Views on Capitol Hill over reforming NSA policies aren't breaking along party lines, as libertarian Republicans join with leftist Democrats to oppose the mass collection of phone records.

President Obama says hed like to put the US government out of the business of storing Americans phone records though he maintains its still necessary to collect those records en masse for anti-terrorism purposes. To make this and other suggested changes to the National Security Agency's surveillance system, hell need the help of Congress.

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Capitol Hill, however, is as divided on the subject as is the American public. Libertarian-minded conservatives align with liberals in opposing the phone-dragnet program altogether, while other Republicans and Democrats largely support it. Last July, the House fell short of ending the NSAs bulk collection of phone records, on a close, bipartisan vote.

On the key House and Senate committees responsible for drafting relevant legislation, members of the judiciary panels tend to want wholesale changes, while those dealing with intelligence want only tweaks.But even that is a bit of a generalization, as division also marks the committees. The upshot is that Congress could well have a tough time agreeing on the legislation required to alter the program.

Considertwo key changes proposed by the president, both of which would require approval by Congress:

President Obama proposes that the government stop holding phone records. In making this recommendation, the president followed the advice of a blue-chip review panel he convened after the furor over massive leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Although the panel found no intentional abuse of the records so far and the NSA collects data about a phone call but not its content it warned that the government's storage of the data creates the potential for abuse and public mistrust. Mr. Obama has asked the attorney general to come up with an alternative storage arrangement. The panel suggested either keeping it with the phone companies or entrusting it with a third party.

"While I am encouragedthe president is addressing the NSA spying program because of pressure from Congress and the American people, I am disappointed in the details, said Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky, in a statement. The senator, a tea party favorite, described Obamas solution as the same unconstitutional program with a new configuration. In the end, Senator Paul told CNN, little changes: Private records will still be collected without a search warrant. He gave Obama an A for effort though.

Read more:

NSA reform? Obama faces headwinds in a Congress divided on surveillance policy.