Congressional intelligence committees in the House and Senate are regularly briefed on intelligence programs, including PRISM and the telephone metadata program, US officials say. But while President Obama said that “every member” of Congress has been briefed, it appears that it is primarily members of the intelligence committees who knew about them.
Additional oversight comes from the FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) court, which orders companies to share data and is overseen by several federal judges. FISA court opinions and reports are given to Congress semi-annually. Also, the inspectors general of various agencies may review their agencies’ compliance with the law. Critics say that far more oversight is needed.
