[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D180-D182] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE STRUCTURE Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded hearings to review strategic planning and management of information technology at the Department of Agriculture, after receiving testimony from Richard Rominger, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture; Sally Katzen, Administrator, Office of [[Page D181]] Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget; and John W. Harman, Assistant Comptroller General and Chief Information Officer, and Joel C. Willemssen, Director, Accounting and Information Management Division, both of the General Accounting Office. GLOBAL ASSESSMENT Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense held closed hearings to examine global assessment issues, receiving testimony from Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Subcommittee will meet again on Wednesday, March 12. AUTHORIZATION--DEFENSE Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Airland Forces held hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1998 for the Department of Defense and the future years defense program, focusing on tactical aviation modernization issues, receiving testimony from Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, USAF, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Richard A. Davis, Director, National Security Analysis, General Accounting Office; and Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., Director, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Washington, D.C. Subcommittee recessed subject to call. AUTHORIZATION--DEFENSE Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel held hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1998 for the Department of Defense and the future years defense program, focusing on recruiting and retention policies within the Department of Defense and the Military Services, receiving testimony from Mark Gebicke, Director, Elliot Smith, Assistant Director, and Beverly Schladt, Senior Evaluator, all of Military Operations and Capabilities Issues, General Accounting Office; Staff Sgt. Denise Slaughter, USAF; Aviation Anti- Submarine Warfare Operator 2 Richard Winland, USN; Staff Sgt. Stephen Simmons, USA; Gunnery Sgt. James Ruffin, USMC; Frederick F.Y. Pang, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy; Lt. Gen. Frederick E. Vollrath, USA, Deputy Chief of Army Staff for Personnel; Vice Adm. Daniel T. Oliver, USN, Chief of Naval Personnel; Lt. Gen. Carol A. Mutter, USMC, Deputy Chief of Marine Corps Staff for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Lt. Gen. Michael D. McGinty, USAF, Deputy Chief of Air Force Staff for Personnel; Maj. Gen. Alfonso E. Lenhardt, USA, Commanding General, U.S. Army Recruiting Command; Rear Adm. Barbara E. McGann, USN, Commander, Navy Recruiting Command; Maj. Gen. Jack W. Klimp, USMC, Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruiting Command; and Brig. Gen. Walter E. Buchanan, III, USAF, Commander of Air Force Recruiting Service. Subcommittee will meet again on Wednesday, March 12. AUTHORIZATION--DEFENSE Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Strategic Forces resumed hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1998 for the Department of Defense and the future years defense program, focusing on defense programs to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, receiving testimony from Franklin C. Miller, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy. Subcommittee recessed subject to call. 1998 BUDGET Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded hearings to examine the Congressional Budget Office analysis of the President's budget for fiscal year 1998, after receiving testimony from June E. O'Neill, Director, James L. Blum, Deputy Director, and Paul Von de Water, Assistant Director, Budget Analysis Division, all of the Congressional Budget Office. Committee will meet again on Tuesday, March 11. AVIATION SAFETY Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:Subcommittee on Aviation held hearings to examine aviation safety issues, focusing on the recommendations of the Gore Commission on Aviation Security, receiving testimony from Nancy McFadden, General Counsel, and Barry Valentine, Acting Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, both of the Department of Transportation; Gerald Dillingham, Associate Director, Transportation Issues, General Accounting Office; Anthony J. Broderick, Catlett, Virginia, former Federal Aviation Administration Associate Administrator for Regulation and Certification; Brian Michael Jenkins, Kroll Associates, Los Angeles, California, and Lt. Gen. James A. Abrahamson, International Air Safety, Washington, D.C., both on behalf of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security; and John Meenan, Air Transport Association of America, Robert W. Hahn, American Enterprise Institute, and Edward Wytkind, AFL-CIO, all of Washington, D.C. Hearings were recessed subject to call. PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management met to further receive testimony on the impact of [[Page D182]] the proposed Public Land Management Responsibility and Accountability Restoration Act on the administrative and judicial appeals of land management decisions of the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management from Ross Gorte, Specialist in Natural Resource Policy, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; Felice Pace, Klamath Forest Alliance, Etna, California; Mike Francis, Wilderness Society, John Doggett, American Farm Bureau Federation, R. Denny Scott, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and George Leonard, all of Washington, D.C.; Andy Stahl, Association of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, Eugene, Oregon; Frank Gladics, Western Forest Industries Association, Portland, Oregon; and Sam Anderson, National Ski Area Association, Denver, Colorado. Subcommittee will meet again tomorrow. SUPERFUND REFORM Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Control, and Risk Assessment concluded hearings on S. 8, to authorize funds for and reform the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Liability, and Compensation Act (Superfund), after receiving testimony from Carol M. Browner, Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; Terry D. Garcia, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; New Mexico Assistant Attorney General Charlie De Saillan, Environmental Enforcement Division, Santa Fe; Richard Gimello, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, on behalf of the National Governors' Association; Linda H. Biagioni, Black and Decker Corporation, Towson, Maryland; Karen Florini, Environmental Defense Fund, Washington, D.C.; Barbara Williams, Sunny Ray Restaurant, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business; Karen O'Regan, Phoenix Environmental Programs, Phoenix, Arizona; Larry L. Lockner, Shell Oil Company, Houston, Texas, on behalf of the American Petroleum Institute; Robert Spiegel, Edison Wetlands Association, Edison, New Jersey; and Rich A. Heig, Kennecott Corporation, Salt Lake City, Utah. MEDICARE Committee on Finance: Committee resumed hearings on the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 1998 for the Medicare program, receiving testimony from Jane Baumgarten, North Bend, Oregon, on behalf of the American Association of Retired Persons; Todd C. Linden, Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Grinnell, Iowa, on behalf of the American Hospital Association; Alan R. Nelson, American Society of Internal Medicine, Washington, D.C.; Seymour I. Schwartz, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, on behalf of the American College of Surgeons; and Tim Size, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, Sauk City, on behalf of the National Rural Health Association. Hearings were recessed subject to call. HIGH-RISK MANAGEMENT REFORM Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee held hearings on proposals to develop and implement management reforms to provide Federal agencies with strategies and techniques to increase effectiveness, reduce costs, and minimize risks associated with program and administrative management, receiving testimony from John A. Koskinen, Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget; Gene L. Dodaro, Assistant Comptroller General, Accounting and Information Management Division, General Accounting Office; and Dwight P. Robinson, Deputy Secretary, and Susan Gaffney, Inspector General, both of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Hearings were recessed subject to call. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 295, to promote cooperation and teamwork among worker- management relations in the American labor force. BUDGET/OPERATIONS Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee held oversight hearings to review the budget and operations of the National Gallery of Art and certain legislative offices, receiving testimony in behalf of their respective activities from Earl A. Powell III, Director, National Gallery of Art; Gary L. Sisco, Secretary of the Senate; Gregory S. Casey, Senate Sergeant at Arms; and Alan M. Hantman, Architect of the Capitol. Hearings were recessed subject to call.