[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 39 (Thursday, March 2, 1995)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D274-D275] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS--DEFENSE Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported, with amendments, H.R. 889, making emergency supplemental appropriations and rescissions to preserve and enhance the military readiness of the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995. APPROPRIATIONS--TRANSPORTATION Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies held hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1996 for the Department of Transportation, receiving testimony from Federico Pena, Secretary of Transportation. Subcommittee will meet again on Thursday, March 9. AUTHORIZATION--DEFENSE Committee on Armed Services: Committee resumed hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1996 for the Department of Defense and the future years defense program, receiving testimony from Shelia E. Widnall, Secretary of the Air Force; and Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF, Chief of Air Force Staff. Committee will meet again on Tuesday, March 7. NOMINATIONS Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Sheila Cheston, of the District of Columbia, to be General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force; Herschelle Challenor, of Georgia, to be a Member of the National Security Education Board, Department of Defense; and Josue Robles, Jr., of Texas, to be a Member of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs:Subcommittee on Securities held hearings on proposals to reform the process of securities litigation, including S. 240, receiving testimony from Senators Dodd and Domenici; Marc E. Lackritz, Securities Industry Association, J. Carter Beese, Jr., Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Nell Minow, LENS Inc., all of Washington, D.C.; James F. Morgan, Morgan, Holland Ventures Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, on behalf of the National Venture Capital Association; George Sollman, Centigram Communications Corporation, San Jose, California, on behalf of the American Electronics Association; and Christopher J. Murphy III, 1st Source Corporation, South Bend, Indiana, on behalf of the Association of Publicly Traded Companies. TELECOMMUNICATIONS Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:Committee held hearings to examine United States telecommunications policy reform issues, receiving testimony from Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, Department of Justice; Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information; Kenneth Gordon, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, and Lee L. Selwyn, Economics and Technology, Inc., both of Boston, Massachusetts; Peter W. Huber, Manhattan Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; George Gilder, Discovery Institute, Tyringham, Massachusetts; Clay T. Whitehead, Clay Whitehead Associates, McLean, Virginia; Henry Geller, Markle Foundation, Washington, D.C.; and John W. Mayo, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Hearings were recessed subject to call. NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee held hearings on proposals to revise certain provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide for the safe disposal of high-level nuclear waste, including S. 167, S. 429, S. 443, and S. 473, receiving testimony from Senator Bryan; Hazel R. O'Leary, Secretary of Energy; Nevada Governor Bob Miller, and Nevada State Senator Raymond D. Rawson, both of Carson City; Mayor Kevin Phillips, Caliente, Nevada; Cameron McRae, Nye County Board of Commissioners, Tonopah, Nevada; Kris Sanda, Minnesota Department of Public Service, St. Paul, on behalf of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition; Emmit George, Iowa Public Service Commission, Des Moines, on behalf of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Samuel K. Skinner, Commonwealth Edison Company, Chicago, Illinois, on behalf of the Nuclear Energy Institute; and Bill Magavern, Public Citizen, Washington, D.C. Hearings were recessed subject to call. ENDANGERED SPECIES Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Drinking Water, Fisheries and Wildlife held oversight hearings on the implementation of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act by the Forest Service and the National Marine Fisheries [[Page D275]] Service, receiving testimony from James R. Lyons, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, and Jack Ward Thomas, Chief, Forest Service, both of the Department of Agriculture; and Douglas K. Hall, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Rolland A. Schmitten, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, both of the Department of Commerce. Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, March 7. MIDDLE INCOME TAX CREDIT Committee on Finance: Committee held hearings to examine proposals to reduce taxes for middle-income Americans, focusing on a $500-per-child tax credit, a reduction in the marriage penalty, and a deduction for education and job training expenses, receiving testimony from Gary L. Bauer, Family Research Council, C. Fred Bergsten, Competitiveness Policy Council, Daniel J. Mitchell, The Heritage Foundation, and Robert J. Shapiro, Progressive Policy Institute, all of Washington, D.C.; and Deborah H. Schenk, New York University Law School, New York. Hearings were recessed subject to call. IRAN AND IRAQ Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs held hearings to examine United States policy towards Iran and Iraq, receiving testimony from Senator McCain; Joseph S. Nye, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs; Robert H. Pelletreau, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs; Anthony H. Cordesman, Georgetown University, James Placke, Cambridge Energy Research Associates, and Graham Fuller, Rand Corporation, all of Washington, D.C.; and Daniel Pipes, Middle East Quarterly, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, March 7. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee ordered reported the following bills: S. 4, to grant the power to the President to reduce budget authority, without recommendation; and S. 14, to amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to provide for the expedited consideration of certain proposed cancellations of budget items, without recommendation, with an amendment. AUTHORIZATION--ARTS AND HUMANITIES Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Subcommittee on Education, Arts and Humanities concluded hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for programs of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, focusing on the National Endowment for the Humanities, after receiving testimony from Sheldon Hackney, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities; Victor R. Swenson, Vermont Council on the Humanities, Hyde Park; David A. Berry, Essex County College, Newark, New Jersey, on behalf of the Community College Humanities Association; Alberta Arthurs, Rockefeller Foundation, and Barry R. Gross, National Association of Scholars, both of New York, New York; and Walter Berns, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C. FEDERAL DISABILITY PROGRAMS Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded hearings to examine the growth in the Supplemental Security Income and Social Security disability programs and the disincentives toward work and self- sufficiency that exist in the Federal disability programs, after receiving testimony from Jane L. Ross, Director, Income Security Issues, Health, Education, and Human Services Division, General Accounting Office; Mary Jane Owen, National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities, Carolyn Weaver, American Enterprise Institute, Gerben DeJong, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Edward Eckenhoff, National Rehabilitation Hospital, all of Washington, D.C.; Sally Satel, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Ann DeWitt, Maine Disability Determination Services, Augusta; and Bob Cote, Denver, Colorado.