[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 28 (Thursday, March 6, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D191-D194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, 
and the Judiciary held hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal 
year 1998 for the Department of State, receiving testimony from 
Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of State.
  Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, March 11.

[[Page D192]]


NOMINATION
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nomination of Keith R. Hall, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary 
of the Air Force for Space, after the nominee testified and answered 
questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded 
hearings on the nominations of Yolanda Townsend Wheat, of Missouri, to 
be a Member of the National Credit Union Administration Board, Charles 
A. Gueli, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the 
National Institute of Building Sciences, and Jeffrey A. Frankel, of 
California, to be a Member of the Council of Economic Advisers, after 
the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Ms. 
Wheat was introduced by Senator Bond, and Mr. Frankel was introduced by 
Senator Boxer.
PRODUCT LIABILITY REFORM
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce, and Tourism concluded hearings on 
proposals to reform product liability, focusing on the effectiveness of 
the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1974, after receiving 
testimony from John Moore, Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas; 
Bradley Mottier, Unison Industries, Jacksonville, Florida; Paul Newman, 
New Piper Aircraft, Inc., Vero Beach, Florida; Scott Tarry, Southern 
Illinois University, Carbondale; Robert Creamer, Citizen Action of 
Illinois, Chicago; John Petersen, Montgomery County Action Council, 
Coffeyville, Kansas; and John Yodice, Aircraft Owners and Pilots 
Association, and Edward Bolin, General Aviation Manufacturers 
Association, both of Washington, D.C.
NOAA 1998 BUDGET
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Oceans and Fisheries and the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and 
Space concluded joint hearings on the President's proposed budget 
request for fiscal year 1998 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, after receiving testimony from D. James Baker, Under 
Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Elbert W. Friday, Jr., Assistant 
Administrator for Weather Services, Robert S. Winokur, Assistant 
Administrator for Satellite and Information Services, and Andrew H. 
Moxam, Deputy Chief Financial Officer/Deputy Chief Administrative 
Officer, all of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
Department of Commerce.
NOMINATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the nomination of Federico Pena, of Colorado, to be Secretary 
of Energy.
ELECTRIC UTILITIES DEREGULATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee held oversight 
hearings to discuss proposals to advance the goals of deregulation and 
competition in the electric power industry, receiving testimony from 
Jeffrey K. Skilling, Enron Corp., Houston, Texas; Allen Franklin, 
Georgia Power Company, Atlanta, on behalf of the Edison Electric 
Institute; Frederick W. Buckman, PacifiCorp, Portland, Oregon; Pradeep 
Mehra, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan; James Kallenberger, 
Payless ShoeSource, Inc., Topeka, Kansas, on behalf of the 
International Mass Retail Association; P. Chrisman Iribe, U.S. 
Generating Company, Bethesda, Maryland, on behalf of the Electric Power 
Supply Association; Steve Frank, Southern California Edison Company, 
Rosemead; Daniel A. Lashof, Natural Resources Defense Council, 
Washington, D.C.; Sunny Popowsky, Pennsylvania State Office of Consumer 
Advocate, Harrisburg; Larry Hall, KN Energy, Inc., Lakewood, Colorado, 
on behalf of the Natural Gas Power Group and the Interstate Natural Gas 
Association; and Arthur W. Adelberg, Central Maine Power Company, 
Augusta, on behalf of the PURPA Reform Group.
  Committee will meet again on Thursday, March 13.
PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and 
Public Land Management held oversight hearings to discuss the impact of 
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, receiving testimony from Sally K. Fairfax, University of 
California, Berkeley, Randall O'Toole, Thoreau Institute, Eugene, 
Oregon; Johanna Wald, Natural Resources Defense Council, San Francisco, 
California; Steve Blomeke, National Wildlife Federation, Bismarck, 
North Dakota; Charles Graham, Selkirk-Priest Basin Association, Moscow, 
Idaho; Jamie Dalton, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Salt Lake 
City; Paul Kruse, Wyoming Office of Federal Land Policy, Cheyenne; Paul 
Frey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Sue Kupillas, Medford, Oregon.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.

[[Page D193]]


AUTHORIZATION--TRANSPORTATION
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure resumed hearings on proposed 
legislation authorizing funds for programs of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act and innovative transportation financing, 
technology, construction and design practices, receiving testimony from 
Representative DeLauro; Mortimer L. Downey, Deputy Secretary, Jane 
Garvey, Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, and 
Christine Johnson, Director of the Joint Program Office, Intelligent 
Transportation Systems, all of the Department of Transportation; 
Phyllis F. Scheinberg, Associate Director, Transportation Issues, 
Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, Joseph 
Christoff, Assistant Director, and Yvonne Pufahl, Senior Evaluator, all 
of the General Accounting Office; Robert E. Skinner, Jr., Executive 
Director, Transportation Research Board, National Academy of Sciences; 
Gerald S. Pfeffer, United Infrastructure Company, Chicago, Illinois; 
Daniel V. Flanagan, Jr., Flanagan Consulting Group, Inc., Alexandria, 
Virginia, on behalf of the Commission to Promote Investment in 
America's Infrastructure; and James Costantino, Intelligent 
Transportation Society of America, Washington, D.C.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
IRA'S
Committee on Finance: Committee held hearings on proposals to expand 
Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA's), including S. 197, proposed 
Savings and Investment Incentive Act, receiving testimony from Lawrence 
H. Summers, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury; William G. Gale, 
Brookings Institution, Dallas L. Salisbury, Employee Benefit Research 
Institute, and John S. Tottie, Citizens for a Sound Economy, all of 
Washington, D.C.; R. Glenn Hubbard, Columbia University, New York, New 
York, and Steven F. Venti, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 
both on behalf of the National Bureau of Economic Research; and Robert 
C. Pozen, Fidelity Investments, Boston, Massachusetts.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
MEDICARE
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Health Care resumed hearings to 
examine the financial soundness of the Medicare program and its long-
term status, receiving testimony from Stuart M. Butler, Heritage 
Foundation, Robert B. Helms, American Enterprise Institute, and Michael 
B. Tanner, Cato Institute, all of Washington, D.C.; Karen Davis, 
Commonwealth Fund, New York, New York; and Lynn Etheredge, Health 
Insurance Reform Project/George Washington University, Chevy Chase, 
Maryland.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nomination of Karen Shepherd, of Utah, to be United States Director of 
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, after the 
nominee, who was introduced by Senator Hatch, testified and answered 
questions in her own behalf.
USIA 1998 BUDGET
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Operations concluded hearings on the President's proposed budget 
request for fiscal year 1998 for the United States Information Agency 
and international broadcasting, after receiving testimony from Joseph 
D. Duffey, Director, and Kevin Klose, President, Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty, both of the U.S. Information Agency.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA TAX REFORM
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight of 
Government Management, Restructuring, and the District of Columbia 
concluded hearings to examine Federal tax policy issues for the 
District of Columbia, after receiving testimony from District of 
Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton; District of Columbia Mayor 
Marion Barry; and Jack Kemp, Empower America, Daniel J. Mitchell, 
Heritage Foundation, and William A. Niskanen, Cato Institute, all of 
Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. Res. 56, designating March 25, 1997 as ``Greek Independence Day: A 
National Day of Celebration of Greek and American Democracy'';
  S. Res. 60, to commend students who have participated in the William 
Randolph Hearst Foundation Senate Youth Program between 1962 and 1997; 
and
  The nominations of Merrick B. Garland, of Maryland, to be United 
States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, Colleen 
Kollar Kotelly, of the District of Columbia, to be United States 
District Judge for the District of Columbia, Rose Ochi, of California, 
to be Director, Community Relations Service, and Lyle Weir Swenson, of 
South Dakota, to be United States Marshal for the District of South 
Dakota.
HEALTH CARE QUALITY
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee concluded hearings to 
examine health care quality

[[Page D194]]

and consumer protection issues, focusing on managed care and fee-for-
service plans, after receiving testimony from Bruce M. Fried, Director, 
Office of Managed Care, Health Care Financing Administration, 
Department of Health and Human Services; Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas 
State Office of the Commissioner of Insurance, Topeka; Judith G. 
Waxman, Families U.S.A. Foundation, Washington, D.C.; William L. Roper, 
Prudential HealthCare, Roseland, New Jersey, on behalf of the American 
Association of Health Plans; Mark R. Chassin, Mount Sinai School of 
Medicine, New York, New York; Gail Wilensky, Project HOPE, Bethesda, 
Maryland; James C. Cubbin, General Motors Corporation, Flint, Michigan; 
Patricia Salber, Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, California; and Peter 
Berman, Los Angeles, California.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee ordered favorably 
reported S. Res. 39, authorizing expenditures by the Committee on 
Governmental Affairs, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
(As approved by the committee, the amendment authorizes $4,350,000 for 
the sole purpose of conducting an investigation of illegal activities 
in connection with 1996 Federal election campaigns.)
  Prior to this action, committee concluded hearings on S. Res. 39 
(listed above), after receiving testimony from Senators Thompson and 
Glenn.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
consider pending committee business, but made no announcements, and 
recessed subject to call.
BABY BOOMER RETIREMENT
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded hearings to examine the 
challenges of providing health and income security for baby boomers who 
will begin retirement in the year 2010, and the impact on Federal 
programs affecting the elderly, after receiving testimony from Gail R. 
Wilensky, Project HOPE, Bethesda, Maryland; David M. Walker, Arthur 
Andersen, Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas L. Salisbury, Employee Benefit 
Research Institute, and Barry P. Bosworth, Brookings Institution, both 
of Washington, D.C.; Madelyn Hochstein, DYG, Inc., Danbury, 
Connecticut; Olivia S. Mitchell, University of Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia; Robert N. Butler, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, 
New York, on behalf of the Alliance for Aging Research; and H. James 
Towey, Commission on Aging With Dignity, Tallahassee, Florida.