[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 97 (Thursday, June 27, 1996)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D693-D695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Ordered reported the Treasury, Postal 
Service, and General Government appropriations for fiscal year 1997.
ONE-CALL NOTIFICATION PROGRAM
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Energy and Power held an 
oversight hearing on the One-Call Notification Program. Testimony was 
heard from Representative Franks of New Jersey; Richard Felder, 
Associate Administrator, Pipeline Safety Research and Special Programs 
Administration, Department of Transportation; Robert Chipkevich, Chief, 
Pipeline/Hazardous Materials Division, National Transportation Safety 
Board; and public witnesses.
PATIENT RIGHT TO KNOW ACT
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Health and Environment approved 
for full Committee action amended H.R. 2976, Patient Right to Know Act 
of 1996.
CORPORATE AMERICA--WAR ON DRUGS
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on National 
Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice held a hearing on 
Corporate America and the War on Drugs. Testimony was heard from public 
witnesses.
CASTRO'S CUBA--HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights and the Subcommittee on the Western 
Hemisphere held a joint hearing on Human Rights Violations In Castro's 
Cuba: The Repression Continues. Testimony was heard from Representative 
Diaz-Balart; Michael Rannenberger, Coordinator for Cuban Affairs, 
Department of State; and public witnesses.
FOREIGN BUILDING OPERATIONS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Relations and Human Rights held a hearing on Foreign Building 
Operations. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of State: Patrick Kennedy, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of 
Administration; and Jacquelyn L. Williams-Bridgers, Inspector General; 
and Benjamin Nelson, Director, International Relations and Trade 
Issues, GAO.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES; OVERSIGHT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law approved for full Committee action the following 
resolutions: H.J. Res. 113, granting the consent of Congress to the 
compact to provide for joint natural resource management and 
enforcement of laws and regulations pertaining to natural resources and 
boating at the Jennings Randolph Lake Project lying in Garrett County, 
MD, and Mineral County, WV, entered into between the States of West 
Virginia and Maryland; and H.J. Res. 166, granting the consent of 
Congress to the mutual aid agreement between the city of Bristol, VA, 
and the city of Bristol, TN.
  Prior to this action, the Subcommittee held a hearing on these 
resolutions. Testimony was heard

[[Page D694]]

from Senator Sarbanes; Representatives Mollohan; Bartlett of Maryland; 
Boucher and Quillen; Herbert Sachs, Executive Director, Interstate 
Commission on the Potomac River Basin; Lt. Col. Thomas Turner, Deputy 
Superintendent, Natural Resources Police, State of Maryland; and 
William B. Daniel, Assistant Chief, Law Enforcement Section, Department 
of Natural Resources, State of West Virginia.
  The Subcommittee also held an oversight and reauthorization hearing 
on the Negotiated Rulemaking Act. Testimony was heard from Joseph A. 
Dear, Assistant Secretary, Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration, Department of Labor; Wilma Liebman, Deputy Director, 
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service; Neil B. Eisner, Assistant 
General Counsel, Regulation and Enforcement, Department of 
Transportation; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing on the 
following bills: H.R. 3565, Violent Youth Predator Act of 1996; and 
H.R. 3445, Balanced Juvenile Justice and Crime Prevention Act of 1996. 
Testimony was heard from the following U.S. Attorneys, Department of 
Justice: Karen Schreier, District of South Dakota; and Charles Wilson, 
Middle District of Florida; Jeff Sessions, Attorney General, State of 
Alabama; Elizabeth Weaver, Justice, Supreme Court, State of Michigan; 
and public witnesses.
WAR CRIMES ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims 
approved for full Committee action H.R. 3680, War Crimes Act of 1996.
TACTICAL AVIATION PROGRAMS
Committee on National Security: Subcommittee on Military Procurement 
and the Subcommittee on Military Research and Development held a joint 
hearing on tactical aviation programs. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the Department of Defense: Paul Kaminski, Under 
Secretary, Acquisition and Technology; and Gen. Joe Ralston, USAF, Vice 
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chairman, Joint Requirements 
Oversight Council; the following officials of the National Security 
Division, CBO: Cindy Williams, Assistant Director; Lane Pierrot and 
JoAnn Vines, both Principal Analysts; and the following of the GAO: 
Richard Davis, Director, National Security Issues; and Louis Rodriques, 
Director, Defense Acquisitions.
OVERSIGHT--NATURAL GAS-ROYALTY-IN-KIND PILOT PROGRAM
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources 
held an oversight hearing on Royalty-In-Kind for natural gas (lessons 
learned from the Gulf of Mexico pilot program). Testimony was heard 
from Cynthia L. Quarterman, Director, Minerals Management Service, 
Department of the Interior; Stroud C. Kelley, Special Counsel, Energy 
Policy, General Land Office, State of Texas; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans 
approved for full Committee action amended the following bills; H.R. 
3287, Crawford National Fish Hatchery Conveyance Act; H.R. 3546, 
Walhalla National Fish Hatchery Conveyance Act; and H.R. 3557, Marion 
National Fish Hatchery Conveyance Act.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and 
Lands approved for full Committee action the following bills: H.R. 
2122, amended, to consolidate the management of the national forests in 
the Lake Tahoe region from four forests to one; H.R. 2438, amended, to 
provide for the conveyance of lands to certain individuals in Gunnison 
County, Colorado; H.R. 2518, to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture 
to exchange certain lands in the Wenatchee National Forest for certain 
lands owned by Public Utility District No. 1 of Chelan County, 
Washington; H.R. 2693, to make a minor adjustment in the exterior 
boundary of Hells Canyon Wilderness in Oregon and Idaho; H.R. 2709, 
amended, to provide for the conveyance of certain land to the Del Norte 
County Unified School District of Del Norte County, California; H.R. 
3547, amended, to provide for the conveyance of a parcel of real 
property in the Apache National Forest in Arizona to the Alpine 
Elementary School District 7 to be used for the construction of school 
facilities and related playing fields; H.R. 3147, to provide for the 
exchange of certain lands in the State of California managed by the 
Bureau of Land Management for certain non-federal lands; H.R. 2135, 
amended, to provide for the correction of boundaries of certain lands 
in Clark County, Nevada, acquired by persons who purchased such lands 
in good faith reliance on existing private land surveys; H.R. 2711, to 
provide for the substitution of timber for the canceled Elkhorn Ridge 
Timber Sale; and H.R. 2466, amended, Federal Land Exchange Improvement 
Act of 1995.
COMPETITION FOR FEDERAL CONTRACTS
Committee on Small Business: Held a hearing on Small Business 
Competition for Federal Contracts: The Impact of Federal Prison 
Industries. Testimony was heard from Steve B. Schwalb, Chief Operating 
Officer, Federal Prison Industries, and Assistant Director,

[[Page D695]]

Industries, Education and Vocational Training, FBI, Department of 
Justice; and public witnesses.
COMMITTEE BUSINESS
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct: Met in executive session to 
consider pending business.
WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT; DEEPWATER PORT MODERNIZATION ACT; 
CONSTRUCTION RESOLUTION
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Ordered reported 
amended the following bills: H.R. 3592, Water Resources Development Act 
of 1996; and H.R. 2940, Deepwater Port Modernization Act.
  The Committee also approved an amendment to a previously approved 
construction resolution.
HEALTH CARE
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Hospitals and Health 
Care concluded hearings on the future of health care provided by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs. Testimony was heard from Robert 
Kolodner, M.D., Deputy Chief Information Officer, Veterans Health 
Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs; RAdm. William R. 
Rowley, USN, M.D., Commander, Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, VA; 
David Baine, Director, Health Care Delivery and Quality Issues, Health, 
Education and Human Services Division, GAO; representatives of veterans 
organizations; and public witnesses.
BARRIERS TO ADOPTION
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Human Resources held a 
hearing on Barriers to Adoption. Testimony was heard from Senator 
DeWine; Representatives Miller of California, and Fawell; Connie 
Binsfeld, Lt. Gov., State of Michigan; D. Bruce Levy, Administrative 
Judge, Juvenile Division, 11th Judicial Circuit, Miami, Florida; and 
public witnesses.
SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUND
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Social Security concluded 
hearings on the use of Social Security Trust Fund money to finance 
union activities at the Social Security Administration. Testimony was 
heard from Shirley Sears Chater, Commissioner, SSA.