We don't actually know, by the way, how much money the Appropriations gives the NSA each year; their budget is classified. We do know how much the Director of National Intelligence requests for the entire "National Intelligence Program." For the year 2014, the amount was $48.2 billion. (via Luis Martinez, ABC's Pentagon producer).  Right out of the gate, Mikulski, who is standing at her chair to give an opening statement, has not mentioned either the PRISM program or the order for Verizon's data. Instead, she's focusing on the stated reason for the hearing and avoiding what she called "techno boondoggles."  Other members of the Appropriations Committee include Sen. Patrick Leahy, the curmudgeonly Vermont Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. He was an early skeptic of the Patriot Act, but helped write a recent update to he law. Also there is Sen. Richard Shelby, the Alabama Republican who chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee during the 9/11 terror attacks.  Mikulski points out that the president has asked for more than $13 billion in cybersecurity funds. And she seems to warn other committee members that is supposed to be the focus of the hearing.... not "other programs" overseen by the NSA. We shall see.  Mikulski says "if its necessary" for the Appropriations Committee to look at the "other programs" later on, they will.  Who's talking now? that's Rand Beers. He is the "Undersecretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs." That's a mouthful.  Next up - Richard McFeely, the top cyber crime agent at the FBI. http://1.usa.gov/11a8QNB  We're 6 opening statements and 2 sets of Qs into this hearing and nobody has mentioned any of the events of the past week.  Leahy brings up the programs. Asks how many terror attacks the programs have been thwarted.  Durbin asks NSA Director Gen. Alexander about Edward Snowden's less than stellar CV to have access to all that information. Said he has trusted since 9/11 that the intelligence committee has been doing its best to hire the best.  "I do have concerns about that. I have great concerns about that," says Alexander in response to Durbin's question about Alexander's qualifications.But he adds that some people have great talent for networks.  Gen. Alexander says they are amassing data and "only in specific times" with the okay of justice and a court, do they access they data. He points to the fact that they had knowledge of terrorist activities before 9/11, but they couldn't actually locate him in the U.S.  Barbara Mikulski and Dianne Feinstein keep interrupting the good questions on NSA and phone records, asking them to ask tomorrow in closed session.  Sen. Tom Udall, R-N.M., calls the NSA domestic surveillance programs "the elephant in the room" and says more Americans are becoming just as concerned with what their own government is doing as foreign governments and companies online.  Udall wants to empower the "Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board" to investigate these programs. Alexander says the board has already been briefed on the program.  Udall points out that it is very difficult to have a free and open debate a secret program conducted in secret, with approval by a secret court, and with secret legal justification.  Alexander - "If we tell the terrorists what we're going to do, they will get through and Americans will die."  Sen. Coats thanks Alexander, says his statement should be printed in the record and published around the nation.  Up now - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. She's been the biggest defender of the NSA dragnet.  Gen. Alexander explains it is more valuable for the military to have a "civilian portal" to data than to collect and store it all itself. He uses the example of an attack on Wall Street, which he says will become apparent quicker on the civilian side.
Lawmakers will get their first chance Wednesday to publicly grill Army Gen. Keith Alexander, who runs the National Security Agency. His will be the first testimony on Capitol Hill since the  government's Internet information and phone record dragnet was disclosed last week by leaker and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in the Guardian newspaper. <br/><br/>Snowden's leaks have sparked a national debate about privacy versus national security. Alexander has testified on Capitol Hill in the past that the government does not actually collect the information of all Americans.<br/><br/>Click on the box below to watch a live stream of the hearing...<br/>