"U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan oppose a bill to regulate cigarettes.

The two North Carolina senators teamed up for the first significant issue in their time together to argue why they think allowing the Food and Drug Administration to oversee cigarettes could decimate a historic industry here."

"Burr and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who plan to introduce the Patients' Choice Act on Wednesday, are convinced majority Democrats will only sign off on a plan that includes a government-run insurance option for middle-class Americans. That's something that doesn't exist now and that private insurers insist would drive them out of business."

"North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr and other Republican leaders are offering a health care plan as an alternative to the one being pursued by President Barack Obama.

Burr will speak Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill about their new legislation. He'll hold a news conference with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn and Republican Reps. Paul Ryan and Devin Nunes.

Their plan would raise money by taxing health benefits and use the revenue to give people tax credits to buy their own care. The GOP lawmakers are offering the proposal as an alternative to Democratic efforts to cover millions of uninsured Americans by increasing the role of government."

"The president's proposed education budget will not renew a 2-year-old program that pumps $85 million annually into schools designated as historically black colleges and universities. Many of those schools are struggling financially."

"Burr came out against the president's plan to cut the $85 million for historically black schools, noting that the administration managed to find $9 million to fund whaling history museums.

Burr is not just talk.

Johnson at FSU credits him with being a key player in getting new federal money for FSU to expand its graduate degree programs. Burr even threatened to hold up a higher-education bill in the Senate, she said."

"U.S. Sen. Richard Burr visited Ashe County High School Monday morning to explain to students and staff what he believes will be some of the more pressing issues that the nation will face within the next eight months.

The North Carolina senator has served in the Senate since January of 2005 and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994. Currently, Burr serves as a ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, his government biography stated.

Burr opened Monday morning's discussion by gauging the student's knowledge of the legislative branch of the government and explained how the U.S. Senate may differ from the House of Representatives. He also explained how the Senate adheres by a guideline of specified rules known as Robert's Rules of Order and how senators are expected to conduct themselves once granted floor time."

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"Sen. Richard Burr has sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency's acting inspector general on Wednesday requesting an investigation of the work performed by the EPA Region 4 on the former CTS of Asheville site."

"A North Carolina senator is weighing in on the reversal of a study about water contamination at Camp Lejeune."

"Burr's office is optimistic that the committee will send the bill to the full Senate for consideration. More than 30 senators have signed on as co-sponsors, according to a Senate Web site."

"The Military Spouse Business Association urges spouses on its Web site to contact their congressional representatives to request their support for the bill. The association is using Facebook to encourage people to promote the legislation."

"Our military, their spouses and their families are often called on to make frequent relocations, which can be very disruptive to their lives, and it is only fair that we give the same residency benefits to spouses as we do to servicemembers," Burr said in a statement.

"Over the last five years, Congress and the previous administration have taken actions to prepare our country for potential disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies," Enzi said. "Senator Burr passed a preparedness bill that put in place the important tools that are now allowing us to respond to the swine flu outbreak. To the extent that we are prepared to deal with this crisis today, Senator Burr deserves much of the credit." Enzi noted that the Senate stimulus package included $870 million for pandemic influenza preparedness that was stripped at the last minute.