[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 64 (Thursday, May 15, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D487-D488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS--FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Foreign Operations held 
hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1998 for foreign 
assistance, focusing on programs to combat infectious diseases, 
receiving testimony from Nils Daulaire, Senior Health Policy Analyst, 
Global Program, Agency for International Development; Barry Bloom, 
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, New York; David Heymann, 
World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; John Sbarbaro, 
University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver; and Gordon Douglas, 
Merck Pharmaceuticals, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.
  Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, May 20.
HOLOCAUST VICTIMS PROPERTY RESTITUTION
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine United States and allied efforts to recover and 
restore gold and other assets belonging to victims of the Holocaust 
taken by Nazi Germany during World War II, after receiving testimony 
from Stuart E. Eizenstat, Under Secretary of Commerce for International 
Trade; William Z. Slany, Historian, Department of State; Thomas G. 
Borer, Chief of the Swiss Foreign Ministry Task Force, Bern; Carl 
Henrik Sihver Liljegren, Ambassador of Sweden to the United States; 
Israel Singer, General Secretary of the World Jewish Congress, New 
York, New York; Rabbi Marvin Hier, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Los 
Angeles, California; Tom Bower, British Broadcasting Corporation, 
London, England; and Rabbi Chaim Stauber, Brooklyn, New York, on behalf 
of the World Counsel of Orthodox Communities.
1998 BUDGET
Committee on the Budget: Committee met to begin markup of an original 
concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the 
United States Government, but did not complete action thereon, and 
recessed subject to call.
FCC SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
hearings on S. 255, to provide for the reallocation and auction of a 
portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to enhance law enforcement and 
public safety telecommunications, after receiving testimony from 
Representative Weldon; Bruce A. Franca, Deputy Chief, Office of 
Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission; Howard 
Safir, New York Police Department, New York, New York; Mark Schwartz, 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on behalf of the National League of Cities; 
Ralph A. Haller, Fox Ridge Communications, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; 
Dale Hatfield, Hatfield Associates, Inc., Boulder, Colorado; Charles L. 
Jackson, Strategic Policy Research, Bethesda, Maryland.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Science, Technology, and Space concluded hearings on proposed 
legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1998 for the National 
Weather Service (NWS), focusing on the NWS's proposed staff reductions 
for fiscal year 1997 and related project cuts for fiscal year 1998, 
after receiving testimony from Senators Mack and Sarbanes; D. James 
Baker, Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator, and 
Elbert W. Friday, Jr., Assistant Administrator for Weather Services, 
both of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department 
of Commerce; Mayor James N. Mathias, Jr., Ocean City, Maryland; Richard 
E. Hallgren, American Meteorological Society, Washington, D.C.; William 
A. Wagner, Jr., Monroe County Emergency Management, Marathon, Florida; 
Ronald D. McPherson, Crofton, Maryland; and X. William Proenza, 
Colleyville, Texas;

[[Page D488]]


AGRICULTURE EXPORTS
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on International Trade held hearings 
to examine how to open new markets for United States products and what 
can be done to break down non-tariff trade barriers that may be 
detrimental to U.S. agricultural exports, receiving testimony from 
Jeffrey M. Lang, Deputy United States Trade Representative; Paul 
Drazek, Special Assistant to the Secretary of Agriculture for Trade; 
Leonard W. Condon, American Meat Institute, Arlington, Virginia; Linda 
J. Fisher, Monsanto Company, Washington, D.C.; John D. Hardin, Jr., 
Danville, Indiana, on behalf of the National Pork Producers Council; 
Carl Peterson, Delanson, New York, on behalf of Agri-Mark, 
Incorporated; and Jack Laurie, Michigan Farm Bureau, Lansing, on behalf 
of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
SUDAN
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on African Affairs 
concluded hearings to examine United States counterterrorism policy 
towards Sudan, after receiving testimony from Representative McCollum; 
George E. Moose, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, and Kenneth 
R. McKune, Associate Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism, both of the 
Department of State; R. Richard Newcomb, Director, Office of Foreign 
Assets Control, Department of the Treasury; Charles Maikish, Columbia 
University, New York, New York; Ed Smith, Hamilton Hallmark, Woodland 
Hills, California; and Roger Winter, U.S. Committee for Refugees, and 
Steven Emerson, both of Washington, D.C.
AUTHORIZATION--HIGHER EDUCATION ACT: STUDENT AID
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee resumed hearings on 
proposed legislation authorizing funds for programs of the Higher 
Education Act, focusing on the management structure of the office of 
Postsecondary Education for the financial aid delivery system, 
receiving testimony from David A. Longanecker, Assistant Secretary of 
Education for Postsecondary Education; Cornelia M. Blanchette, 
Associate Director, Education and Employment Issues, Health, Education, 
and Human Services Division, General Accounting Office; Robert E. 
Alexander, University of South Carolina, Aiken, on behalf of the 
Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance; Judith N. Flink, 
University of Illinois, Chicago, on behalf of the Coalition of Higher 
Education Assistance Organizations; Barmak Nassirian, American 
Association of State Colleges and Universities, Washington, D.C.; and 
Barbara E. Tornow, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
  Committee will meet again tomorrow.
SBA FINANCE PROGRAMS
Committee on Small Business: Committee resumed oversight hearings on 
the management of Small Business Administration finance programs, 
focusing on the 7(a) General Business Loan Guaranty Program, the 
Section 504 Development Company Loan Program, the Small Business 
Investment Company Program, the Microloan Program, the Disaster Loan 
Program, and the Surety Bond Guaranty Program, receiving testimony from 
Aida Alvarez, Administrator, Small Business Administration; and Deryl 
K. Schuster, Business Loan Center, Wichita, Kansas, and Anthony R. 
Wilkinson, Stillwater, Oklahoma, both on behalf of the National 
Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, Inc.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
VA SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Committee on Veterans Affairs: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
certain allegations of sexual harassment within the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, focusing on VA policies and practices regarding 
sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination in the workplace, 
after receiving testimony from Senator Faircloth; Hershel W. Gober, 
Deputy Secretary, and William T. Merriman, Deputy Inspector General, 
both of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Ronnie Blumenthal, 
Director, and Ellen Vargyas, Legal Counsel, both of the U.S. Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission; Cynthia A. Force, Susan M. Caruana, 
and Doris Moore- Russell, all of the VA Medical Center, Fayetteville, 
North Carolina; Mary Cavanaugh, VA Medical Center, Lyons, New Jersey; 
Cathy Claycomb, National Association of Government Employees, 
Alexandria, Virginia; and Kitty Peddicord, American Federation of 
Government Employees (AFL-CIO), Washington, D.C.
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 20.