The verdict is in on Independent Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. He will keep his chairmanship but lose his position on another panel.

The Access Act is gaining support from both sides of the aisle in congress and the senate. Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus have just signed on. Please write your representatives and senators to request their support of the Access Act.

A petition has been created (link below) that will also be sent to The Hill.

The U.S. Senate has approved a $3 trillion budget plan that extends some of President Bush's tax cuts, including relief for the working poor.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has withdrawn from Senate consideration a bill that calls for a troop pullout from Iraq and a cut-off of funds for the war because it lacked support. Congressional Democrats hope to revisit the issue in the coming months, but for now, have turned their attention to the economic impact the Iraq war is having on their domestic priorities. VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

A bill to cut off funding for the Iraq war survived a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate Tuesday. The action came as Army officials told lawmakers they hope combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan can be shortened beginning later this year, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The U.S. Senate has approved a resolution urging the creation of a loose, centralized system of government for Iraq. The resolution, which passed Wednesday by a vote of 75 to 23, calls for a political settlement that would essentially divide Iraq into three ethnic, semi-autonomous regions controlled by Sunnis, Shi'ites and Kurds.

The U.S. Senate has rejected, by a 28 to 70 vote, a Democratic-sponsored measure to withdraw troops from Iraq and cut funding for the war. The measure, proposed as an amendment to a defense bill, called for most U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by next June and cutting off financing for military operations.

Legislation to regulate U.S. troop deployment cycles in Iraq was blocked in the U.S. Senate late Wednesday by Republican opponents who argued the measure could undermine the war effort. The action was a blow to Senate Democrats who are seeking to challenge the Bush administration's Iraq war policy.

President Bush has announced the resignation of Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns. At the White House Thursday, the president thanked Johanns for his service to the department.

U.S. Senator Larry Craig of the northwestern state of Idaho announced his resignation Saturday after being arrested in June in an undercover sex sting.

The Democratic chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has threatened to hold members of the Bush administration in contempt for withholding documents subpoenaed by his panel. The administration did not meet a Monday deadline for handing over information about the legal justification for its wiretapping program, as VOA's Deborah Tate reports from Capitol Hill.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved the re-authorization for an additional five years of conservation programs for African elephants, Asian elephants, rhinos and tigers.