(Update: The House passed the bill by a vote of 299-128, with many Republicans questioning both its cost and effectiveness.)(CNSNews.com) - As the U.S. House of Representatives was preparing to pass a massive homeland security bill Tuesday without holding hearings beforehand, the Senate took a more considered approach, opening hearings to determine how to implement the remaining recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission.

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) on Thursday called for a rejection of new Palestinian textbooks that portray a world without Israel, refer to Jews as "Zionist gangs" and rewrite the Holocaust to ignore atrocities committed against Jews."We must stop the propaganda to which Palestinian children are exposed," Clinton said in a news conference in Washington, D.C. "These children deserve an education that instills respect for life and peace instead of glorifying death and violence."

(CNSNews.com) - The nation's largest seniors' advocacy group on Wednesday launched a campaign to urge lawmakers to support legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices.The AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) is recruiting its 38 million members in a "National Call to Action" to pressure U.S. senators to give the government the authority to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies the cost of prescription drugs covered by Medicare.

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Thursday appeared in Washington, D.C., to promote a plug-in hybrid car that supporters claim can travel 150 miles or more on a gallon of gasoline and to answer critics who accuse Congress of posturing on global warming issues.Appearing with Markey was actor Rob Lowe, who told reporters and fans that "clean energy is something I've been interested in for a while." He said he had decided to take a public stand on the issue, because "I've been watching as the climate changes."

(CNSNews.com) - The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a case examining the way labor unions use non-members' dues, prompting one of the lawyers arguing the case to urge the justices to "protect the integrity of our election system."Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna said that allowing the union to use non-members' money for political purposes without affirmative consent tarnishes the election system, because it funnels money to a campaign that the dues-payer may not support.

(CNSNews.com) - As the U.S. House of Representatives begins debate on a non-binding resolution criticizing President Bush's troop "surge" policy for Iraq, some lawmakers are frustrated that the Congress is not considering bills that offer alternative approaches to the conflict.

(CNSNews.com) - A coalition of community and ethnic groups on Thursday sponsored a "night of 1,000 conversations" dealing with what it considers America's "broken" immigration system. The advocates for illegal workers want comprehensive immigration reform that would make it easier for the workers to remain in the United States.

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly Friday to increase the reward for Osama bin Laden's capture, or for information leading to his capture, to $50 million. The increase would be mandated by an amendment to a pending Defense Department authorizations bill.Current law limits federal rewards to $25 million except when personally authorized by the Secretary of State "if he [or she] determines that offer or payment of an award of a larger amount is necessary to combat terrorism or defend the Nation against terrorist attacks."

(CNSNews.com) - Activists from more than a dozen environmental groups gathered on Capitol Hill Tuesday to lobby for the Clean Energy Act, the final part of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) "100-hour" agenda that the activists are calling a "first step" in restructuring the government's energy policy.The bill would roll back some tax loopholes and subsidies for oil companies and use the increased federal revenue to invest in renewable energy research. Supporters of the measure estimate it will bring in $14 billion over the next 10 years.