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.

Sen. Richard Burr is introducing an amendment to the economic stimulus package that would end Congress' automatic pay increases.

"As the law is currently written, Congress has to hold a vote to disapprove an automatic pay raise. As you can guess, these votes don't happen too often," Burr wrote on his Senate blog.

He added, "With every American family tightening belts in these tough times, Congress needs to follow suit."

Burr's office doesn't know whether his amendment will get a vote in the Senate.

But he isn't alone in his suggestion. Two House members, Republican Ron Paul of Texas and Democrat Harry Mitchell of Arizona, have introduced legislation blocking the pay increase next year. Mitchell also tried to get it inserted into the House version of the stimulus bill.

And just last week, fellow Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, re-introduced legislation forcing Congress to take a public vote on its increases. Feingold has long opposed the automatic pay hikes, and he says he has returned them to the Treasury since he was sworn-in in 1992.

Burr did not turn down the most recent pay increase. In January, he and other rank-and-file members of Congress received a $4,700 increase to bring their annual salaries to $174,000.

Burr's office says his amendment would apply to pay increases going forward.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller wants the U.S. Department of Justice to come out of the dark and embrace the sunlight.

Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, introduced legislation today that would force the Justice agency to give more information to Congress about what he calls "secret law," Barb Barrett reports.

Such secrecy has been used in the past, as in a memo by legal counsel John Woo in 2003 that allowed for extreme interrogation techniques, according to Miller.

The bill would require the U.S. Attorney General to tell Congress whenever the executive branch decides it is not bound by federal law.

The White House has in the past relied on secret legal opinions to avoid following the law, charges Miller and Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, who introduced a companion bill in the Senate.

Feingold held a hearing on the issue last spring that found a loophole in the current law that allows some legal decisions to remain secret.

The bill includes special procedures for national security matters.

Beverly Perdue wants to set up an endowment for gubernatorial campaigns.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate proposed creating the Endowment for Positive Gubernatorial Campaigns — a $50 million trust fund that would pay for campaigns that avoid negative ads, address "major issues" and agree to a series of debates.

"The people of North Carolina, like the rest of the nation, are losing trust in the political system," she said in a statement. "The perception of corruption and a 'pay to play' environment has led to the belief that ordinary citizens do not have as much influence in politics as the rich and powerful."

The proposal is based on former state Sen. Wib Gulley's 1995 bill, which was praised by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, and a similar endowment for Congressional campaigns proposed by U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold and Vice President Al Gore.

A bipartisan board of 12 individuals appointed by legislative leaders would run the endowment, select the major issues and determine if candidates had qualified with signatures and small donations.

Participating campaigns would not be allowed to use personal wealth or spend additional money on advertising.