(FORTUNE Magazine) – Congress has spent a lot of time talking about changing the rules on 401(k) plans, but it hasn't done much this year to actually alter the laws that govern them. It was too busy passing a war resolution, among other pressing matters. But that's a temporary situation. When lawmakers return to Washington for the 108th Congress next year, retirement-plan reform will probably move to the front burner.

Congress is poised to make it easier for 401(k) participants to diversify their portfolios. Under the current law employers can demand that workers keep their companies' stock in their 401(k)s until they reach age 55. Not all companies do, of course. But lawmakers want to eliminate any chance of another Enron-like episode in which thousands of employees lose their retirement nest eggs because their pensions were chock full of all-but-worthless stock. A leading proposal would allow workers to sell the stock as soon as they've been at a company three years.

Democrats would go further. Senator Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey) wants to put a 20% cap on the amount of company stock employees can own in their 401(k)s. And Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Massachusetts) has proposed a bill allowing employers to either contribute company stock to their workers' 401(k)s or permit them to buy company stock for that purpose, but not both. That would be tantamount to restricting the amount of company stock that could be held in 401(k)s.

Republicans have a different priority. They want to make sure that 401(k) participants are educated investors. At the moment mutual fund companies can't give financial advice to the workers whose 401(k)s they manage--it might create a conflict of interest. But legislation sponsored by Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio) proposes to end that restriction. A bill by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico) would let companies provide their workers with advice, but only from firms that are unaffiliated with their 401(k) plan. Says James Delaplane of the American Benefits Council: "There's universal interest in facilitating more investment advice to 401(k) participants, but no consensus on how to do that."

There is consensus that individuals should be encouraged to invest more in their retirement plans. Congressmen Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) want to raise the current $11,000 contribution maximum to $15,000. There's only one hitch: a price tag of tens of billions of dollars. Enactment of this popular proposal will probably have to await a full-blown economic recovery, which will bring in enough extra revenue to pay the freight. --Jeffrey H. Birnbaum