[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 37 (Thursday, March 20, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D283-D287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FDA, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Federal Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
continued appropriation hearings. Testimony was heard from public 
witnesses.
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE, AND JUDICIARY APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State 
and Judiciary held a hearing on the Department of Commerce, Science and 
Technology Programs and on the Department of State Administration of 
Foreign Affairs. Testimony was heard from the following officials of 
the Department of Commerce: Mary L. Good, Under Secretary, Technology, 
and Bruce A. Lehman, Assistant Secretary and Commissioner of Patents 
and Trademarks; and Patrick F. Kennedy, Acting Under Secretary, 
Management, Department of State.
INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior held a hearing on 
the Secretary of Agriculture and on the Forest Service Chief. Testimony 
was heard from the following officials of the USDA: Dan Glickman, 
Secretary; and Michael Dombeck, Chief, Forest Service.
LABOR-HHS-EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education held a hearing on the Office of AIDS Research, 
Office of

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the Director, and Building and Facilities; the National Commission on 
Libraries; the National Council on Disability; the Physician Payment 
Review Commission; and on the Prospective Payment Assessment 
Commission. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Health and Human Services: William E. Paul, M.D., 
Director, Office of Aids Research, Harold Varmus, M.D., Director, and 
Ruth L. Kirschstein, M.D., Deputy Director, all with NIH; Dennis P. 
Williams, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget; Jeanne Hurley Simon, 
Chairperson, U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information 
Science; Marca Bristo, Chairperson, National Council on Disability; 
Gail R. Wilensky, Chair, Physician Payment Review Commission; and 
Joseph Newhouse, Chairman, Prospective Payment Assessment Commission.
NATIONAL SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on National Security met in 
executive session to hold a hearing on readiness. Testimony was heard 
from the following officials of the Department of Defense: Gen. Ronald 
H. Griffith, USA, Vice Chief of Staff, Army; Adm. Harold W. Gehman, 
Jr., USN, Vice Chief of Naval Operations; Gen. Richard I. Neal, USMC, 
Assistant Commandant, Marine Corps; and Gen. Thomas S. Moorman, USAF, 
Vice Chief of Staff, Air Force.
TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation held a 
hearing on the Federal Railroad Administration and on the National 
Railroad Passenger Corporation. Testimony was heard from Jolene M. 
Molitoris, Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Department 
of Transportation; and Thomas M. Downs, Chairman and President, 
National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK).
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, 
and General Government held a hearing on the GSA. Testimony was heard 
from the following officials of GSA: David J. Barram, Acting 
Administrator, Robert A. Peck, Commissioner, Public Building Service, 
and Robert J. Woods, Commissioner, Federal Telecommunications Service.
HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE PROTECTION ACT
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Ordered reported amended 
H.R. 607, Homeowners Insurance Protection Act;
  The Committee also approved Budget Views and Estimates for Fiscal 
Year 1998 for transmission to the Committee on the Budget.
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee on Domestic 
and International Monetary Policy held a hearing on International 
Monetary Fund. Testimony was heard from Timothy F. Geithner, Senior 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Monetary and Financial 
Policy, Department of the Treasury.
ASSISTED SUICIDE FUNDING RESTRICTION ACT OF 1997
Committee on Commerce: Ordered reported amended H.R. 1003, Assisted 
Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997.
LEAKING UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK TRUST FUND AMENDMENTS ACT
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials 
approved for full Committee action H.R. 688, Leaking Underground 
Storage Tank Trust Fund Amendments Act of 1997.
  Prior to this action, the Subcommittee held a hearing on this 
measure. Testimony was heard from Michael Shapiro, Acting Deputy 
Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, 
EPA; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; MISSION MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on Human 
Resources and Intergovernmental Relations concluded oversight hearings 
on the Department of Education: Mission, Management, and Performance. 
Testimony was heard from Thomas R. Bloom, Inspector General, Department 
of Education; Cornelia M. Blanchette, Associate Director, Education and 
Employment Issues, GAO; Beverly Sgdro, Secretary of Education, State of 
Virginia; and a public witness.
DEFENSE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on National 
Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice held a hearing on 
Improving Defense Inventory Management. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the Department of Defense: James B. Emahiser, 
Assistant Deputy Under Secretary, Materiel and Distribution Management; 
and Jeffrey A. Jones, Executive Director, Logistics Management, Defense 
Logistics Agency; the following officials of the GAO: Henry L. Hinton, 
Jr., Assistant Comptroller General; Kenneth R.

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Knouse, Jr., Assistant Director; and Robert L. Repasky, Senior 
Evaluator; Jacques Gansler, Vice Chairman, Defense Science Board; and a 
public witness.
BUDGET VIEWS AND ESTIMATES; ADMINISTRATION'S SECURITY ASSISTANCE 
REQUEST
Committee on International Relations: Approved Committee Budget and 
Estimates for Fiscal Year 1998 for transmission to the Committee on the 
Budget.
  The Committee also held a hearing on the Administration's Security 
Assistance Request for fiscal year 1998. Testimony was heard from 
William S. Cohen, Secretary of Defense.
SECURITY AND FREEDOM THROUGH ENCRYPTION ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual 
Property held a hearing on H.R. 695, Security and Freedom Through 
Encryption (SAFE) Act. Testimony was heard from William Reinsch, Under 
Secretary, Bureau of Export Administration, Department of Commerce; 
William Crowell, Deputy Director, NSA, Department of Defense; Robert 
Litt, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department 
of Justice; and public witnesses.
REFORMING JUVENILE JUSTICE
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing on 
reforming juvenile justice in America and related legislative 
proposals. Testimony was heard from Barbara O'Connor, Special Counsel, 
U.S. Sentencing Commission; Patricia West, Secretary of Public Safety, 
State of Virginia; and public witnesses.
MILITARY RESALE SYSTEM
Committee on National Security: Morale Welfare and Recreation Panel 
held a hearing on military resale system. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the Department of Defense: Frederick F.Y. Pang, 
Assistant Secretary (Force Management Policy); Maj. Gen. Richard Beale, 
Jr., USA, Director, Defense Commissary Agency; Maj. Gen. Doug Bunger, 
USAF, Commander, Army and Air Force Exchange Service; Rear Adm. Paul 
Soderberg, USN, Commander, Navy Exchange Service Command; and Michael 
Tharrington, Acting Director, MWR Support Activity, U.S. Marine Corps.
DOD AUTHORIZATION--INFORMATION WARFARE
Committee on National Security: Subcommittee on Military Procurement 
and Subcommittee on Military Research and Development held a joint 
hearing on fiscal year 1998 Department of Defense authorization 
request--Information Warfare. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the Department of Defense: Joan Dempsey, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary (Intelligence and Security); Lt. Gen. Douglas D. Buchholz, 
USA, Director, Command, Control, Communications and Computers Systems 
(J-6), The Joint Staff; Maj. Gen. David J. Kelley, USA, Vice Director, 
Defense Information Systems Agency; Lt. Gen. Otto J. Guenther, USA, 
Director, Information Systems, Command, Control, Communications and 
Computers, Headquarters, Department of the Army; Vice Adm. Arther K. 
Cebrowski, USN, Director, Navy Space, Information Warfare, Command and 
Control, Chief of Naval Operations; Lt. Gen. Paul K. Van Riper, USMC, 
Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; Lt. Gen. 
William L. Donahue, USAF, Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications and 
Information, Headquarters, Department of the Air Force; Maj. Gen. John 
P. Casciano, USAF, Director, Intelligence Surveillance and 
Reconnaissance, DSC Air and Space Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air 
Force; Brig. Gen. Charles R. Henderson, USAF, Director, Command and 
Control, DCS Air and Space Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force; 
Brig. Gen. Robert T. Clark, USA, Deputy Chief of Staff, Combat 
Development, Training and Doctrine, Headquarters, U.S. Army Training 
and Doctrine Command; and Marvin Langston, Deputy Assistant Secretary, 
Navy C41/Electronic Warfare/Space Programs, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition); and a 
public witness.
OVERSIGHT-BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT RULEMAKING: HARDROCK MINING 
OPERATIONS
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources 
held an oversight hearing on Bureau of Land Management final rulemaking 
on bonding of hardrock mining operations: Why was there no meaningful 
public comment solicited? Testimony was heard from John Leshy, 
Solicitor, Department of the Interior; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held 
a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 799, to require the Secretary of 
Agriculture to make a minor adjustment in the exterior boundary of the 
Hells Canyon Wilderness in the States of Oregon and Idaho to exclude an 
established Forest Service road inadvertently included in the 
wilderness, and H.R. 838, to require adoption of a management plan for 
Hells Canyon National Recreation Area that allows appropriate use of 
motorized and

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nonmotorized river craft in the recreation area. Testimony was heard 
from the following officials of the National Forest System, USDA: Lyle 
Laverty, Acting Associate Deputy Chief; and Robert Richmond, Forest 
Supervisor, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest; and public witnesses.
CENTRAL VALLEY PROJECT
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power held an 
oversight hearing on Central Valley Project Operations and 
Administration Reform Process. Testimony was heard from John Garamendi, 
Deputy Secretary, Department of the Interior.
COMMITTEE FUNDING
Committee on Rules: Granted, by a recorded vote of 9 to 2, a closed 
rule on H. Res. 91, providing amounts for the expenses of certain 
committees of the House of Representatives in the One Hundred Fifth 
Congress, without the intervention of any point of order. The rule 
provides that the Committee on House Oversight amendment in the nature 
of a substitute consisting of the text of H. Res. 102 printed in the 
resolution shall be considered as adopted. The rule provides for one 
hour of debate divided equally and controlled by the Chairman and 
ranking minority member of the Committee on House Oversight. Finally, 
the rule provides one motion to recommit. Testimony was heard from 
Representative Thomas.
BUDGET REQUEST
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a 
hearing on the fiscal year 1998 Budget Authorization Request: 
Department of Energy, Nuclear Energy; Environment, Safety and Health; 
and Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (Non-Defense).
  Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of 
Energy: Terry R. Lash, Director, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and 
Technology; Peter N. Brush, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, 
Environment, Safety and Health; and James M. Owendoff, Acting Principal 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Environmental Management.
YEAR 2000: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Technology and the Subcommittee 
on Government Management, Information, and Technology of the Committee 
on Government Reform and Oversight held a joint hearing on Year 2000: 
Implications for the Commercial Sector. Testimony was heard from public 
witnesses.
FAA--FINANCIAL ASSESSMENT
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on 
Aviation held a hearing on review of Coopers and Lybrand Independent 
Financial Assessment of the FAA. Testimony was heard from Senator 
Lautenberg; Representative LoBiondo; Monte Belger, Acting Deputy 
Administrator, FAA, Department of Transportation; and public witnesses.
VETERAN'S LEGISLATION; BUDGET VIEWS AND ESTIMATES
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Ordered reported the following bills: 
H.R. 1090, to amend title 38, United States Code, to allow revision of 
veterans' benefits decisions based on clear and unmistakable error; and 
H.R. 1092, to amend title 38, United States Code, to extend the 
authority of the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs to enter into enhanced-
use leases for Department of Veterans' Affairs property, to rename the 
U.S. Court of Veterans' Appeals and the National Cemetery System.
  The Committee also approved Budget Views and Estimates for Fiscal 
Year 1998 for transmission to the Committee on the Budget.
MEDICARE HOSPITAL AND PHYSICIAN PAYMENT POLICIES
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on 
recommendations regarding Medicare Hospital and Physician Payment 
Policies. Testimony was heard from Joseph Newhouse, Chairman, 
Prospective Payment Assessment Commission; Gail R. Wilensky, Chair, 
Physician Payment Review Commission; and public witnesses.
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Human Resources held a 
hearing on the Administration's Child Support Enforcement Incentive 
Payment Proposal. Testimony was heard from David Gray Ross, Deputy 
Director, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Department of Health and 
Human Services; Carmen Solomon-Fears, Education and Public Welfare 
Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; Leslie 
Frye, Chief, Office of Child Support, Department of Social Services, 
State of California; and public witnesses.

Joint Meetings
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded hearings to examine the 
economic outlook, focusing on the role of monetary policy, price 
stability, and the Consumer Price Index, after receiving testimony from 
Alan Greenspan, Chair, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System.

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VETERANS' PROGRAMS
Joint Hearing: Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs concluded joint 
hearings with the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to examine the 
legislative recommendations of certain veterans organizations, after 
receiving testimony from David E. Ovesen, AMVETS, Lanham, Maryland; and 
Joseph H. Schwartz, Veterans of WWI, William E. Mottern, American Ex-
Prisoners of War, and George C. Duggins, Vietnam Veterans of America, 
all of Washington, D.C.