Is the NSA spying on Congress?

I have been waiting on it and it finally arrived!! Congress finally had an A-HA moment and decided to start asking questions of the NSA. Specifically: Are you spying on Congress???

Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont, wrote a note to General Keith Alexander, head of the NSA, asking: "Has the NSA spied, or is the NSA currently spying, on members of Congress or other America elected officials?"

The NSA's response:
"NSA's authorities to collect signals intelligence data include procedures that protect the privacy of U.S. persons. Such protections are built into and cut across the entire process. Members of Congress have the same privacy protections as all U.S. persons," the agency said in a statement. "Our interaction with Congress has been extensive both before and since the media disclosures began last June."

I hope the Senator can translate the statement into: Well, Duh!!