Congress needs to reach a deal on the NSA phone program

[Commentary] President Barack Obama and Congress appear to be moving closer to a consensus on how to respond to the disclosure that the National Security Agency has been sucking up Americans’ telephone metadata. This is only one aspect of concerns about the NSA that tumbled out of the documents revealed by Edward Snowden, the former contractor who leaked them and then fled the country, winding up in Russia. But congressional action on this issue would be a good start and ought to be at the top of the agenda. The country needs a robust, agile and effective NSA in a dangerous world. Nothing should be done that would crimp its ability to collect foreign intelligence. But intelligence agencies also need the confidence of the American people. The latest disclosures have bruised that confidence. It is time for a reasonable fix.