[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D119-D121]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
OPERATIONAL READINESS
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Readiness concluded 
hearings to examine the status of the operational readiness of the 
United States Military Forces including the availability of resources 
and training opportunities necessary to meet our national security 
requirements, after receiving testimony from Gen. William W. Crouch, 
USA, Vice Chief of Staff, United States Army; Adm. Donald L. Pilling, 
USN, Vice Chief of Naval Operations; Gen. Ralph E. Eberhart, USAF, Vice 
Chief of Staff, United States Air Force; Gen. Richard I. Neal, USMC, 
Assistant Commandant, United States Marine Corps; Lt. Gen. John W. 
Hendrix, USA, Commanding General, V Corps, U.S. Army Europe and VII 
Army; Vice Adm. Steve Abbot, USN, Commander, Sixth Fleet; Lt. Gen. John 
W. Handy, USAF, Commander, 21st Air Force, Air Mobility Command; and 
Lt. Gen. Carlton W. Fulford, Jr., USMC, Commanding General, 1 Marine 
Expeditionary Force.
MONETARY POLICY
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine the Federal Reserve's report on the economic 
situation and monetary policy of the United States, after receiving 
testimony from Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System.
BUDGET PROJECTIONS
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded hearings to examine long 
term budget projections, focusing on overall policy and Federal 
spending, after receiving testimony from Paul L. Posner, Director, 
Budget Issues, Accounting and Information Management Division, General 
Accounting Office; former Representative Bill Frenzel and Timothy 
Penny, both on behalf of the Committee for a Responsible Federal 
Budget, and C. Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute, all of Washington, 
D.C.; and Uwe E. Reinhardt, Princeton University, Princeton, New 
Jersey.
AUTHORIZATION-RAIL SAFETY
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine concluded hearings on 
proposed legislation authorizing funds for programs of the Rail Safety 
Act, after receiving testimony from Jolene M. Molitoris, Administrator, 
Federal Railroad Administration, Department of Transportation; Robert 
T.

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Francis II, Chairman, and Robert Lauby, Director, Office of Railroad 
Safety, both of the National Transportation Safety Board; M.B. Oglesby, 
Jr., Association of American Railroads, and Dan Pickett, AFL-CIO, both 
of Washington, D.C.; Gerri L. Hall, Operation Lifesaver, Inc., 
Alexandria, Virginia; and Lonnie E. Blaydes, Jr., Dallas Area Rapid 
Transit, Dallas, Texas, on behalf of the American Public Transit 
Association.
SPECIALTY FOREST PRODUCTS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and 
Public Land Management concluded oversight hearings to examine the 
harvest of specialty forest products from national forests, focusing on 
the Forest Service's progress and plans for managing specialty forest 
products, how Native Americans will be able to obtain the plant 
materials they depend on, and how community-based solutions can protect 
environmental values while meeting the social and economic needs of 
local communities, after receiving testimony from Ronald Stewart, 
Deputy Chief for Programs and Legislation, Forest Service, Department 
of Agriculture; Christina Johnson, Trinity Alps Botanicals, Burnt 
Ranch, California; Victor Benavides, Forest Workers and Harvesters 
Alliance, White Salmon, Washington; Melissa Borsting, Rogue Institute 
for Ecology and Economy, Ashland, Oregon; Bodi K. Shaw, Confederated 
Tribes, Warm Springs, Oregon; Carla HighEagle, Nez Perce Tribal 
Executive Committee, Lapwai, Idaho; Rebecca Templin Richards, 
University of Montana, Missoula; Chris C. Schnepf, University of Idaho, 
Coeur d' Alene; Keith A. Blatner, Washington State University, Pullman; 
and Jason W. Clay, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.
IRS REFORM
Committee on Finance: Committee resumed hearings on proposals and 
recommendations to restructure and reform the Internal Revenue Service, 
including a related measure H.R. 2676, receiving testimony from Paul C. 
Light, Pew Charitable Trusts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Ronald P. 
Sanders, George Washington University, Thomas H. Stanton, National 
Academy of Public Administration, G. Jerry Shaw, Senior Executives 
Association, Robert M. Tobias, National Treasury Employees Union, and 
Ray Woolner, Professional Managers Association, all of Washington, D.C.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nomination of Robert T. Grey, Jr., of Virginia, for the rank of 
Ambassador during his tenure of service as United States Representative 
to the Conference on Disarmament, after the nominee testified and 
answered questions in his own behalf.
CASPIAN SEA OIL PIPELINE
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on International Economic 
Policy, Export and Trade Promotion held hearings on the implementation 
of U.S. energy policy in the Caspian region, focusing on the 
construction of a Western Caspian Sea oil pipeline, receiving testimony 
from Robert W. Gee, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Policy and 
International Affairs; Jan Kalicki, Counselor to the Department of 
Commerce; Lawrence R. Fisher, Fluor-Daniel Incorporated, Sugar Land, 
Texas; and Charles William Maynes, Eursaia Foundation, Washington, D.C.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
HIGH-TECH WORKER SHORTAGE AND IMMIGRATION POLICY
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
United States immigration policy with regard to labor market conditions 
in high-technology industries, and the Administration's proposal to 
raise the annual quota of H1-B visas, which enable skilled engineers to 
enter the United States to work for American high-tech companies, after 
receiving testimony from Raymond J. Uhalde, Acting Assistant Secretary 
of Labor for Employment and Training; T.J. Rodgers, Cypress 
Semiconductor Corporation, San Jose, California; Michael Murray, 
Microsoft Corporation, Robert I. Lerman, Urban Institute, both of 
Washington, D.C.; Stephen H. Leven, Texas Instruments Incorporated, 
Dallas, on behalf of the American Electronics Association; Kenneth M. 
Alvares, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Palo Alto, California; Stephen 
Director, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Peter R. Genereaux, Utah 
Information Technologies Association, Midvale; Harris N. Miller, 
Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, Virginia; and 
John R. Reinert, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers--
United States of America, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of Susan Graber, of Oregon, and Richard A. Paez, of 
California, each to be a United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth 
Circuit, Sam A. Lindsay, to be United States District Judge for the 
Northern District of Texas, Hilda G. Tagle, to be United States 
District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, and Judith M. 
Barzilay, of New Jersey, and Delissa A. Ridgway, of the District of 
Columbia, each to be a Judge of the United States Court of 
International Trade, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.

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Ms. Graber was introduced by Senators Smith and Wyden, Mr. Paez was 
introduced by Senators Feinstein and Boxer, Mr. Lindsay was introduced 
by Senator Hutchison, Ms. Tagle was introduced by Senator Hutchison and 
Representative Ortiz and Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Ms. Ridgway was 
introduced by District of Columbia Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.
QUALITY SCHOOL-AGE CARE
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee concluded hearings to 
examine certain initiatives to mobilize school and community resources 
to provide quality programs to address the needs of students during 
non-school hours, including the Administration's proposed expansion of 
the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program designed to provide 
funds to school-community partnerships to start up or expand after-
school, extended learning programs for school-age children, after 
receiving testimony from Gerald N. Tirozzi, Assistant Secretary of 
Education for Elementary and Secondary Education; Shepherd Smith, 
Institute for Youth Development, Washington, D.C.; Sue Luck, Greater 
Burlington YMCA, Burlington, Vermont; Brad Luck, Essex Teen Center, 
Essex Junction, Vermont; Arthur W. Sheninger, Hatchery Hill School, 
Hackettstown, New Jersey, on behalf of the National Association of 
Elementary School Principals; Linda Childears, Young American's Bank, 
Denver, Colorado, on behalf of the National Assembly of National 
Voluntary Health and Human Welfare Organizations; and Thomas C. 
Frazier, Baltimore City Police Department, Baltimore, Maryland, on 
behalf of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids.
BUDGET REQUESTS
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded oversight 
hearings to review the strategic plan implementation, including the 
budget requests for fiscal year 1999, after receiving testimony on 
behalf of funds for their operations from Gary Sisco, Secretary of the 
Senate; Gregory S. Casey, Senate Sergeant at Arms; and Alan M. Hantman, 
Architect of the Capitol.
INDIAN PROGRAMS BUDGET
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee held hearings on the President's 
proposed budget request for fiscal year 1999 for Indian programs, 
receiving testimony from Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary of the 
Interior for Indian Affairs; Michael H. Trujillo, Assistant Surgeon 
General, and Director, Indian Health Service, Department of Health and 
Human Services; Jacqueline L. Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development for Native American Programs; W. Ron 
Allen, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, Sequin, Washington, on behalf of the 
National Congress of American Indians; Chester Carl, Navajo Nation's 
Housing Authority, Window Rock, Arizona, on behalf of the National 
American Indian Housing Council; Julia A. Davis, Northwest Portland 
Area Indian Health Board, Portland, Oregon; John Cheek, National Indian 
Education Association, Alexandria, Virginia; and Buford Rolin, National 
Indian Health Board, Denver, Colorado.
  Committee will meet again tomorrow.