[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 64 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D452-D455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE, AND THE JUDICIARY APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State 
and the Judiciary held a hearing on the Secretary of Commerce, the SEC, 
and the Department of State Under Secretary for Management. Testimony 
was heard from Michael Kantor, Acting Secretary of Commerce; Richard M. 
Moose, Under Secretary, Management, Department of State; and Arthur 
Levitt, Jr., Chairman, SEC.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on the District of Columbia 
held a hearing on D.C. Finances. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the District of Columbia: Anthony A. Williams, Chief 
Financial Officer; and Angela L. Avant, Inspector General; and a public 
witness.
LABOR--HHS--EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education held a hearing on Howard University the Special 
Institutions for the Disabled, and on the Secretary of Education. 
Testimony was heard from H. Patrick

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Swygert, President, Howard University; and the following officials of 
the Department of Education: Judith E. Heumann, Assistant Secretary, 
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Tuck Tinsley, III, 
President, American Printing House for the Blind; James D. DeCaro, Dean 
and Interim Director, National Technical Institute for the Deaf; I. 
King Jordan, President, Gallaudet University; and Richard W. Riley, 
Secretary.
VETERANS AFFAIRS--HUD--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing 
and Urban Development and Independent Agencies held a hearing on the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development. Testimony was heard from 
Henry G. Cisneros, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
CONCURRENT BUDGET RESOLUTION
Committee on the Budget: Began markup of the Concurrent Resolution on 
the Budget for Fiscal Year 1997.
OVERSIGHT--INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRADE ISSUES
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Hazardous 
Materials held an oversight hearing on International Telecommunications 
Trade Issues. Testimony was heard from Jeffrey Lang, Deputy U.S. Trade 
Representative; Reed E. Hundt, Chairman, FCC; and public witnesses.
IN THE MATTER OF THE WHITE HOUSE TRAVEL OFFICE
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Ordered reported, by a 
vote of 27 ayes to 19 nays, a resolution concerning proceedings against 
John M. Quinn, David Watkins and Matthew Moore, pursuant to Title 2, 
U.S. Code, Sections 192 and 194.
OVERSIGHT--AID
Committee on International Relations: Held an oversight hearing on the 
U.S. Agency for International Development. Testimony was heard from 
Jeffrey Rush, Jr., Inspector General, AID, U.S. International 
Development Cooperation Agency.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURE; AFGHANISTAN
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific approved for full Committee action H. Con. Res. 154, to 
congratulate the Republic of China on Taiwan on the occasion of its 
first Presidential democratic election.
  The Subcommittee also held a hearing on Afghanistan: Peace or Civil 
War? Testimony was heard from Robin L. Raphel, Assistant Secretary, 
South Asian Affairs, Department of State; John L. Moore, Defense 
Intelligence Officer, Mid-East/South Asia and Terrorism, Defense 
Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense; and public witnesses.
ECONOMIC ESPIONAGE
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing 
regarding economic espionage. Testimony was heard from Louis J. Freeh, 
Director, FBI, Department of Justice; and public witnesses.
RECOVERY OF MINERALS--DOMESTIC TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources 
held a hearing on H.R. 3249, to authorize appropriations for a mining 
institute to develop domestic technological capabilities for the 
recovery of minerals from the nation's seabed. Testimony was heard from 
Representative Wicker; Tom Kitsos, Director, Office of International 
Activities and Marine Minerals, Minerals Management Service, Department 
of the Interior; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans 
held a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 2908, Domesticated Salmonid 
Broodstock and Seedstock Act of 1996; H.R. 2939, Mississippi Interstate 
Cooperative Resource Agreement Act of 1996; and H.R. 1112, to transfer 
management of the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge to the State of 
Oklahoma. Testimony was heard from Representatives Brewster, Hastings 
of Washington and Gunderson; the following officials of the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior: Nancy Kaufman, 
Regional Director; and Gary Edwards, Assistant Director for Fisheries; 
Don Luchsinger, Deputy Administrator, Veterinary Services, Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA; Greg D. Duffy, Director, 
Department of Wildlife Conservation, State of Oklahoma; Gary Myers, 
Director, Wildlife Resources Agency, State of Tennessee; and public 
witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and 
Lands held a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 2636, to transfer 
jurisdiction over certain parcels of Federal real property located in 
the District of Columbia; and H.R. 3006, to provide for disposal of 
public lands in support of the Manzanar Historic Site in the State of 
California. Testimony was heard from Representatives Lewis of 
California and Matsui; Denis Galvin, Associate Director, Planning 
Professional Services, National Park Service, Department of the 
Interior; and public witnesses.

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NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, a structured rule on H.R. 
3230, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 providing 
two hours of general debate equally divided and controlled between the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on National 
Security. The rule waives all points of order against the bill and 
against its consideration. The rule makes in order the committee 
amendment in the nature of a substitute now printed in the bill as an 
original bill for the purpose of amendment and all points of order are 
waived against the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The rule 
makes in order only those amendments printed in the report of the 
Committee on Rules and the amendments en bloc described in section 3 of 
the resolution. The rule provides that, except as specified in section 
4 of the resolution, amendments will be considered only in the order 
and manner specified in the report. Except as otherwise provided in the 
report, amendments shall be debatable for 10 minutes divided between 
the proponent and an opponent. Amendments shall be considered as read 
and are not amendable (except pro forma amendments offered by the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on National 
Security). The rule waives all points of order against the amendments 
printed in the report or those described in section 3 of the 
resolution. The rule provides for an extra 40 minutes of debate on 
Cooperative Threat Reduction with the former Soviet Union (part A). The 
rule authorizes the Chairman of the Committee on National Security or 
his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of amendments in 
part B of the report or germane modifications thereto, which shall be 
considered as read except that modifications shall be reported, shall 
be debatable for 20 minutes divided between the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on National Security or their 
designees and which shall not be subject to amendment or demand for a 
division of the question. The rule provides that, for the purpose of 
inclusion in such amendments en bloc, an amendment printed in the form 
of a motion to strike may be modified to the form of a germane 
perfecting amendment to the text originally proposed to be stricken. 
The original proponent of an amendment included in such amendments en 
bloc may insert a statement in the Congressional Record immediately 
before the disposition of the en bloc amendments.
  The rule permits the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole to 
postpone votes on any amendment and to reduce to 5 minutes the time for 
voting after the first of a series of votes provided that the first 
vote is not less than 15 minutes. The Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole is permitted to recognize for consideration of any amendment 
printed in the report out of the order in which printed, but not sooner 
than one hour after the Chairman of the Committee on National Security 
or a designee announces from the floor a request to that effect. 
Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit, with or without 
instructions. Testimony was heard from Chairman Spence and 
Representatives Dornan, Hefley, Saxton, Torkildsen, Watts of Oklahoma, 
Scarborough, Longley, Hastings of Washington, Smith of New Jersey, 
Bilirakis, Kolbe, Shays, Upton, Stearns, Klug, Hoke, Horn, Mica, 
Chenoweth, Foley, Martini, Neumann, Bunn of Oregon, Dellums, Skelton, 
Spratt, Pickett, Evans, Taylor of Mississippi, Harman, McHale, Peterson 
of Florida, DeLauro, Rose, Oberstar, Miller of California, Markey, 
Frank of Massachusetts, Traficant, Moran, Waters, Farr, Velazquez, 
McKinney, Luther, Jackson-Lee of Texas and Furse.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES; PENDING SURVEY RESOLUTIONS AND PROSPECTUSES
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Ordered reported the 
following: H.R. 3029, to designate the United States courthouse in 
Washington, District of Columbia, as the ``E. Barrett Prettyman United 
States Courthouse''; H.R. 3134, to designate the U.S. Courthouse under 
construction at 1030 Southwest 3d Avenue, Portland, OR, as the ``Mark 
O. Hatfield United States Courthouse''; H. Con. Res. 153, authorizing 
the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box 
Derby; and H.R. 3159, amended, National Transportation Safety Board 
Amendments of 1996.
  The Committee also approved the following: 10 courthouse construction 
resolutions; 2 nonconstruction resolutions; and 20 water resource 
survey resolutions.
COAST GUARD MISSIONS'
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation held a hearing on the Coast Guard 
Missions' Review Acquisitions, Research and Development, and Domestic 
and International Icebreaking. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation: Capt. 
Fred Squires, USCG, Deputy Chief, Office of Acquisition; RAdm. Edward 
J. Barrett, USCG, Chief, Systems Directorate; and RAdm. Rudy K. 
Perschel, USCG, Chief, Office of Navigation Safety; and public 
witnesses.
REPEAL FUEL TAX INCREASE
Committee on Ways and Means: Ordered reported H.R. 3415, to amend the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986

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to repeal the 4.3 cent increase in the transportation motor fuels 
excise tax rates enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 
1993 and dedicated to the general fund of the Treasury.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Trade approved for full 
Committee action the following: H.R. 3161, to authorize the extension 
of nondiscriminatory treatment (most-favored-nation treatment) to the 
products of Romania; and a measure to make technical amendments in 
trade laws.
INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY ACT
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Ordered reported amended 
H.R. 3237, Intelligence Community Act.