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Feinstein, Rogers agree -- NSA only following orders

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The heads of U.S. Senate and House committees on intelligence called Sunday for a review of the National Security Agency's information-gathering priorities.

In CBS' "Face the Nation," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said the NSA, in collecting massive amounts of cellphone and online data, was following directions given to it by political leaders to keep the country safe.

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Feinstein said President Barack Obama's review of the NSA should include considering which information gets collected and what criteria are used in the collection process.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., leader of the House Intelligence Committee, agreed with Feinstein that the NSA was only following orders set by the administration, the National Security Council and other cabinet members, but said the organization was doing so to protect the United States from outside threats.

"The question isn't how you reign in the NSA," he said.

"It is the NSA, the CIA and others' charge to make that zero [deaths from terrorist attacks] happen here. Zero. That's our standard," he said. "And so, what we've asked them to do is go out and collect information that protects America."

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