[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 24, 1998)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D290-D293] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) APPROPRIATIONS--AGRICULTURE Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and Related Agencies held hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1999 for the Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of Agriculture, receiving testimony from August Schumacher, Jr., Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Programs, Keith Kelly, Administrator, Farm Service Agency, Christopher E. Goldthwait, General Sales Manager, Lon S. Hatamiya, Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, and Kenneth D. Ackerman, Administrator, Risk Management Agency, all of the Department of Agriculture. Subcommittee will meet again on Tuesday, March 31. ALZHEIMERS DISEASE Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education concluded hearings to examine issues with regard to Alzheimers disease, focusing on its impact on families and research and development programs, after receiving testimony from Steven DeKosky, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Donald Schmechel, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina; Orien Reid, Laverock, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Alzheimer's Association; Bob and Rosemary Cronin, Dubuque, Iowa; and Piper Laurie, Los Angeles, California. [[Page D291]] DRUG ADDICTION AND RECOVERY Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education concluded hearings on proposals to provide for nondiscriminatory coverage for substance abuse treatment services under private group and individual health coverage, after receiving testimony from Senator Wellstone; Representative Ramstad; Alan I. Leshner, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Department of Health and Human Services; Fred D. Hafer, General Public Utilities, Inc., Morristown, New Jersey; William Cope Moyers, Hazelden Foundation, Center City, Minnesota; John T. Schwarzlose, Betty Ford Center, Indian Wells, California, on behalf of the Partnership for Recovery and the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers; Buzz Aldrin, Santa Monica, California; Shawn Colvin and Bill Moyers, both of New York, New York; and Carroll O'Connor and Mackenzie Phillips, both of Los Angeles, California. APPROPRIATIONS--AMTRAK Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies held hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 1999 for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak), focusing on how to improve intercity passenger rail in the United States, receiving testimony from Senators Roth, Biden, and Baucus; Phyllis F. Scheinberg, Associate Director, Transportation Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, General Accounting Office; Kenneth M. Mead, Inspector General, Department of Transportation; Jack Lew, Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget; Mayor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Robert Kiley, New York City Partnerships, New York, New York; Robert Poole, Reason Foundation, Los Angeles, California; and Jeff Ladd, Metra Commuter Rail, Chicago, Illinois. Subcommittee will meet again on Thursday, April 2. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT REFORM Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Acquisition and Technology resumed hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1999 for the Department of Defense and the future years defense program, focusing on the management of research, development, test and evaluation programs, receiving testimony from John W. Lyons, Director, Army Research Laboratory, Richard E. Metrey, Director, Carderock Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center, George T. Singley, III, Acting Director, Defense Research and Engineering, and Patricia A. Sanders, Director, Test, Systems Engineering and Evaluation, all of the Department of Defense. Subcommittee recessed subject to call. AUTHORIZATION--DEFENSE Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Strategic Forces resumed hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for fiscal year 1999 for the Department of Defense and the future years defense program, focusing on ballistic missile defense programs, receiving testimony from Lt. Gen. Lester L. Lyles, USAF, Director, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Department of Defense; Gen. Larry D. Welch, USAF (Ret.), Institute for Defense Analyses, Alexandria, Virginia; David J. Smith, Global Horizons, Inc., Annandale, Virginia; and William R. Graham, National Security Research, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia. Subcommittee will meet again on Thursday, March 26. PROFESSIONAL BOXING Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded hearings to examine certain business practices within the professional boxing industry, focusing on the role and status of State regulation, contract issues, and the promotion of the athletes, after receiving testimony from Gregory P. Sirb, Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, Harrisburg, on behalf of the Association of Boxing Commissions; Cedric Kushner, Cedric Kushner Promotions, Long Island, New York; James J. Binns, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the World Boxing Association and the World Boxing Association of North America; Patrick C. English, Clifton, New Jersey; and Fredric G. Levin, Pensacola, Florida. GLOBAL TOBACCO SETTLEMENT Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:Committee concluded hearings on proposed legislation to reform and restructure the process 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, after receiving testimony from Lawrence H. Summers, Deputy Secretary, and Jonathan Gruber, Deputy Assistant Secretary, both of the Department of the Treasury; Scott R. Strand, Minnesota Office of Attorney General, St. Paul; Floyd Abrams, Cahill, Gordon & Reindel, Martin Feldman, Smith Barney, Inc., and Harvey R. Miller, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, all of New York, New York; and Harvey S. Rosen, Burke, Rosen & Associates, Cleveland, Ohio. NATIONAL PARKS/HISTORIC SITES/MEMORIALS Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation, [[Page D292]] and Recreation concluded hearings on S. 887, to establish in the National Park Service the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, S. 991, to make technical corrections to the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996, S. 1695, to establish the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site in the State of Colorado, and S.J.Res. 41, approving the location of a Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial in the Nation's Capital, after receiving testimony from Senators Warner, Sarbanes, DeWine, and Moseley-Braun; Katherine H. Stevenson, Associate Director, Cultural Resource Stewardship and Partnerships, National Park Service, Department of the Interior; Steve Brady, Northern Cheyenne Band of Sand Creek Descendants, Lame Deer, Montana; Laird Cometsevah, Clinton, Oklahoma; David Fridtjof Halaas, Colorado Historical Society, Denver; Iantha Gantt-Wright, National Parks and Conservation Association, Washington, D.C.; Cathy Nelson, Ohio Underground Railroad Association, Columbus; Ed Rigaud, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Glennette Tilley Turner, Wheaton, Illinois, on behalf of the Underground Railroad Advisory Committee; and John H. Carter, BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia, on behalf of the Washington D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. AUTHORIZATION--SUPERFUND Committee on Environment and Public Works:Committee began mark up of S. 8, to revise and authorize funds for fiscal years 1998 through 2002 for programs of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Liability, and Compensation Act (Superfund), but did not complete action thereon, and will meet again tomorrow. INDONESIA Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs concluded hearings to examine the current economic and political situation in Indonesia, after receiving testimony from Aurelia E. Brazeal, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Arian Ardie, Deputy Secretary General of KIKAS (Kadin Indonesia Komite America Serikat), Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jakarta, Indonesia; and Walter B. Lohman, U.S.- ASEAN Business Council, Edward E. Masters, U.S.-Indonesia Society, and Adam Schwarz, Council on Foreign Relations, all of Washington, D.C. NOMINATIONS Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings on the nominations of Ivan L.R. Lemelle, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, A. Howard Matz, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California, and George Caram Steeh III and Arthur J. Tarnow, each to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Mr. Lemelle was introduced by Senators Breaux and Landrieu, Mr. Matz was introduced by Senator Boxer, and Messrs. Steeh and Tarnow were introduced by Senator Levin. HEALTH CARE QUALITY Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee concluded hearings on proposals to promote quality and fairness in employment-based group health plans and to improve consumer protections and the quality of health care in the employment-based system, including S. 1712, S. 644, S. 373, S. 353, S. 449, and S. 346, after receiving testimony from Senator Lieberman; Margaret A. Hamburg, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation; Meredith Miller, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Pension and Welfare Benefits; Colorado Commissioner of Insurance Jack Ehnes, Denver, on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Beau Carter, Integrated Healthcare Association, Pleasanton, California; Joanne L. Hustead, National Partnership for Women and Families, Washington, D.C.; Mark S. Waskow, Waskow Group, Burlington, Vermont, on behalf of the National Federation of Independent Business; Thomas R. Reardon, Portland, Oregon, on behalf of the American Medical Association; Joe Laymon, Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York, on behalf of the Business Roundtable; and Staci J. Froelich, Tacoma Park, Maryland. VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded hearings on S. 1021, to provide that a veterans' preference eligible (PE) or an individual who has been separated from military service under honorable conditions after three or more years of active duty shall not be denied the opportunity to compete for a vacant position within a Federal agency, either in the competitive or excepted service, after receiving testimony from Senator Cleland; Representative Mica; Michael Brostek, Associate Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues, General Government Division, General Accounting Office; Mary Lou Lindholm, Associate Director for Employment, Office of Personnel Management; Espiridion Borrego, Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Veterans' Employment and Training Service; Stephen A. Moe, Manager, Selection, Evaluation, and Recognition, United States Postal Service; Kimo S. Hollingsworth, American Legion, and Sidney Daniels, Veterans of [[Page D293]] Foreign Wars of the United States, both of Washington, D.C.; Veronica A'zera, AMVETS, Lanham, Maryland; Larry D. Rhea, Non Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America, Alexandria, Virginia; and Gary D. Miles, American Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO), and Kurt Vorndran, National Treasury Employees Union, both of Washington, D.C.