In a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, General Alexander was asked pointed questions by Senators, like Senator Jeff Merkley over the domestic spying. In the hearing, General Alexander committed to cooperating with any investigation, but otherwise provided few details. Senator Feinstein provided some of the most useful information by stating that the NSA purges the records collected from the domestic spying after five years. Unfortunately, little was revealed as chairwomen Senator Mikulski tried to steer the conversation away from the domestic spying throughout the hearing.