[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 27 (Wednesday, March 5, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D183-D187]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies held a 
hearing on the Farm Credit Administration and on Food, Nutrition and 
Consumer Services. Testimony was heard from Marsha Martin, Chairman and 
CEO, Farm Credit Administration; and Mary Ann Keeffe, Acting Under 
Secretary, Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, USDA.
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE, AND JUDICIARY APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State 
and Judiciary held a hearing on Secretary of State and on the FBI. 
Testimony was heard from Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of State; and 
Louie Freeh, Director, FBI, Department of Justice.
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development held a hearing on Bureau of Reclamation. Testimony was 
heard from Eluid L. Martinez, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, 
Department of the Interior.
INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior continued 
appropriation hearings, with emphasis on Energy Programs. Testimony was 
heard from public witnesses.
LABOR--HHS--EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education held a

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hearing on National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney 
Diseases, National Library of Medicine, the National Institute on 
Nursing Research and the Fogarty International Center. Testimony was 
heard from the following officials of the Department of Health and 
Human Services: Phillip Gorden, M.D., Director, National Institute of 
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; Donald Lindeberg, M.D., 
Director, National Library of Medicine; Patricia Grady, M.D., Director, 
National Institute on Nursing Research; and Philip Schambra, M.D., 
Director, Fogarty International Center.
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Military Construction held 
a hearing on Army Construction. Testimony was heard from Mike Walker, 
Assistant Secretary of the Army, Installations, Logistics and 
Environment.
NATIONAL SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on National Security met in 
an executive session to hold a hearing on U.S. Pacific Command/U.S. 
Forces Korea and on U.S. Central Command. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the Department of Defense: Adm. Joseph W. 
Prueher, USN, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command; Gen. John H. 
Tilelli, Jr., USA, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Forces Korea; and Gen. 
Binford J.H. Peay, III, USA, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command.
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, 
and General Government held a hearing on the IRS; the U.S. Mint; Bureau 
of Engraving and Printing; and the Financial Management Service. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of 
the Treasury: Larry Summers, Deputy Secretary; Margaret Milner 
Richardson, Commissioner, IRS; Philip N. Diehl, Director of the Mint; 
Larry Roluff, Director, Bureau of Engraving and Printing; Rusell D. 
Morris, Commissioner, Federal Management Service; and George Munoz, 
Assistant Secretary, Management and Chief Financial Officer.
VA-HUD-INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent 
Agencies held a hearing on the Council on Environmental Quality and on 
the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Testimony was heard from 
Kathleen A. McGinty, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality; and John 
H. Gibbons, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy.
FINANCIAL MODERNIZATION
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee on Capital 
Markets, Securities and Government Sponsored Enterprises held a hearing 
on Financial Modernization. Testimony was heard from Eugene A. Ludwig, 
Comptroller, Department of the Treasury; and Ricki T. Helfer, Chairman, 
FDIC.
CONDUCT OF MONETARY POLICY
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee Domestic and 
International Monetary Policy held a hearing on Conduct of Monetary 
Policy (Humphrey-Hawkins). Testimony was heard from Alan Greenspan, 
Chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System.
HOMELESS HOUSING PROGRAMS CONSOLIDATION AND FLEXIBILITY
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee on Housing 
and Community Development held a hearing on H.R. 217, Homeless Housing 
Programs Consolidation and Flexibility Act. Testimony was heard from 
public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Commerce: Ordered reported the following bills: H.R. 649, 
Department of Energy Standardization Act of 1997; H.R. 363, amended, to 
amend section 2118 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to extend the 
Electric and Magnetic Fields Research and Public Information 
Dissemination Program; H.R. 651, to extend the deadline under the 
Federal Power Act for the construction of a hydroelectric project 
located in the state of Washington; and H.R. 652, to extend the 
deadline under the Federal Power Act for the construction of 
hydroelectric project located in the State of Washington.
MEDICARE HOME HEALTH CARE
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Health and Environment held a 
hearing on Medicare Home Health Care. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the Department of Health and Human Services: 
Bruce Vladeck, Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration; and 
Michael F. Mangano, Principal Deputy Inspector General; the following 
officials of the GAO: William Scanlon, Director, Health Financing 
Systems, Health, Education, and Human Services; and Thomas Doudal, 
Senior Assistant Director, Health and Human Services Division; Donald 
A. Young, M.D., Executive Director, Prospective Payment Assessment 
Commission; and public witnesses.

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MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Ordered reported the 
following bills: H.R. 1, Working Families Flexibility Act; and H.R. 
914, to make certain technical corrections in the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 relating to graduation data disclosures.
ADMINISTRATION'S EDUCATION INITIATIVES
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Held a hearing on the 
Administration's Education Initiatives. Testimony was heard from 
Richard Riley, Secretary of Education.
IMPROPER GRANTING OF CITIZENSHIP TO INDIVIDUALS WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on National 
Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice and the 
Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims of the Committee on the 
Judiciary held a joint Subcommittee hearing on Improper Granting of 
U.S. Citizenship to Individuals with Criminal Records. Testimony was 
heard from the following officials of the Department of Justice: 
Stephen R. Colgate, Assistant Attorney General, Administration; Dawn 
Johnsen, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel; 
Doris M. Meissner, Commissioner, David Rosenberg, Citizenship USA 
Program Director; Louis D. Crocetti, Associate Commissioner, 
Examinations and David Martin, General Counsel, all with the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service; Laurie E. Ekstrand, Associate 
Director, Administration of Justice, General Government Division, GAO; 
and a public witness.
COMMITTEE FUNDING
Committee on House Oversight: Met to consider funding requests from the 
following Committees: House Oversight; Ways and Means; Small Business; 
International Relations; Agriculture; Judiciary; Standards of Official 
Conduct; Transportation and Infrastructure; Veterans' Affairs; Science; 
and Intelligence.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific approved for full Committee action the following measures: H. 
Con. Res. 16, concerning the urgent need to improve the living 
standards of those South Asians living in the Ganges and the Bahmaputra 
River Basin; H. Res. 68, amended, stating the sense of the House of 
Representatives that the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security 
Between the United States of America and Japan is essential for 
furthering the security interests of the United States, Japan, and the 
nations of the Asia-Pacific region, and that the people of Okinawa 
deserve recognition for their contributions toward ensuring the 
treaty's implementation; and H.R. 750, amended, to support the 
autonomous governance of Hong Kong after its reversion to the People's 
Republic of China.
  Following this action, the subcommittee held a hearing on AID 
Activities and the Central Asian Republics. Testimony was heard from 
the following officials of AID, U.S. International Development 
Cooperation Agency: Thomas Dine, Assistant Administrator, Europe and 
the New Independent States; and Charles Weden, Deputy Assistant 
Administrator, Asia.
NAFTA REPORT CARD
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Economic Policy and Trade, hearing on ``Report Card on NAFTA.'' 
Testimony was heard from Representatives Houghton, Bonior and Kaptur; 
Regina Vargo, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Western Hemisphere, 
Department of Commerce; Ira Shapiro, Senior Counsel and Negotiator, 
Office of the U. S. Trade Representative; and public witnesses.
FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights, hearing on Foreign Relations Authorization 
for FY 1998: U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. Testimony was 
heard from John D. Holum, Director, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament 
Agency.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual 
Property approved for full Committee action the following measures: 
H.R. 400, amended, 21st Century Patent System Improvement Act; H.R. 
672, amended, to make technical amendments to certain provisions of 
title 17, United States Code; and H.R. 908, to establish a Commission 
on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals.
FIREARMS PROHIBITION--DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CONVICTION
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing on the 
following bills: H.R. 26, to amend title 18, United States Code, to 
provide that the firearms prohibitions applicable by reason of a 
domestic violence misdemeanor conviction do not apply if the conviction 
occurred before the prohibitions became law; and H.R. 445, to provide 
that the firearms prohibitions applicable by reason of a domestic 
violence misdemeanor conviction do not apply to government entities. 
Testimony was heard from Pete Gagliardi, Deputy Associate Director, 
Criminal Enforcement Programs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, 
Department of the Treasury;

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David R. Loesch, Deputy Assistant Director, Criminal Justice 
Information Service Division, FBI, Department of Justice; Capt. R. 
Lewis Vass; Records Management Officer, Department of Police, State of 
Virginia; and public witnesses.
DOD AUTHORIZATION
Committee on National Security: Held a hearing on Fiscal Year 1998 
Department of Defense authorization request. Testimony was heard from 
the following officials of the Department of Defense: Gen. Dennis J. 
Reimer, USA, Chief of Staff, Army; Adm. Jay L. Johnson, USN, Chief of 
Naval Operations; Gen. Charles C. Krulak, USMC, Commandant, Marine 
Corps; and Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, USAF, Chief of Staff, Air Force.
  Hearings continue tomorrow.
TACTICAL FIGHTER CRAFT MODERNIZATION
Committee on National Security: Subcommittee on Military Procurement 
and Subcommittee on Military Research and Development held a joint 
hearing on tactical fighter craft modernization. Testimony was heard 
from the following officials of the Department of Defense: Paul 
Kaminski, Under Secretary (Acquisition and Technology); and Gen. Joseph 
Ralston, USAF, Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Cindy Williams, 
Assistant Director, National Security Division, CBO; and Louis 
Rodrigues, Director, Defense Acquisitions, National Security and 
International Affairs Division, GAO.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Ordered reported the following measures: H.J. 
Res. 32, to consent to certain amendments enacted by the Legislature of 
the State of Hawaii to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920; H.R. 
63, to designate the reservoir created by Trinity Dam in the Central 
Valley project, CA, as Trinity Lake; H.R. 412, amended, to approve a 
settlement agreement between the Bureau of Reclamation and the 
Oroville-Tonasket Lake; H.R. 437, to reauthorize the National Sea Grant 
College Program Act; and H.R. 709, amended, to reauthorize and amend 
the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992.
QUINCY LIBRARY GROUP FOREST RECOVERY AND ECONOMIC STABILITY ACT
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held 
a hearing on H.R. 858, Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery and 
Economic Stability Act of 1997. Testimony was heard from 
Representatives Herger and Fazio of California; James R. Lyons, Under 
Secretary, Natural Resources and Environment, USDA; and public 
witnesses.
NSF AUTHORIZATION
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Basic Research held a hearing on 
NSF fiscal year authorization. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the NSF: Richard N. Zare, Chairman, National Science 
Board; and Neal Lane, Director.
CLONING: HOW FAR SHOULD WE GO?
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Technology held a hearing on 
Biotechnology and the Ethics of Cloning: How Far Should We Go? 
Testimony was heard from Harold E. Varmus, M.D., Director, NIH, 
Department of Health and Human Services; Caird E. Rexroad, Jr., 
Supervisory Research Physiologist, Agriculture Research Service, USDA; 
and public witnesses.
ETHICS PROCESS IN THE HOUSE
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct: Task Force on Ethics Reform 
met in executive session to continue hearings on the Ethics Process in 
the House. Testimony was heard from Members of Congress.
GSA FISCAL YEAR AND RENT SHORTFALL
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Public 
Buildings and Economic Development held a hearing on the GSA fiscal 
year Program and Rent Shortfall. Testimony was heard from Robert A. 
Peck, Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, GSA.
SUPERFUND REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Water 
Resources and Environment held a hearing on Superfund Reauthorization: 
Lessons from the State. Testimony was heard from Christine Todd 
Whitman, Governor, State of New Jersey; Mary A. Gade, Director, 
Environmental Protection Agency, State of Illinois; Langdon Marsh, 
Director, Department of Environmental Quality, State of Oregon; Peder 
Larson, Commissioner, Pollution Control Agency, State of Minnesota; 
John P. Cahill, Acting Commissioner, Department of Environmental 
Conservation, State of New York; Jane T. Nishida, Secretary, Department 
of Environment, State of Maryland; James M. Strock, Administrator, 
Environmental Protection Agency, State of California; Russell J. 
Harding, Director, Department of Environmental Quality, State of 
Michigan; Harold F. Reheis, Director, Environmental Protection 
Division, Department of Natural Resources, State of Georgia; and Jay J. 
Manning, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Ecology Division, Office of 
the Attorney General, State of Washington.

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ADMINISTRATION'S BUDGET--EDUCATION AND TRAINING TAX PROVISIONS
Committee on Ways and Means: Held a hearing on the Education and 
Training Tax Provisions of the Administration's Fiscal Year 1998 Budget 
Proposal. Testimony was heard from Senator Coverdell; Representatives 
Rangel, Price of North Carolina and Etheridge; Donald C. Lubick, Acting 
Assistant Secretary, Tax Policy, Department of the Treasury; David A. 
Longanecker, Assistant Secretary, Postsecondary Education, Department 
of Education; and public witnesses.
COMMITTEE BUSINESS; UNCONVENTIONAL SIGINT
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
consider pending business.
  The Committee also met in executive session to hold a briefing on 
Unconventional SIGINT (Signal Intelligence). The Committee was briefed 
by departmental witnesses.