The Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committee heads discussed on Thursday...

The Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committee heads discussed on Thursday cooperating on a single surveillance overhaul bill, speaking at an executive session of the Judiciary Committee. The Senate has been considering HR-3361, the modified USA Freedom Act, which the House passed earlier this year. Senate Intelligence leadership is open to trying “to work from the House bill,” said Intelligence Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a member of Judiciary. Intelligence ranking member Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., has “concerns” with the USA Freedom Act, but “I think we can take care of them,” Feinstein said. Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who sponsored the original USA Freedom Act in the Senate, said there are “some problems” with the House-passed version of the legislation but he’s “committed to moving forward with surveillance reform legislation in the Senate,” he said. The bill would have to “effectively” ban bulk collection of metadata, he said. Feinstein outlined a need to work closely with Leahy, with one surveillance bill on the floor rather than two. Feinstein noted the significance of moving metadata storage away from the government and to companies, a system in which the “telecoms would receive immunity.”