The surveillance program, to begin June 1, will last 12 to 18 months.
The Bush administration has made similar arguments in connection with the surveillance program.
Everyone from Hayden on down knew that she had opposed the surveillance program.
"I'm not going to apologize for what I did on the terrorist surveillance program," he said.
The government says the surveillance program is a legal and valuable tool in the war on terror.
It relied on doctors to register women who used the drug in a surveillance program.
The nationwide surveillance program included air monitoring of more than 100 private properties in the Washington area.
I promise we're not going to have a terrorist surveillance program.
The administration also says the president has inherent authority under the Constitution to conduct the surveillance program.
The presumptive positive today is a result of our aggressive surveillance program.