Congress, Reform | featured news

Congress and the White House have just begun exploring policies that would revamp the country’s immigration laws. A bipartisan group of senators have proposed a new pathway to citizenship Monday and, later Tuesday, President Obama is expected to unveil his own reform plan.

A bipartisan group of leading senators has reached agreement on the principles for a sweeping overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, including a path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country. The deal, to be announced at a news conference Monday, also covers border security, non-citizen or "guest" workers and employer verification of immigration status.

Gun control advocates marched to the National Rifle Association's Capitol Hill office on Monday, in an effort to pressure the powerful organization to stop standing in the way of reform.

The plan, containing sweeping austerity and reform proposals, receives support from 11 of the 18 members on the bipartisan commission, but 14 votes were needed to require Congress to consider it.

The bill still needs to be reconciled with legislation passed by the House in July 2009, but the Senate action was hailed by advocates as a sign that the nation's food-safety laws will receive their first major overhaul in decades. After languishing for more than a year, a food-safety bill that has enjoyed strong bipartisan support passed the Senate on Tuesday, raising prospects for tougher and more extensive federal inspections and other safeguards.

President Obama is telling immigration reform advocates that he is working with Congress on a bill to fix a "broken" system.

Bernanke called on Congress to act on financial reform efforts, as the central bank itself works to implement a number of measures that should help shore up the financial system.