Policy

Officials Say Obama is Likely To Approve Changes To Collection of Phone Records

The president will make a speech about surveillance on Friday

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is expected to endorse changes to the way the government collects millions of Americans' phone records for possible future surveillance, but he'll leave many of the specific adjustments for Congress to sort out, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the White House intelligence review.

That move would thrust much of the decision-making on Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act toward a branch of government that is deeply divided over the future of the surveillance apparatus. And members of Congress are in no hurry to settle their differences and quickly enact broad changes.