U.S. Sen. Richard Burr will look into terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.

The Winston-Salem Republican announced today that he and Sen. Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat, are starting the Senate Caucus on WMD Terrorism.

The bipartisan group of eight senators will highlight the problem of terrorist groups obtaining nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and discuss policy responses.

"We must ensure the U.S. government continues to make the prevention of, and preparedness for, bioterrorism and other WMD threats a top priority," Burr said in a statement.

The other members of the caucus are Democratic Sens. Evan Bayh and Russ Feingold; Republican Sens. James Inhofe, Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson; and independent Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Working Mother magazine has named U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole one of the "Best of Congress."

In its annual look at "passionate legislators who champion families," the magazine notes that Dole has 11 working mothers on her staff of 45 and offers good perks.

Employees' hours and work-from-home options are flexible in extenuating circumstances. For example, when one staffer's husband was sick, she was encouraged to use a flexible schedule to balance family and work obligations, and when another employee had a difficult pregnancy confining her to bed rest, her home was set up so she could work remotely.

On policy issues, the magaizne notes that Dole has worked to extend the Family and Medical Leave Act to military families and pushed "a number of antihunger and nutrition initiatives."

Other senators honored included Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Herb Kohl and Johnny Isakson.  

The American Medical Association voiced its support for new legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina and U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia to permanently reinstate loan deferment eligibility for medical students during their residency training.

Helping medical students, residents and young doctors manage their high debt burden is a top legislative priority for the AMA.

"The average medical student today graduates with $139,000 in debt," AMA Board Member Chris DeRienzo, a medical student at Duke University School of Medicine, said in a news release. "Making it harder for residents to pay back this high debt can deter young physicians from going into primary care medicine or practicing in underserved areas where patients desperately need them."

The bill would permanently restore the medical student loan deferment program, known as the "20/220 pathway," which allows medical residents to defer payment on their loans for up to three years during their residency training based on economic hardship.

Elimination of the loan deferment was part of the recently enacted College Cost Reduction and Access Act. Congressional action is needed to permanently restore this loan deferment eligibility for medical residents, the AMA said.