[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D248-D250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
AUTHORIZATION--CHILD NUTRITION
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for child nutrition 
programs, focusing on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for 
Women, Infants and Children (WIC), after receiving testimony from 
Shirley R. Watkins, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition 
and Consumer Services; Robert A. Robinson, Director, Food and 
Agricultural Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development 
Division, General Accounting Office; Denise Ferris, National 
Association of WIC Directors, and Robert Greenstein, Center on Budget 
and Policy Priorities, both of Washington, D.C.; Joan Trendall, Marion 
County Health

[[Page D249]]

Department, Indianapolis, Indiana, on behalf of the American Dietetic 
Association; Joseph Terrance Williams, Wyoming State Electronic 
Benefits Transfer Program and Western Governor's Association Health 
Passport Project, Cheyenne; and A.K. Hawley Botchford, Harry Chapin 
Food Bank of Southwest Florida, Fort Myers.
SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following bills:
  An original bill (S. 1768) making emergency supplemental 
appropriations for recovery from natural disasters, and for overseas 
peacekeeping efforts, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998; 
and
  An original bill (S. 1769) making supplemental appropriations for the 
International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
1998.
APPROPRIATIONS--AGRICULTURE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, and Related Agencies held hearings on proposed budget 
estimates for fiscal year 1999, receiving testimony in behalf of their 
respective activities from Catherine Woteki, Under Secretary, and 
Thomas J. Billy, Administrator, both of the Food Safety and Inspection 
Service, Michael V. Dunn, Assistant Secretary, Marketing and Regulatory 
Programs, and Terry L. Medley, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service, all of the Department of Agriculture.
  Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, March 24.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of David R. Oliver, of Idaho, to be Deputy Under Secretary 
for Acquisition and Technology, Sue Bailey, of Maryland, to be 
Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, and Paul J. Hoeper, of 
California, to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research, 
Development and Acquisition, all of the Department of Defense, after 
the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
AUTHORIZATION--DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Seapower held hearings on 
proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1999 for the 
Department of Defense and the future years defense program, focusing on 
ship acquisition, receiving testimony from Jerry M. Hultin, Under 
Secretary of the Navy; John W. Douglass, Assistant Secretary of the 
Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition; Vice Adm. Conrad C. 
Lautenbacher, Jr., USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources; 
Lt. Gen. John E. Rhodes, USMC, Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat 
Development Command.
  Subcommittee recessed subject to call.
1999 BUDGET
Committee on the Budget: Committee began mark up of a proposed 
concurrent resolution setting forth the fiscal year 1999 budget for the 
Federal Government, but did not complete action thereon, and will meet 
again tomorrow.
GLOBAL TOBACCO SETTLEMENT
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee resumed 
hearings on proposed legislation to reform and restructure the 
processes by which tobacco products are manufactured, marketed, and 
distributed, to prevent the use of tobacco products by minors, and to 
redress the adverse health effects of tobacco use, receiving testimony 
from Senator Jeffords; William B. Schultz, Deputy Commissioner for 
Policy, and Mitchell Zeller, Associate Commissioner, both of the Food 
and Drug Administration, and Michael Eriksen, Director, Office on 
Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both of 
the Department of Health and Human Services; Joe Garagiola, Romano and 
Associates Inc., Columbia, Maryland, on behalf of Oral Health America; 
Gregory N. Connolly, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston; 
and Richard H. Verheij, UST Inc., Washington, D.C., on behalf of United 
States Tobacco Company.
  Hearings continue on Thursday, March 19.
PRIVACY IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Constitution, Federalism, 
and Property Rights concluded hearings to examine the use of encryption 
and mandatory access in digital communications, focusing on proposals 
to balance privacy rights with law enforcement concerns, after 
receiving testimony from Representative Goodlatte; Robert S. Litt, 
Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice; James J. 
Fotis, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, Falls Church, Virginia; 
Thomas Parenty, SyBase, Inc., Emeryville, California, Kathleen M. 
Sullivan, Stanford Law School, Stanford, California, and Richard A. 
Epstein, University of Chicago Law School, Chicago, Illinois, all on 
behalf of Americans for Computer Privacy; Bill Weidemann, RedCreek 
Communications, Newark, California; Cindy A. Cohn, McGlashan and 
Sarrail, San Mateo, California; and Tim D. Casey, MCI Communications, 
Washington, D.C.

[[Page D250]]


CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and 
Government Information resumed hearings to examine the need for a 
national strategy and policies to protect the critical infrastructures 
of the United States, receiving testimony from former Senator Nunn and 
Jamie S. Gorelick, each a Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee to the 
President's Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection; and Lt. 
Gen. David J. Kelley, Director, and Brig. Gen. James Hylton, Director 
of Operations, both of the Defense Information Systems Agency, 
Department of Defense.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
RETIREMENT SECURITY
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee held hearings to 
examine retirement security and the need for defined pension plans for 
American workers, focusing on S. 957, to establish a Pension ProSave 
system which improves the retirement income security of millions of 
American workers by encouraging employers to make pension contributions 
on behalf of employees, by facilitating pension portability, by 
preserving and increasing retirement savings, and by simplifying 
pension law, receiving testimony from Representative Pomeroy; David M. 
Strauss, Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; Ron 
E. Merolli, National Life of Vermont, Montpelier; James E. Turpin, 
Turpin and Associates, Albuquerque, New Mexico, on behalf of the 
American Society of Pension Actuaries; John M. Kimpel, Fidelity 
Investments, Boston, Massachusetts, on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of 
Commerce; Joseph S. Perkins, American Association of Retired Persons, 
Danvers, Massachusetts; Michael Calabrese, Center for National Policy, 
Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Pensions 2000 Committee; and Michael 
Garretson, Milwaukee, Oregon, on behalf of the Institute of Electrical 
and Electronics Engineers-USA.
  Hearings were recessed subject to call.
CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE
Committee on Veterans Affairs: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
the medical, chemical, and biological warfare preparedness program of 
the Department of Defense, focusing on lessons learned from Persian 
Gulf War illnesses, after receiving testimony from Bernard Rostker, 
Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary for Gulf War Illnesses, and 
Gary A. Christopherson, Acting Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, 
both of the Department of Defense; Rear Adm. Michael L. Cowan, Deputy 
Director for Medical Readiness, Joint Staff; Randolph F. Wykoff, 
Associate Commissioner for Operations, Food and Drug Administration, 
Department of Health and Human Services; Mark E. Gebicke, Director, 
Military Operations and Capabilities Issues, National Security and 
International Affairs Division, General Accounting Office; and Melissa 
A. McDiarmid, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore.