[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 148 (Wednesday, October 29, 1997)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1165-D1167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NUCLEAR WEAPONS STOCKPILE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development held hearings to examine certain funding issues with regard 
to how the Department of Energy's Stockpile Stewardship and Management 
program maintains the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear 
weapons stockpile, receiving testimony from Federico Pena, Secretary, 
and Victor H. Reis, Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs, both of 
the Department of Energy; and Harold P. Smith, Jr., Assistant to the 
Secretary for Nuclear and Chemical and Biological Defense Programs, and 
Franklin C. Miller, Acting Assistant Secretary for International 
Security Policy, both of the Department of Defense.
  Subcommittee recessed subject to call.
SECURITIES LITIGATION STANDARDS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs:Subcommittee on 
Securities concluded hearings on S. 1260, to limit the conduct of 
securities class actions under State law by setting national standards 
for stocks that are traded on the national markets, after receiving 
testimony from Representatives White and Eshoo; Arthur Levitt, Jr., 
Chairman, and Isaac C. Hunt, Commissioner, both of the Securities and 
Exchange Commission; Mayor Harry Smith, Greenwood, Mississippi, on 
behalf of the National League of Cities; Herbert E. Milstein, Cohen, 
Milstein, Hausfeld, and Toll, Washington, D.C., on behalf of the 
National Association of Securities and Commercial Law Attorneys; Thomas 
E. O'Hara, Royal Oaks, Michigan, on behalf of the National Association 
of Investors Corporation; Robert C. Hinckley, Xilinx, Inc., San Jose, 
California, on behalf of the American Electronics Association; Daniel 
Cooperman, Oracle Corporation, Redwood Shores, California, on behalf of 
the Software Publishers Association; and Michael A. Perino, Stanford 
University School of Law, Stanford, California.
NATO ENLARGEMENT
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
certain implications of NATO enlargement on the United States economy, 
European Union expansion, and the European Monetary Union, after 
receiving testimony from James A. Baker, Baker and Botts, former 
Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury, and Susan Eisenhower, 
Center for Political and Strategic Studies, both of Washington, D.C.
AVIATION ACCIDENT COMPENSATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:Committee concluded 
hearings on S. 943 and H.R. 2005, bills to allow a dependent of a 
victim of an international aviation accident occurring on or after 
January 1, 1995, to sue for pecuniary loss, after receiving testimony 
from Senator Specter; Hans Ephraimson-Abt, Ridgewood, New Jersey, on 
behalf of the American Association for Families of KAL 007 Victims; A. 
Frank Carven, III, Bel Air, Maryland, on behalf of the Families of TWA 
Flight 800 Association, Inc.; William Huggett, Huggett Law Firm, Miami, 
Florida; and Andrew J. Harakas, Stamford, Connecticut.
NOAA CORPS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:Subcommittee on 
Oceans and Fisheries concluded hearings to examine the future of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps, and related 
proposals, including S. 877, to disestablish NOAA's Corps of 
Commissioned Officers while maintaining NOAA's services for managing 
the nation's natural resources and improving the cost-effectiveness of 
the program, after receiving testimony from D. James Baker, Under 
Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Frank DeGeorge, Inspector 
General, both of the Department of Commerce; L. Nye Stevens, Director, 
Federal Management and Workforce Issues, General Government Division, 
General Accounting Office; Christian Andreasen, International 
Hydrographic Organization, North Potomac, Maryland; Cheryl Glang, NOAA 
Officers' Wives Club, Germantown, Maryland; and Whitemarsh S. Smith, 
III, Charleston Branch Pilots' Association, Charleston, South Carolina.
MOUNT ST. HELENS MINERAL RIGHTS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on National 
Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation concluded hearings on S. 
638, to provide for acquisition of private mineral rights held by 
Burlington Northern Incorporated and the

[[Page D1166]]

Weyerhauser Company within the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic 
Monument, after receiving testimony from Robert Anderson, Deputy 
Assistant Director, Minerals, Realty, and Resource Protection, Bureau 
of Land Management, Department of the Interior; George Sharp, 
Weyerhauser Company, Tacoma, Washington; John S. Geyer, Burlington 
Resources Oil and Gas Co., Denver, Colorado; and Harry J. Olson, 
Lakewood, Colorado.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the following business items:
  The nomination of Kenneth R. Wykle, of Virginia, to be Administrator 
of the Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation;
  Provisions of H.R. 1658, authorizing funds for fiscal years 1998 
through 2000 for programs of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation 
Act, with an amendment;
  S. 1258, to prohibit illegal aliens from receiving relocation 
assistance associated with Federal projects and grants, with an 
amendment;
  S. 1219, to require the establishment of a research and grant program 
for the eradication or control of Pfiesteria piscicida and other 
aquatic toxins, with an amendment; and
  S. 1324, to deauthorize a portion of the federal navigation channel 
at Bernard Bayou, Mississippi.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
nominations of David L. Aaron, of New York, to be Under Secretary of 
Commerce for International Trade, Mary Ann Cohen, of California, to be 
a Judge of the United States Tax Court, Margaret Ann Hamburg, of New 
York, to be an Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
Stanford G. Ross, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the 
Social Security Advisory Board, David W. Wilcox, of Virginia, to be an 
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and Charles Rossotti, of the 
District of Columbia, to be Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 
Department of the Treasury.
  Prior to this action, committee concluded hearings on the nominations 
of Mr. Aaron, Ms. Cohen, Ms. Hamburg, Mr. Ross and Mr. Wilcox (all 
listed above), after the nominees testified and answered questions in 
their own behalf. Mr. Aaron was introduced by Senator Baucus, and Ms. 
Hamburg was introduced by Senators D'Amato and Moynihan.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of William Dale Montgomery, of Pennsylvania, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, Harriet C. Babbitt, of Arizona, 
to be Deputy Administrator, Terrence J. Brown, of Virginia, to be 
Assistant Administrator for Management, and Thomas H. Fox, of the 
District of Columbia, to be Assistant Administrator for Policy and 
Program Coordination, all of the Agency for International Development, 
Amy L. Bondurant, of the District of Columbia, to be Representative of 
the United States to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development, with the rank of Ambassador, Kirk K. Robertson, of 
Virginia, to be Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private 
Investment Corporation, Joseph A. Presel, of Rhode Island, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Uzbekistan, Stanley Tuemler Escudero, of 
Florida, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, B. Lynn 
Pascoe, of Virginia, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of 
Service as Special Negotiator for Nagorno-Karabakh, Steven Karl Pifer, 
of California, to be Ambassador to Ukraine, Lyndon Lowell Olson, Jr., 
of Texas, to be Ambassador to Sweden, Gerald S. McGowan, of Virginia, 
to be Ambassador to the Republic of Portugal, Kathryn Linda Haycock 
Proffitt, of Arizona, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Malta, James 
Catherwood Hormel, of California, to be Ambassador to Luxembourg, and 
David B. Hermelin, of Michigan, to be Ambassador to Norway, after the 
nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Ms. 
Babbitt was introduced by Senator McCain, Ms. Bondurant was introduced 
by Senators Ford and Hollings, Mr. Robertson was introduced by Senators 
Bumpers, Hutchinson, and Bond, Ms. Proffitt was introduced by Senator 
Dorgan, Mr. McGowan was introduced by Senators Abraham and Levin, Mr. 
Olson was introduced by Senator Hutchison, Mr. Hormel was introduced by 
Senators Feinstein and Boxer, and Mr. Hermelin was introduced by 
Senators Abraham and Levin.
U.S.-MEXICO COUNTERDRUG EFFORTS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded joint hearings with 
the Caucus on International Narcotics Control to examine United States-
Mexican cooperation on counter-narcotics efforts, after receiving 
testimony from Barry R. McCaffrey, Director, Office of National Drug 
Control Policy; Thomas J. Kneir, Deputy Assistant Director, Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, and James S. Milford, Jr., Acting Deputy 
Administrator, and Donald F. Ferrarone, former Special Agent-in-Charge, 
Houston Field Division, both of the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
all of the Department of Justice; Jeffrey Davidow, Assistant Secretary 
of State for Inter-American Affairs; Samuel H. Banks, Acting 
Commissioner, United States Customs Service, Department of the 
Treasury; and Roy

[[Page D1167]]

Godson, Georgetown University/National Strategy Information Center, 
Washington, D.C.
CAMPAIGN FINANCING INVESTIGATION
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee resumed hearings to 
examine certain matters with regard to the committee's special 
investigation on campaign financing, receiving testimony from Lanny A. 
Breuer, Special Counsel to the President; Michael X. Imbroscio, 
Associate Counsel to the President; and Charles Ruff, Chief White House 
Counsel; and Richard Jenrette, Equitable Life Insurance Company, New 
York, New York.
  Hearings continue tomorrow.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of James S. Ware, of California, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, Lynn S. Adelman, to be United 
States District Judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Charles R. 
Breyer, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of 
California, Frank C. Damrell, Jr., to be United States District Judge 
for the Eastern District of California, Martin J. Jenkins, to be United 
States District Judge for the Northern District of California, Michael 
P. McCuskey, to be United States District Judge for the Central 
District of Illinois, G. Patrick Murphy, to be United States District 
Judge for the Southern District of Illinois, and Frederica A. Massiah-
Jackson, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of 
Pennsylvania, after the nominees testified and answered questions in 
their own behalf. Messrs. Ware, Breyer, Damrell, and Jenkins were 
introduced by Senators Feinstein and Boxer, Mr. Adelman was introduced 
by Senators Kohl and Feingold, Mr. McCuskey was introduced by Senators 
Moseley-Braun and Durbin and Representative Evans, Mr. Murphy was 
introduced by Senators Moseley-Braun and Durbin, and Ms. Massiah-
Jackson was introduced by Senators Specter and Santorum and 
Representatives Foglietta and Fattah.
GLOBAL TOBACCO SETTLEMENT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Antitrust, Business Rights 
and Competition concluded hearings to examine certain antitrust 
implications of the proposed settlement between State Attorneys General 
and tobacco companies to mandate a total reformation and restructuring 
of how tobacco products are manufactured, marketed and distributed in 
America, after receiving testimony from Robert Pitofsky, Chairman, 
Federal Trade Commission; Meyer Koplow, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, and 
Katz, New York, New York; and Frank J. Chaloupka, IV, University of 
Illinois, Chicago.
INDIAN GAMING REGULATION
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded hearings on S. 1077, 
to amend the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to revise certain definitions 
and to establish the Federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Commission as an 
independent United States agency to establish minimum Federal standards 
for background investigations, internal control systems, and licensing, 
after receiving testimony from Senator Feinstein and Bryan; David 
Hayes, Counselor to the Secretary of the Interior; Kevin Di Gregory, 
Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of 
Justice; Tadd Johnson, National Indian Gaming Commission, Raymond C. 
Scheppach, National Governors' Association, Ernie Stevens, Jr., 
National Congress of American Indians, and Richard G. Hill, National 
Indian Gaming Association, all of Washington, D.C.; Anthony R. Pico, 
Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, Alpine, California; Milo Yellow Hair, 
Oglala Sioux Tribe, Pine Ridge, South Dakota, on behalf of the Great 
Plains Indian Gaming Association; David Kwail, Yavapai-Apache Indian 
Nation, Phoenix, Arizona; and Frank L. Chaves, New Mexico Indian Gaming 
Association, Bernalillo, New Mexico.