[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 30, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D408-D409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported an 
original bill (S. 672) making supplemental appropriations and 
rescissions for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997.
APPROPRIATIONS--NATIONAL GUARD
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense held hearings on 
proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1998 for the Department of 
Defense, focusing on the structure and modernization of the National 
Guard, receiving testimony from Lt. Gen. Edward D. Baca, Chief, 
National Guard Bureau; Maj. Gen. William A. Navas, Jr., Director, Army 
National Guard; Maj. Gen. Donald W. Shepperd, Director, Air National 
Guard; Maj. Gen. Richard C. Alexander, Ohio National Guard; Maj. Gen. 
Raymond F. Rees, Oregon National Guard; Maj. Gen. Jacob Lestenkof, 
Alaska National Guard; and Brig. Gen. Daniel James, III, Texas National 
Guard.
  Subcommittee will meet again on Wednesday, May 7.
SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Securities concluded hearings on proposals to reform the Social 
Security system, focusing on the impact of a proposal to privatize the 
Social Security trust fund on the stock market, the securities industry 
and the United States economy, after receiving testimony from Roger W. 
Mehle, Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board; 
D.K. Kebodeaux, First Financial Capital Corporation, Houston, Texas; 
and Marc E. Lackritz, Securities Industry Association, and Michael 
Tanner, Cato Institute, both of Washington, D.C.
NOMINATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
hearings on the nomination of Andrew J. Pincus, of New York, to be 
General Counsel of the Department of Commerce, after the nominee 
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
U.S. TRADE POLICY
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee held 
hearings to examine how the United States is using international trade 
to promote economic prosperity and stability in the 21st century, 
receiving testimony from William M. Daley, Secretary of Commerce; and 
Charlene Barshefsky, United States Trade Representative.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
TELEPRESENCE
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Science, Technology, and Space concluded hearings to examine the use of 
``Telepresence'', the enabling technology for telemedicine and distance 
learning, after receiving testimony from Arnauld E. Nicogossian, Acting 
Associate Administrator, Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and 
Applications, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Nat 
Durlach, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; S.K. 
Ganapathy, Bell Labs/Lucent Technology, Murray Hill, New Jersey; Henry 
Fuchs, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Ken Gabriel, DARPA/
ETO, Arlington, Virginia; James E. Brick, West Virginia University 
School of Medicine, Morgantown; and Kate Stetzner, Margaret Leary 
Elementary School, Butte, Montana.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
nominations of Kevin L. Thurm, of New York, to be Deputy Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, and Richard J. Tarplin, of New York, to be 
an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  Prior to this action, committee concluded hearings on the nominations 
(listed above), after the nominees testified and answered questions in 
their own behalf.
CHILDREN'S HEALTH
Committee on Finance: Committee held hearings on proposals to improve 
children's access to health care, including S. 13, to provide access to 
health insurance coverage for uninsured children and pregnant women, S. 
511, to require that the health and safety of a child be considered in 
any foster care or adoption placement, to eliminate barriers to the 
termination of parental rights in appropriate cases, and to promote the 
adoption of children with special needs, and S. 526, to increase the 
excise taxes on tobacco products for the purpose of offsetting the 
Federal budgetary costs associated with the Child Health Insurance and 
Lower Deficit Act, receiving testimony from Senators Daschle, Kennedy, 
and Frist; Barbara A. DeBuono, New York State Department of Public 
Health, Albany; Christine Ferguson, Rhode Island Department of Human 
Services, Cranston; Donald W. Herman, Iowa Division of Medical 
Services, Des Moines; Michael J. Koch, California Kids Healthcare 
Foundation, Woodland Hills; and Rose M. Naff, Florida Healthy Kids 
Corporation, Tallahassee.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.

[[Page D409]]


DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CRIME AND VIOLENCE
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight of 
Government Management, Restructuring and the District of Columbia 
concluded hearings on S. 294, to establish Federal penalties for the 
killing or attempted killing of a law enforcement officer of the 
District of Columbia, after receiving testimony from Senator Hutchison; 
Carol Schwartz, Member, Council of the District of Columbia, Stephen 
Harlan, Vice Chairman, District of Columbia Financial Responsibility 
and Management Assistance Authority, Eugene N. Hamilton, Chief Judge, 
Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Larry D. Soulsby, Chief, 
Metropolitan Police Department, and Robert E. Moffit, Heritage 
Foundation, H. Beecher Hicks, Jr., Metropolitan Baptist Church, and 
Tracie Gibson, all of Washington, D.C.; and Gary Mather and James 
Stewart, both of Booz-Allen & Hamilton, Inc., Falls Church, Virginia; 
and C. Stephen Wallis, Ellicott City, Maryland.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded oversight hearings on 
the operations of the Department of Justice, after receiving testimony 
from Janet Reno, Attorney General, Department of Justice.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY IN FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee concluded hearings to 
examine equal opportunity issues in the Federal construction industry, 
including the impact of the proposed Executive Order to require project 
labor agreements to be utilized for all federal and federally funded 
construction projects, and S. 606, to prohibit discrimination in 
contracting on federally funded projects on the basis of certain labor 
policies of potential contractors, after receiving testimony from 
Senator Hutchinson; John A. Koskinen, Deputy Director for Management, 
Office of Management and Budget; Robert A. Georgine, Building and 
Construction Trades Department/AFL-CIO, and R. Bruce Josten, United 
States Chamber of Commerce, both of Washington, D.C.; Tom Rolleri, 
Granite Construction Company, Watsonville, California, on behalf of the 
Associated General Contractors of America; Peter G. Vigue, Cianbro 
Corporation, Pittsfield, Maine, on behalf of the Associated Builders 
and Contractors, Inc.; and John T. Dunlop, Harvard University, 
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
  Committee will meet again on Tuesday, May 6.