[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D440-D442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS--DEFENSE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense held hearings on 
proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1998 for the Department of 
Defense, focusing on working capital funds and depot operations, 
receiving testimony from Henry L. Hinton, Assistant Comptroller General 
for National Security and International Affairs Issues, Jack Brock, 
Issue Area Director for Defense Information and Financial Management 
Systems, Accounting and Information Management Division, and Julia 
Denman, Assistant Director for Defense Management Issues, National 
Security and International Affairs Division, all of the General 
Accounting Office; Gen. Johnnie E. Wilson, Commander, Army Materiel 
Command; Vice Adm. Donald L. Pilling, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval 
Operations (Resources, Warfare Requirements and Assessments); Gen. 
Henry Viccellio, Jr., Commander, United States Air Force, Air Force 
Materiel Command.
  Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, May 13.
CANCER RESEARCH
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education held hearings to examine the need for increased 
funding

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for cancer research, receiving testimony from Senators Mack and 
Feinstein, both on behalf of the Senate Cancer Coalition; Richard D. 
Klausner, Director, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of 
Health, Department of Health and Human Services; Sherry Lansing, 
Paramount Pictures Corporation, Helene G. Brown, UCLA Jonsson 
Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Keith L. Black, UCLA Medical Center, 
all of Los Angeles, California; Sam Donaldson, ABC News, and Ellen 
Sigal, Sigal Environmental, on behalf of the Friends of Cancer 
Research, both of Washington, D.C.; Amy S. Langer, National Alliance of 
Breast Cancer Organizations, New York, New York; Donald S. Coffey, 
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, on 
behalf of the American Association for Cancer Research, Inc.; Arnold 
Palmer, Arnold Palmer Enterprises, Youngstown, Pennsylvania; Charles A. 
Coltman, San Antonio Cancer Institute, San Antonio, Texas, on behalf of 
the Cancer Therapy and Research Foundation of South Texas; and Toni 
Shaheen, Monmouth Beach, New Jersey.
  Subcommittee recessed subject to call.
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE FINANCING
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation and Related 
Agencies held hearings to examine issues with regard to the financing 
of certain Federal transportation programs, focusing on Federal 
Aviation Administration user fees, the Administration's financing 
proposals to leverage Federal investment in transportation 
infrastructure, and the current financial condition of the National 
Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), receiving testimony from 
Mortimer L. Downey, Deputy Secretary, and Jolene Molitoris, 
Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, both of the Department 
of Transportation; Thomas M. Downs, President and Chairman, National 
Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak); and John Anderson, Director, 
and Phyllis Scheinberg, Associate Director, both of the Resources, 
Community, and Economic Development Division, General Accounting 
Office.
  Subcommittee recessed subject to call.
NSF AND TECHNOLOGY ADMINISTRATION BUDGETS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Science, Technology, and Space concluded hearings to review certain 
budgetary matters with regard to the National Science Foundation and 
the Technology Administration of the Department of Commerce, after 
receiving testimony from Neal F. Lane, Director, National Science 
Foundation; Richard N. Zare, Chairman, National Science Board; and Mary 
L. Good, Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology.
AUTHORIZATION--SURFACE TRANSPORTATION
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure concluded hearings on proposed 
legislation authorizing funds for programs of the Intermodal Surface 
Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, focusing on transportation 
safety issues, including related measures S. 284 and S. 412, after 
receiving testimony from Senators Lugar and DeWine; Representative 
Lowey; Philip R. Recht, Deputy Administrator, National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration, and Anthony R. Kane, Executive Director, Federal 
Highway Administration, both of the Department of Transportation; Mayor 
Bob Bartlett, Monrovia, California, on behalf of the Southern 
California Association of Governments; Richard D. Crabtree, Nationwide 
Mutual Insurance Company, Columbus, Ohio, and Joan B. Claybrook, Public 
Citizen, Washington, D.C., both on behalf of the Advocates for Highway 
and Auto Safety; Katherine P. Prescott, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 
Irving, Texas; Thomas J. Donohue, American Trucking Associations, Inc., 
James L. Kolstad, American Automobile Association, Barbara Harsha, 
National Association of Governors' Highway and Safety Representatives, 
and Robert A. Georgine, Building and Construction Trades Department, 
and Edward Wytkind, Transportation Trades Department, both of the AFL-
CIO, all of Washington, D.C.; and Brenda Berry, CRASH, Woodbridge, 
Virginia.
FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on European Affairs held 
hearings to examine the Administration's proposed budget request for 
fiscal year 1998 for assistance to Central and Eastern Europe and the 
New Independent States of the former Soviet Union, receiving testimony 
from Richard L. Morningstar, Special Advisor to the President and 
Secretary of State on Assistance to the New Independent States, and 
James H. Holmes, Coordinator for East European Assistance, both of the 
Department of State; and Thomas A. Dine, Assistant Administrator, 
Bureau of Europe and the New Independent States, Agency for 
International Development.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
GOVERNMENT SECRECY
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee held hearings to review 
the recommendations of the final report of the Commission on Protecting 
and Reducing Government Secrecy, and S. 712, to define the

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principles and standards to govern classification and declassification, 
and establish within an existing agency a National Declassification 
Center to coordinate responsibility for declassifying historical 
documents, receiving testimony from Senators Moynihan and Helms; 
Representatives Combest and Hamilton; Lawrence S. Eagleburger, former 
Secretary of State; Alden V. Munson, Jr., Litton Industries, Inc., 
Woodland Hills, California; and David Wise, Washington, D.C.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of Eric L. Clay, of Michigan, to be United States Circuit 
Judge for the Sixth Circuit, Arthur Gajarsa, of Maryland, to be United 
States Circuit Judge for the Federal Circuit, Alan S. Gold, to be 
United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, and 
Thomas W. Thrash, Jr., to be United States District Judge for the 
Northern District of Georgia, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf. Mr. Gajarsa was introduced by Senators 
Sarbanes and Mikulski, Mr. Gold was introduced by Senators Mack and 
Graham, and Mr. Thrash was introduced by Senators Coverdell and 
Cleland.
OMNIBUS PATENT ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings on S. 507 and 
H.R. 400, bills to streamline operations in the Patent and Trademark 
Office of the Department of Commerce and to provide efficient and 
effective protection of patents and trademarks, after receiving 
testimony from Senator Lautenberg; Representatives Hyde and 
Rohrabacher; Bruce A. Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and 
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks; Michael K. Kirk, American 
Intellectual Property Law Association, Arlington, Virginia; Eric J. 
Ruff, PowerQuest Corporation; Orem, Utah; William P. Parker, Vermont 
Inventors Association, Burlington; and Kim Muller, International 
Trademark Association, New York, New York.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the following business items:
  S. 717, to amend and authorize funds for programs of the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act; and
  The nominations of Marsha Mason, of New Mexico, to be a Member of the 
National Council on the Arts, and Susan E. Trees, of Massachusetts, to 
be a Member of the National Council on the Humanities, both of the 
National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, Anthony R. 
Sarmiento, of Maryland, to be a Member of the National Institute for 
Literacy Advisory Board, Hans M. Mark, of Texas, to be a Member of the 
Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in 
Education Foundation, and Gerald N. Tirozzi, of Connecticut, to be 
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, and Donald 
Rappaport, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Financial Officer, 
both of the Department of Education.
SBA FINANCE PROGRAMS
Committee on Small Business: Committee held oversight hearings on the 
management of Small Business Administration finance programs, focusing 
on the 504 Development Company Loan Program and the Small Business 
Investment Company Program, receiving testimony from Mark Barbash, 
Columbus Countywide Development Corporation, Columbus, Ohio, on behalf 
of the National Association of Development Companies; Steve M. Dusek, 
Prairieland Economic Development Corporation, Slayton, Minnesota; C. 
Walter Dick, Pioneer Capital Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, on 
behalf of the National Association of Small Business Investment 
Companies; N. Whitney Johns, Whitney Johns & Company, Nashville, 
Tennessee; and Stanley W. Tucker, MMG Ventures, Baltimore, Maryland, on 
behalf of the National Association of Investment Companies.
  Hearings continue on Thursday, May 15.
NOMINATION
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee continued hearings, in 
closed session, on the nomination of George John Tenet, of Maryland, to 
be Director of Central Intelligence, where the nominee further 
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
  Closed hearings continue on Tuesday, May 13.