Senate hearings address privacy protections

Lawmakers will discuss privacy issues at two Senate hearings next week.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the National Security Agency’s (NSA) domestic surveillance programs. Senators will be reviewing a report from a review group commissioned by President Obama to see if Americans’ rights to privacy were violated.

{mosads}Richard Clarke, a former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Counter-terrorism, will testify at that hearing.

Lawmakers and the public became outraged after a former government contractor, Edward Snowden, released information proving the NSA used its power to collect information on U.S. citizens. Some senators have said the NSA program went too far and violated the Fourth Amendment.

On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing titled, “The Future of Unmanned Aviation in the U.S. Economy: Safety and Privacy Considerations.”

Lawmakers have also grown concerned about the use of drones within the United States. But some companies, such as Amazon, have suggested that the technology could be useful for their business.

Drones are more commonly used by the military and for spying.

Details on these and other committee hearings follow:

Senate Aging

– Jan. 15, “Aging in Comfort: Assessing the Special Needs of America’s Holocaust Survivors”

2:15 p.m., 562 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Armed Services

– Jan. 16, “Nominations: Creedon, Carson, LaPlante”

9 a.m., SD-G50, Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

– Jan. 16, “Progress Report on Public Transportation Under MAP-21”

10 a.m., 538 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation

– Jan. 15, “The Future of Unmanned Aviation in the U.S. Economy: Safety and Privacy Considerations”

2:30 p.m., 253 Russell Senate Office Building

– Jan. 16, “Locating 911 Callers in a Wireless World”

10:30 a.m., 253 Russell Senate Office Building

Senate Environment and Public Works

– Jan. 16, “Review of the President’s Climate Action Plan”

9:15 a.m., 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Finance

– Jan. 15, “Nominations”

10 a.m., 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

– Jan, 16, “Advancing Congress’s Trade Agenda, The Role of Trade Negotiating Authority”

10 a.m., 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Foreign Relations

– Jan. 15, “Business Meeting and Implications of the Crisis in Ukraine Hearing”

2 p.m., 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building

– Jan. 16, “Nominations”

2:30 p.m., 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension

– Jan. 16, “Strengthening Federal Access Programs to Meet 21st Century Needs: A Look at TRIO and GEAR UP”

10 a.m., 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

– Jan. 14, “Examining Conference and Travel Spending Across the Federal Government”

10:30 a.m., 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight

– Jan. 14, “Management of Air Traffic Controller Training Contracts”

2:30 p.m., 342 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Senate Judiciary

– Jan. 14, “The Report of the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies”

2:30 p.m., 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Joint Economic 

– Jan. 16, “Income Inequality in the United States”

10 a.m., 216 Hart Senate Office Building