[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 34 (Tuesday, March 24, 1998)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D294-D296]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS; EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL AND 
RECESSIONS APPROPRIATIONS; REVISED SUBDIVISIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Ordered reported the following: Emergency 
Supplemental appropriations for fiscal year 1998; and the Emergency 
Supplemental and Recessions appropriations for fiscal year 1998.
  The Committee also approved revised 302(b) subdivisions for fiscal 
year 1998.
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development held a hearing on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Testimony 
was heard from the following officials of the Department of the Army: 
John H. Zirschky, Acting Assistant Secretary (Civil Works); and Lt. 
Gen. Joe N. Ballard, USA, Commanding General, Corps of Engineers.
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Treasury held a hearing on 
the National Archives and the GSA. Testimony was heard from John W. 
Carlin, Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records 
Administration; and David J. Barram, Acting Administrator, GSA.
CRITICAL SYSTEMS--YEAR 2000 READINESS
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Held a hearing on 
Assessing the Year 2000 Readiness of Critical Systems at HUD, Treasury, 
and Federal Financial Regulatory Agencies. Testimony was heard from 
John A. Koskinen, Assistant to the President, Chairman, President's 
Council on Year 2000 Conversion; and the following officials of the 
GAO: Joel C. Willemssen, Director, Civil Agencies Information Systems; 
and Jack L. Brock, Jr., Director, Governmentwide and Defense 
Information Systems.
WIRELESS ENHANCED 911 SERVICES
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and 
Consumer Protection held a hearing on Wireless Enhanced 911 Services. 
Testimony was heard from Representative Danner; Ricardo Martinez, 
Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
Department of Transportation; Denis Galvin, Deputy Director, National 
Park Service, Department of the Interior; David Bibb, Deputy Associate 
Administrator, Office of Real Property, Office of Government Wide 
Policy, GSA; Hal Daub, Mayor, City of Omaha, Nebraska; and public 
witnesses.
FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ACT
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections held an oversight hearing to review the Federal Employment 
Compensation Act. Testimony was heard from Diane M. Disney, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary, Civilian Personnel Policy, Department of Defense; 
Larry B. Anderson, Manager, Safety and Workplace Assistance, U.S. 
Postal Service; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Ordered reported amended the following 
bills: H.R. 1252, Judicial Reform Act of 1997; H.R. 3528, Alternative 
Dispute Resolution Act of 1998; H.R. 2652, Collections of Information 
Antipiracy Act; and H.R. 2759, Health Professional Shortage Area 
Nursing Relief Act of 1997.
FREEDOM FROM RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION ACT--IMMIGRATION PROVISIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims held 
a hearing regarding the immigration provisions of H.R. 2431, Freedom 
from Religious Persecution Act of 1997. Testimony was heard from Paul 
Virtue, General Counsel, Immigration and Naturalization Service, 
Department of Justice; the following officials of the Department of

[[Page D295]]

State: Alan Kreczko, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of 
Population, Refugees, and Migration; and Nancy Sambaiew, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary, Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs; and 
public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held 
a hearing on the following bills; H.R. 3381, Gallatin Land 
Consolidation Act of 1998; H.R. 2886, Granite Watershed Enhancement and 
Protection Act of 1997; California Spotted Owl Interim Protection Act 
of 1998; and H.R. 1021 Miles Land Exchange Act of 1997. Testimony was 
heard from Representative Herger; Bob Joslin, Deputy Chief, National 
Forest System, Forest Service, USDA; Pat Graham, Director, Department 
of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, State of Montana; and public witnesses.
REALTY APPRAISAL PROCESS--BLM LAND EXCHANGES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands 
held an oversight hearing on Realty Appraisal Process on BLM Land 
Exchanges. Testimony was heard from Pat Shea, Director, Bureau of Land 
Management, Department of the Interior; and public witnesses.
VISA WAIVER PILOT PROGRAM
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, a modified open rule 
providing 1 hour of debate on H.R. 2578, to amend the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to extend the visa waiver pilot program, and to provide 
for the collection of data with respect to the number of non-immigrants 
who remain in the United States after the expiration of the period of 
stay authorized by the Attorney General. The rule provides that no 
amendment to the bill will be in order unless printed in the 
Congressional Record. The rule allows the chairman of the Committee of 
the Whole to postpone votes during consideration of the bill, and 
reduce voting time to five minutes on a postponed question if the vote 
follows a fifteen minute vote. The rule provides one motion to recommit 
with or without instructions. Finally, the rule provides that after 
passage of the House bill, it be in order to insert the House-passed 
language in the Senate bill number. Testimony was heard from 
Representative Smith of Texas.
COPYRIGHT TERM EXTENSION ACT
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, a modified open rule 
providing 1 hour of debate on H.R. 2589, Copyright Term Extension Act. 
The rule makes in order the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary as an original bill for 
the purpose of amendment and provides that it will be considered as 
read. The rule provides that no amendment to the committee amendment in 
the nature of a substitute will be in order unless printed in the 
Congressional Record. The rule waives points of order against the 
amendment by Mr. Sensenbrenner printed in the Congressional Record. and 
numbered 1 for failure to comply with clause 7 of rule XVI (prohibiting 
nongermane amendments). The rule allows the chairman of the Committee 
of the Whole to postpone votes during consideration of the bill, and 
reduce voting time to five minutes on a postponed question if the vote 
follows a fifteen minute vote. Finally, the rule provides one motion to 
recommit, with or without instructions. Testimony was heard from 
Representatives Coble and Sensenbrenner.
EDUCATING CHILDREN--COMPETITIVE TECHNOLOGY SKILLS
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Technology and the Subcommittee 
on Early Childhood, Youth and Families of the Committee on Education 
and the Workforce held a joint oversight hearing on Educating our 
Children with Technology Skills to Compete in the Next Millennium. 
Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
BUILDING EFFICIENT SURFACE TRANSPORTATION AND EQUITY ACT; WATER 
RESOURCES SURVEY RESOLUTIONS
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Ordered reported 
amended H.R. 2400, the Building Efficient Surface Transportation and 
Equity Act.
  The Committee also approved 4 water resources survey resolutions.
PATIENT CONFIDENTIALITY
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on 
patient confidentiality. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
REQUIREMENTS PROCESS
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
hold a briefing on the Requirements Process. The Committee was briefed 
by departmental witnesses.

Joint Meetings
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING
Joint Hearing: Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee 
on Oversight of Government Management, Restructuring, and the District 
of Columbia concluded joint hearings with the House Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight

[[Page D296]]

Subcommittee on Government Management, Information, and Technology on 
S. 314 and H.R. 716, bills to require that the Federal Government 
procure from the private sector the goods and services necessary for 
the operations and management of certain Government agencies, and 
proposed legislation to provide a fair, competitive process for the 
selection of sources to perform activities of the Federal Government 
that are not inherently governmental functions, after receiving 
testimony from Senator Thomas; G. Edward DeSeve, Acting Deputy Director 
for Management, Office of Management and Budget; former Deputy Mayor 
Skip Stitt, Indianapolis, Indiana; Bryan Logan, Earth Data, 
International, Gaithersburg, Maryland, on behalf of the Management 
Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors; Lawrence Trammell, 
Science Applications International Corporation, San Diego, California, 
on behalf of the Contract Services Association of America; Douglas K. 
Stevens, Jr., U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Robert M. Tobias, National 
Treasury Employees Union, and Bobby L. Harnage, Sr., American 
Federation of Government Employees (AFL-CIO), all of Washington, D.C.; 
Michael B. Styles, Federal Managers Association, Alexandria, Virginia; 
and Steve Kelman, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
CYBERCRIME
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded hearings to examine the 
potential problems with cyber banking and protecting the cyber 
infrastructure while eliminating the potential of economic tampering 
and espionage, after receiving testimony from Neil J. Gallagher, Deputy 
Assistant Director, Criminal Division, Larry E. Torrence, Deputy 
Assistant Director, National Security Division, and Michael A. Vatis, 
Deputy Assistant Director and Chief, National Infrastructure Protection 
Center, all of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of 
Justice.
AGRICULTURAL REFORM ACT
Conferees agreed to file a conference report on the differences between 
the Senate- and House-passed versions of S. 1150, to ensure that 
federally funded agricultural research, extension, and education 
address high-priority concerns with national multistate significance, 
and to reform, extend, and eliminate certain agricultural research 
programs.