[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D529-D532] 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 concluded hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1998 for foreign assistance programs, focusing on international affairs, after receiving testimony from Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of State. [[Page D530]] NOMINATIONS Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded hearings on the nominations of James A. Harmon, of New York, to be President, and Jackie M. Clegg, of Utah, to be First Vice President, both of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Ms. Clegg was introduced by Senators Hatch and Bennett. ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee held hearings to examine electronic funds transfer and electronic benefit transfer and the effect of these programs on Federal benefit recipients, receiving testimony from John D. Hawke, Jr., Under Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance; John R. Dyer, Principle Deputy Commissioner, Social Security Administration; Stephen L. Lemons, Acting Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Benefits; Kathleen Myers, Brooklyn-Wide Interagency Council of the Aging, Inc., Brooklyn, New York; and Marcelyn Creque, American Association of Retired Persons, Richard A. Wannemacher, Jr., Disabled American Veterans, and Margot F. Saunders, National Consumer Law Center, all of Washington, D.C. Hearings were recessed subject to call. PROFESSIONAL BOXING Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded oversight hearings on activities of the professional boxing industry, focusing on the possible creation of a pension system or assistance fund for professional boxers, after receiving testimony from Richard DeCuir, California State Athletic Commission, Sacramento; Floyd Patterson, New York State Athletic Commission, Poughkeepsie; Brenda Reneau, Oklahoma Department of Labor, Oklahoma City; Gregory P. Sirb, Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, Harrisburg, on behalf of the Association of Boxing Commissioners; Seth G. Abraham, Time Warner Sports, Roy Langbord, Showtime Networks, Inc., and Thomas Hoover, Veteran Boxers Association of New York, all of New York, New York; Jim Brady, Boxing News, Lawrence, Massachusetts; Rich Rose, Ceasars World Sports, Las Vegas, Nevada; Alfonso Daniels, Riverdale, Maryland; and Joseph M. DeGuardia, Bronx, New York. INTERNET TAX FREEDOM ACT Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Communications concluded hearings on S. 442, to establish a national policy against State and local government interference with interstate commerce on the Internet or interactive computer services, and to exercise Congressional jurisdiction over interstate commerce by establishing a moratorium on the imposition of exactions that would interfere with the free flow of commerce via the Internet, after receiving testimony from Representatives Cox and White; Lawrence H. Summers, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury; Timothy M. Kaine, National League of Cities, Richmond, Virginia; Linda Rankin, Bear Creek Corporation, Medford, Oregon; Wade Anderson, Texas Office of the State Comptroller, Austin; Kendall L. Houghton, Committee on State Taxation, Washington, D.C.; and James Walton, Association of Online Professionals, Nashville, Tennessee. ELECTRIC UTILITIES DEREGULATION Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee met to further discuss proposals to advance the goals of deregulation and competition in the electric power industry, focusing on financial implications of utility restructuring, receiving testimony from Ronald L. McMahan, Resource Data International, Inc., Boulder, Colorado; Steven M. Fetter, Fitch Investors Service, New York, New York; Kit Konolige, Morgan Stanley & Co., and Douglas W. Kimmelman, Goldman, Sachs & Co., both of New York, New York; Frank Pazlar, Minnesota Utility Investors, St. Paul; T. Graham Edwards, South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee Cooper), Columbia, on behalf of the Large Public Power Council; and William D. Steinmeier, Jefferson City, Missouri, on behalf of the Electric Utility Shareholders Alliance. Committee will meet again on Thursday, June 12. COMMUNITY BASED FORESTRY Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management met to discuss the emerging process of community-based forestry, or finding community-based solutions to conflict resolution in public land management, receiving testimony from Lynn Jungwirth, Watershed Research and Training Center, Hayfork, California; Carol Daly, Flathead Economic Policy Center, Kalispell, Montana; Jonathan Kusel, Forest Community Research, Taylorsville, California; Dan'l Markham, Willapa Alliance, South Bend, Washington; Wendy Hinrichs Sanders, Lake States Forestry Alliance, Inc., Hayward, Wisconsin; Jack Shipley, Applegate Partnership, Grants Pass, Oregon; Nadine Bailey, Timber Producers Association of Michigan and Wisconsin, Inc., Rhilander, Wisconsin; Louis Blumberg, Wilderness Society, San Francisco, California; Neil Dion, Plumas Forest Project, Blairsden, California; John Doggett, American Farm Bureau, Washington, D.C.; and Bonnie Phillips, Pilchuck Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. [[Page D531]] CHINA MFN STATUS Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs held hearings on East Asian and Pacific Affairs to examine whether the renewal of China's most favored nation status is an appropriate tool for the United States to use in trying to shape the Chinese government's international and domestic policy, receiving testimony from Representative Bereuter; Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, American Enterprise Institute, Nicholas R. Lardy, Brookings Institution, James J. Przystup, Heritage Foundation, and Robert Kagan, American University, all of Washington, D.C.; and Kenneth Lieberthal, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Subcommittee recessed subject to call. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items: S. 261, to provide for a biennial budget process and a biennial appropriations process and to enhance oversight and the performance of the Federal Government, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; S. 207, to review, reform, and terminate unnecessary and inequitable Federal subsidies, with amendments; S. 307, to authorize the transfer to States of surplus personal property for donation to nonprofit providers of assistance to impoverished families and individuals; H.R. 680, to authorize the transfer to States of surplus personal property for donation to nonprofit providers of necessaries to impoverished families and individuals; and The nominations of David J. Barram, of California, to be Administrator of General Services, and Mary Ann Gooden Terrell, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items: S. 768, for the relief of Michel Christopher Meili, Giuseppina Meili, Mirjam Naomi Meili, and Davide Meili; S. 507, to establish the United States Patent and Trademark Organization as a Government corporation, to amend the provisions of title 35, United States Code, relating to procedures for patent applications, commercial use of patents, and reexamination reform, with amendments; S. 610, to implement the obligations of the United States under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, known as ``the Chemical Weapons Convention'' and opened for signature and signed by the United States on January 13, 1993, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; H.R. 400, 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, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and 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. COLLEGE BOWL ALLIANCE Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition concluded hearings to examine antitrust and competitive issues within the college football Bowl Alliance, which consists of the Southeastern Athletic Conference, the Big 12, the Atlantic Coast Conference, and the Big East, as well as the University of Notre Dame, after receiving testimony from Senators McConnell, Bennett, Thomas, and Enzi; Ron Cooper, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky; Wally Richardson, Penn State University, State College, Pennsylvania; Richard Peace and David Baker, both of the University of Wyoming, Laramie; Roy F. Kramer, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama; Karl Benson, Western Athletic Conference, Englewood, Colorado; Cedric W. Dempsey, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Overland Park, Kansas; Gary R. Roberts, Tulane University Law School, New Orleans, Louisiana; James E. Delany, Big Ten Conference, Park Ridge, Illinois; Chad Lewis, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated, New York, New York; and Richard Circuit, Plymouth Holiday Bowl, San Diego, California. Hearings were recessed subject to call. AUTHORIZATION--SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Subcommittee on Public Health and Safety concluded hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, after receiving testimony from Nelba Chavez, Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; Marsha Lillie-Blanton, Associate Director, Health Services Quality and Public Health Issues, Health, Education, and Human Services Division, General Accounting Office; [[Page D532]] Luceille Fleming, Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services, Columbus, on behalf of the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors, Inc.; Mary Phillips Hauser, Marathon, Inc., Providence, Rhode Island, on behalf of Therapeutic Communities of America; J. David Hawkins, University of Washington, Seattle; James Langenbucher, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey; A. Kathryn Power, Rhode Island Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Hospitals, Cranston, on behalf of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors; Mary Jane England, Washington Business Group on Health, Washington, D.C., on behalf of the American Psychiatric Association; Philip J. Leaf, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; and Fred Frese, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Akron, Ohio. GPO REFORM Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded hearings to review legislative recommendations on certain revisions to Title 44 of the U.S. Code which authorizes the Government Printing Office to provide permanent public access to Federal government information, after receiving testimony from Henry J. Gioia, Senior Management Analyst, Office of the Director of Administration and Management, Office of the Secretary, Department of Defense; Gary R. Bachula, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology Administration; John W. Carlin, Archivist of the United States; and Joan K. Lippincott, Coalition for Networked Information, Washington, D.C. INTELLIGENCE Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the intelligence community. Committee recessed subject to call.