [00:56.00]including the collection of data [00:58.71]from telephone calls and activities on the Internet. [01:03.07]The surveillance programs are operating [01:07.21]under U.S. congressional approval. [01:09.91]They have been amended at different times, [01:13.36]and are under the supervision of a special court. [01:17.55]Mr. Obama has described the programs [01:22.09]as important to keeping Americans safe. [01:26.44]But he has called for more "self-restraint" by the NSA. [01:32.53]In its report, the Review Group on Intelligence [01:38.53]and Communications Technologies proposes 46 changes. [01:44.03]One is to end the government's storage of "metadata" [01:50.04]of the telephone records of Americans. [01:53.17]The report proposes that private companies [01:57.52]or a non-government agency keep the records instead, not the NSA. [02:04.86]Another proposal is to require a court to approve [02:10.70]individual searches of phone and Internet data records. [02:15.80]The report also proposes limits on the NSA's power [02:21.39]to study known targets of counter terrorism surveillance [02:26.44]after they enter the United States. [02:29.33]The report is calling for a new process to identify [02:35.04]"uses and limits of surveillance [02:38.98]on foreign leaders and in foreign nations." [02:42.67]It says decisions should consider whether other methods [02:47.73]or targets of collection could provide needed information. [02:52.72]The review group met with President Obama on Wednesday [02:58.17]after sending him their report last week. [03:01.66]Press secretary Jay Carney said President Obama [03:07.21]plans to study the document over the holidays. [03:10.75]He will speak to the nation about it next month [03:15.14]after a separate government investigation is completed. [03:19.29]"The president has been clear [03:20.43]that even as we review our efforts [03:21.94]and make some changes in how we do things, [03:25.98]we will not harm our ability to face those threats. [03:30.29]That is, his number one obligation as commander-in-chief." [03:34.33]The official US position on Edward Snowden remains unchanged. [03:40.41]The Obama administration says he should return [03:44.80]to the United States to face criminal charges. [03:48.49]It disagrees with suggestions that he receive a pardon [03:53.44]to prevent him from releasing additional information. [03:57.74]Earlier this week a federal court ruled [04:02.73]that secretly collecting the telephone records of Americans [04:06.82]is likely unconstitutional. [04:10.07]Mr. Obama also faced pressure from leaders of high-tech companies. [04:16.49]Reports said they urged him to make aggressive reforms, [04:21.38]and expressed concern about damage to the United States' image [04:26.42]and business interests overseas. [04:29.41]The "60 Minutes" television program recently spoke [04:34.55]with the head of the NSA, Keith Alexander. [04:38.42]He denied that the agency is collecting e-mails [04:42.06]or listening to the phone calls of Americans. [04:46.00]He said the NSA's job is foreign intelligence. [04:50.75]And that's In the News, from VOA Learning English. [04:54.94]I'm Faith Lapidus.