Proposed legislation backed by Democrats would enhance congressional oversight of the United States' covert spying programs, analysts say.

The bill, approved by the House Intelligence Committee last week, seeks to cancel out the president's powers to keep classified spy operations secret from members of oversight committees other than their leaders, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

The legislation is a bid to end the controversial practice of including only members of the "Gang of Eight" -- which include the party leaders of the House and Senate and the ranking party members on each intelligence committee -- in briefings on clandestine programs, the newspaper said.

The measure is opposed by Republicans but backed by Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, chairman of the intelligence panel, who reportedly has said it would "have wide-ranging consequences for the way the committee conducts its business."

"If this provision becomes law, Gang of Eight briefings will either be eliminated or very much restricted," an unnamed Democratic congressional aide familiar with the legislation told the Times.