Congressional GOP leaders called Tuesday for a delay in requiring that individual Americans carry health insurance. If the White House can grant a one-year delay for employers -- as the administration did just last week -- individuals should get the same consideration, House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and other senior Republicans said in a letter to the president. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration has no intention of delaying the individual mandate. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has the story.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, is renewing his push for more stringent oversight of drug compounders, as the fungal meningitis death toll stemming from a Massachusetts-based company rises to 61, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act, introduced by Alexander and health committee chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, with Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and Al Franken, D-Minnestoa, calls on compounding manufacturers to be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, while preserving states' roles in regulating traditional pharmacy activity. In stressing urgency, Alexander pointed to a new outbreak stemming from a compounded product from a pharmacy in Newbern, Tenn., which has infected more than 20 people.

Immigration legislation making its way through the U.S. Senate gained the support of Tennessee business leaders last week. The Tennessean reports that representatives from the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. of Tennessee, the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and others announced support for the plan, which also was endorsed by President Obama last week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he hopes to have a vote on the bill by July 4.

The U.S. Senate last week voted unanimously to confirm Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, WRCB reports. Srinivasan is the first nominee on a key appeals court appointed by President Barack Obama to be approved in five years. In a statement, Obama praised the Senate's approval of Srinivasan, whom he called a "trailblazer who personifies the best of America." But like Senate Democrats, he also poked Republicans for what he said was the slow approval of his judicial nominations.

U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais has been fined $500 by the state’s top medical disciplinary panel for sexual relationships with two female patients, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The congressman must pay the $500 fine -- $250 per patient, according to the order -- within 60 days. Documents also show he's responsible for up to $1,000 in costs for the state's investigation. In an interview with the Tennessean, DesJarlais stated, "I take responsibility for past mistakes and am happy to get this resolved."

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today approved three judicial nominees, including Sri Srinivasan to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Raymond Chen to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, and Jennifer Dorsey to a federal district court in Nevada. Srinivasan, currently the principal deputy in the Office of the Solicitor General, was approved on a unanimous vote. If confirmed by the full Senate, he will be President Obama’s first nominee to a court often seen as a stepping stone to the U.S. Supreme Court. WRCB TV3 NBC has the AP story.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey joined with Gov. Bill Haslam Thursday to encourage congressional Republicans to support the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to collect sales tax on Internet purchases. Ramsey said traditional retailers are disadvantaged by having to collect state and local sales taxes while many online retailers don’t. The bill passed the U.S. Senate yesterday, but faces an uncertain future in the U.S. House. U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., supported the bill, however U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told the Chattanooga Times Free Press last week, “There’s nothing fair about the Marketplace Fairness Act.”

The U.S. Senate passed the Marketplace Fairness Act yesterday by an easy 69-27 vote. But the bill faces an uphill battle in the House, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The measure would allow for the collection of state sales tax on most Internet purchases. Under current law, retailers have to collect taxes only in states where they have a physical presence. The bill also attempts to address concerns that the new requirement will burden small businesses by exempting retailers that sell less than $1 million worth of goods. Some online retailers say that exemption is too small. In a statement issued after the Senate vote, for example, eBay pledged to push the House to raise this exemption to $10 million in sales or 50 employees.

The U.S. Senate easily cleared a procedural hurdle yesterday to allow final consideration of a bill that requires most online retailers to collect state sales taxes. Under current law, online merchants only have to collect taxes in states where they have a physical presence. A vote on final passage is expected later this week. Observers note, however, that prospects for the bill are a bit more complicated in the House, where conservatives are likely to oppose any measure viewed as a tax increase. The Washington bureau chief for The Business Journals explores the dynamics.

Senate Republicans on Wednesday rejected an amendment to tighten background checks for gun buyers and ban assault weapons, the Nashville City Paper Reports. Tennessee Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both voted against the legislation. “I voted against the so-called ‘assault weapons’ ban because it clearly infringes on Second Amendment rights, and I voted against the Toomey-Manchin amendment because it could easily evolve into a national gun registry.” Alexander said.