Obama's NSA speech live: Incremental reforms expected The White House has stood firm in its defense of much of the National Security Agency's work over the past several years. But Obama has been under pressure to respond to the continued revelations about the scale and breadth of the NSA's surveillance practices at home and abroad. The program that has drawn the most attention following Snowden's leaks, the large-scale collection of American phone records, will be largely left alone, according to White House aides. Live video: Obama speaks on NSA surveillance reform Instead of announcing new restrictions on the program, Obama is expected to defer to Congress on whether to restructure the regulation of the NSA's database of telephone records. Obama previously appointed an independent panel to review U.S. surveillance practices and suggest improvements to the White House. The panel released a report in December that listed 46 recommendations, including changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and limits to surveillance of allies. Look below for live coverage of Obama's speech from The Times' politics team. Mobile users can click here for live updates. 2013: A year in photos Great Read: The Colo. town that hates drones The year's top political photos