The executive order follows a new assessment from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran continues to pursue nuclear weapons.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), on Monday, pledged to block the Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act, or Protect IP Act, from reaching the Senate floor by a filibuster or "any means necessary."

“I will stand on Senate floor for as long as it takes to lay out why the Internet is so important and what we have got do to change this bill to make sure it remains fair, open and free,” Wyden told The Hill on Monday afternoon.

Freshman Rep. Tim Griffin (R-Ark.) on Friday put forward legislation that would terminate congressional pensions, which he said could be a stepping stone to a larger discussion about the need to trim pension plans for all federal workers.

"There's going to have to be some reform there," he said in reference to the federal pension system. "And my view is that before we can discuss reform there, it seems to me we're going to have to set an example."

Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are proposing that disciplinary hearings against auditors held by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) be made public, so companies and investors know when and for what reasons auditors are being scrutinized by the PCAOB.

"The PCAOB's secret proceedings are not only shielded from the public but from Congress as well," Reed said last week. "The public and Congress have a role in ensuring that not just auditors are held to account but also that the PCAOB is held to account as well for its oversight of the auditors and audit firms."

Dozens of House Democrats on Friday proposed legislation that would extend federal employee benefits programs to the gay and lesbian domestic partners of federal workers, which would give retirement and other benefits to these domestic partners in the same way that spouses now receive them.

"The federal government must set an example as an equal opportunity employer," sponsor Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said. "If we are to treat all federal employees fairly and recruit the best and the brightest to serve in government, we need this legislation."

Tea Party firebrand Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment to the pending defense authorization bill that would make it clear that Congress, not President Obama, "retains" the power to end the war in Iraq.

After the House failed to pass a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution, a Republican last week proposed another way to reduce government spending — not by amending the Constitution, but by printing less of it.

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) proposed a resolution on Friday that would call for printing up to 235,500 copies of the pocket-sized Constitution that most members carry with them, or however many $114,849 can buy, whichever is less. The resolution, H.Con.Res. 90, would authorize the 25th edition of the pocket Constitution.

House Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) on Friday introduced a resolution calling for free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with Egypt.

Dreier said an FTA would help U.S. companies expand sales to Egypt, but would also help encourage democratic reforms in that country in the wake of the Arab Spring.

A bipartisan group of senators want to overturn a court's interpretation that has blocked a lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.