[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 16, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D768-D770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA BUDGET
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on the District of Columbia 
held a hearing on the Fiscal Year 1998 D.C. Budget. Testimony was heard 
from the following officials of the District of Columbia: Marion Barry, 
Mayor; and Linda Cropp, Acting Chairman, Council; and Andrew F. 
Brimmer, Chairman, Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance 
Authority.
GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISES
Committee on Banking and Financial Services:  Subcommittee on Capital 
Markets, Securities and Government Sponsored Enterprises and the 
Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology of 
the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight held a joint oversight 
hearing on Government Sponsored Enterprises. Testimony was heard from 
Jim Bothwell, Chief Economist, GAO; Thomas Woodward, Economist, 
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; and public 
witnesses.
NATIONAL SALVAGE MOTOR VEHICLE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and 
Consumer Protection approved for full Committee action amended H.R. 
1839, National Salvage Motor Vehicle Consumer Protection Act of 1997.
OLDER AMERICANS ACT AUTHORIZATION
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Early 
Childhood, Youth and Families continued hearings on the Authorization 
of the Older Americans Act. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
ERGONOMICS: A QUESTION OF FEASIBILITY
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing on Ergonomics: A Question of Feasibility. 
Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Committee on International Relations: Held a hearing on the Democratic 
Republic of Congo: Problems and Prospects. Testimony was heard from 
Thomas Pickering, Under Secretary, Political Affairs, Department of 
State; J. Brian Atwood, Administrator, AID, U.S.

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International Development Cooperation Agency; and public witnesses.
CAMBODIA--BREAKDOWN OF DEMOCRACY
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific held a hearing on Familiar Ground: The Breakdown of Democracy 
in Cambodia and Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy. Testimony was 
heard from Aurelia Brazeal, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East 
Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State; and public witnesses.
JOBS AND EXPORTS RENEWAL ACT
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Economic Policy and Trade approved for full Committee amended H.R. 
2064, Jobs and Exports Renewal Act of 1997.
ANTI-DRUG EFFORT IN THE AMERICAS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on the Western 
Hemisphere held a hearing on the Anti-Drug Effort in the Americas: A 
Mid-Term Report. Testimony was heard from Representative Hastert; Jane 
Becker, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State; Rear Adm. 
Walter Doran, USN, Deputy Commander In-Chief, U.S. Southern Command, 
Department of Defense; and James Milford, Deputy Administrator, DEA, 
Department of Justice.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Ordered reported the following bills: H.R. 
764, Bankruptcy Amendments of 1997; H.R. 1596, Bankruptcy Judgeship Act 
of 1997; and H.R. 1953, to clarify State authority to tax compensation 
paid to certain employees.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime approved for full 
Committee action the following: H.R. 424, amended, to provide for 
increased mandatory minimum sentences for criminals possessing 
firearms; and the Witness Protection and Interstate Relocation Act of 
1997.
THREATS POSED BY ELECTROMAGNETIC PULSE TO U.S. MILITARY SYSTEMS
Committee on National Security: Subcommittee on Military Research and 
Development held a hearing on threats posed by electromagnetic pulse to 
U.S. Military systems and civilian infrastructure. Testimony was heard 
from the following officials of the Department of Defense: George W. 
Ullrich, Deputy Director, Defense Special Weapons Agency; and Gilbert 
I. Klinger, Acting Deputy Under Secretary (Space); Gen. Robert T. 
Marsh, USAF (Ret.), Chairman, President's Commission on Critical 
Infrastructure Protection; and Lowell Wood, Lawrence Livermore 
Laboratory; and a public witness.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Ordered reported the following bills: H.R. 700, 
amended, to remove the restriction on the distribution of certain 
revenues from the Mineral Springs parcel to certain members of the Agua 
Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; 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; H.R. 838, to require adoption of a management plan for 
the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area that allows appropriate use 
of motorized and nonmotorized river craft in the recreation area; H.R. 
948, Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Act; H.R. 976, 
amended, Mississippi Sioux Tribes Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 
1997; H.R. 1460, amended, to allow for election of the Delegate from 
Guam by other than separate ballot; H.R. 1604, amended, to provide for 
the division, use, and distribution of judgment funds of the Ottawa and 
Chippewa Indians of Michigan pursuant to dockets numbered 18-E, 58, 
364, and 18-R before the Indian Claims Commission; H.R. 1663, amended, 
to clarify the intent of the Congress in Public Law 93-632 to require 
the Secretary of Agriculture to continue to provide for the maintenance 
of 18 concrete dams and weirs that were located in the Emigrant 
Wilderness at the time the wilderness area was designated as wilderness 
in that Public Law; H.R. 1944, Warner Canyon Ski Hill Land Exchange Act 
of 1997; and H.R. 1855, amended, to establish a moratorium on large 
fishing vessels in Atlantic herring and mackerel fisheries.
  The Committee also approved a resolution authorizing the Chairman to 
issue a subpoena concerning the matter of the committee review of 
hardrock bonding mining regulations.
CARL D. PERKINS VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION ACT AMENDMENTS
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, an open rule providing 1 
hour of debate on H.R. 1853, Carl D. Perkins Vocational-Technical 
Education Act Amendments of 1997. The rule waives clause 2(I)(6) of 
rule XI (relating to the 3-day availability of the report) against 
consideration of the bill. The rule makes in order the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce amendment in the nature of a substitute as 
an original bill for purpose of amendment, shall

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be open to amendment at any point, and each section shall be considered 
as read. The rule authorizes the Chair to accord priority in 
recognition to Members who have pre-printed their amendments in the 
Congressional Record. Finally, the rule provides one motion to 
recommit, with or without instructions. Testimony was heard from 
Chairman Goodling; and Representatives Morella, Clay, Martinez and Mink 
of Hawaii.
CREDIT SUBSIDY RATES
Committee on Small Business: Held a hearing on credit subsidy rates for 
the Section 7(a) general business loan program and the Section 504 
Certified Development Company program. Testimony was heard from Edward 
DeSeve, Acting Deputy Director, OMB; Aida Alvarez, Administrator, SBA; 
Judy England-Joseph, Director, Housing and Community Development 
Issues, GAO; and a public witness.
COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION ACT
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation approved for full Committee action 
the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1997.
VETERAN'S LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Benefits held a hearing 
on pending proposals in the areas of education, training and 
employment. Testimony was heard from former Representative G.V. 
Montgomery of Mississippi; Al Borrego, Acting Assistant Secretary, 
Veterans Employment and Training, Department of Labor; Celia 
Dollarhide, Director, Education Service, Department of Veterans 
Affairs; and representatives of various veterans organizations.