Voice of America says "Iraq's prime minister and president have introduced new legislation to make it easier for former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to resume working in government and security positions. Many Sunni Arabs belonged to the Baath party and were left unemployed by an earlier de-Baathification program administered by the U.S.-run Coalition Provisional Authority after Saddam Hussein was ousted in April 2003.

That program is widely blamed for leaving many former members of the military and security forces armed and out of work, stoking the country's insurgency.

Washington Post says: "Under U.S. pressure, Maliki agreed last year to readdress the issue of former Baathists by early this year. Some U.S. officials had recently warned that the efforts were stalled.

The draft, which was released by the U.S. Embassy early Tuesday, would let all but the three highest levels of Baathists return to their jobs, provided they had not been involved in criminal activity. All those who lost their jobs would collect a pension. It was unclear how many former Baathists would benefit from the legislation.