[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 64 (Tuesday, May 19, 1998)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D530-D532]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
SECURITIES LITIGATION UNIFORM STANDARDS ACT
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials 
held a hearing on H.R. 1689, Securities Litigation Uniform Standards 
Act of 1997. Testimony was heard from Representatives Campbell and 
Eshoo; the following officials of the SEC: Arthur Levitt, Jr., 
Chairman; and Richard Walker, Director of Enforcement; the following 
officials of the Securities Regulation Division, Department of 
Corporations, State of California: Blake Campbell, Assistant 
Commissioner; and A. Peter Kezirian, Jr., General Counsel; and public 
witnesses.
COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE--SAVINGS THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations 
held a hearing on Medicare Billing: Savings Through Implementation of 
Commercial Software. Testimony was heard from Senator Grassley; Joel 
Willemssen, Director, Accounting and Information Management Division, 
GAO; Adm. Tom Carrato, USN, Director, Military Health System 
Operations, Department of Defense; Michael W. Hartford, Director, 
Health Administration Center, Department of Veterans Affairs; and 
Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, Administrator, Health Care Financing 
Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.
TEAMSTERS' ELECTION--WHO PAYS FOR THE RERUN
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing on ``Who Pays for the Rerun Teamsters' 
Election?'' Testimony was heard from Stephen R. Colgate, Assistant 
Attorney General, Department of Justice; Gary L. Kepplinger, Associate 
General Counsel, Accounting and Financial Management, GAO; and Tom 
Sever, Secretary-Treasurer, International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

[[Page D531]]


PROTECTING HEALTH INFORMATION
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on 
Government Management, Information, and Technology held a hearing on 
protecting Health Information: Legislative Options. Testimony was heard 
Representative Shays; and public witnesses.
KYOTO PROTOCOL
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on National 
Economic Growth, Natural Resources, and Regulatory Affairs continued 
hearings on ``The Kyoto Protocol: Is the Clinton-Gore Administration 
Selling Out Americans? Part II.'' Testimony was heard from Janet L. 
Yellen, Chair, Council of Economic Advisers; and public witnesses.
  Hearings continue tomorrow.
OVERSIGHT--AIRLINE INDUSTRY--STATE OF COMPETITION
Committee on the Judiciary: Held an oversight hearing on the State of 
Competition in the Airline Industry. Testimony was heard from Joel 
Klein, Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Department of 
Justice; Nancy McFadden, General Counsel, Department of Transportation; 
and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, 
Wildlife and Oceans held a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 2291, 
to amend the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 to enable the 
Secretary of the Interior to more effectively utilize the proceeds of 
sales of certain items; H.R. 3460, to approve a governing international 
fishery agreement between the United States and the Republic of Latvia; 
H.R. 3461, to approve a governing international fishery agreement 
between the United States and the Republic of Poland; and H.R. 3647, to 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to make technical corrections to a 
map relating to the Coastal Barrier Resources System. Testimony was 
heard from Representatives Skaggs and Deutsch; Gary Taylor, Acting 
Assistant Director, External Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
Department of the Interior; Brian Hallman, Deputy Director, Office of 
Marine Conservation, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental 
and Scientific Affairs, Department of State; David Evans, Deputy 
Director, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Department of 
Commerce; and public witnesses.
UTAH SCHOOLS AND LANDS EXCHANGE ACT
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands 
held a hearing on H.R. 3830, Utah Schools and Lands Exchange Act of 
1998. Testimony was heard from Representative Cook; Bruce Babbitt, 
Secretary of the Interior; Michael Leavitt, Governor of Utah; and 
public witnesses.
FALL RIVER WATER USERS DISTRICT WATER SYSTEM ACT
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power held a hearing 
on H.R. 1212, Fall River Water Users District Rural Water System Act of 
1997. Testimony was heard from David Cottingham, Counselor to the 
Assistant Secretary, Water and Science, Department of the Interior; 
Douglas Hofer, Director, Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Division 
of Parks and Recreation, State of South Dakota; and a public witness.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, a structured rule on H.R. 
3616, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998, 
providing that no further general debate shall be in order. The rule 
provides for consideration of the committee amendment in the nature of 
a substitute now printed in the bill as an original bill for amendment 
purposes, which shall be considered as read. The rule waives all points 
of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute. The rule 
makes in order only those amendments printed in the report of the 
Committee on Rules and the amendments en bloc described in section 3 of 
the resolution. The rule provides that except as specified in section 5 
of the resolution, amendments will be considered only in the order 
specified in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in 
the report, shall be considered as read and shall not be subject to a 
demand for a division of the question. Except as otherwise provided in 
the report, amendments shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally 
divided between a proponent and an opponent. Amendments are not 
amendable (except that the Chairman and ranking minority member of the 
National Security Committee each may offer one pro forma amendment for 
the purpose of further debate on any pending amendment). The rule 
waives all points of order against amendments printed in the report and 
those amendments en bloc described in section 3 of the resolution. The 
rule provides for an additional 2 hours of general debate on U.S. 
policy toward China, equally divided between the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on National Security, which shall 
precede consideration of the amendments in part A of the Rules 
Committee report. The rule provides for an additional 30 minutes of 
general debate on the subject of assigning members of the armed forces 
to assist in border control, divided

[[Page D532]]

equally between the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on National Security, which precede the amendments printed in 
part C of the report. The rule authorizes the Chairman of the National 
Security Committee or his designee to offer amendments en bloc 
consisting of the amendments in part D of the report or germane 
modifications thereto, which shall be considered as read (except that 
modifications shall be reported), shall be debatable for 20 minutes 
divided between the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on National Security or their designees and which shall not 
be subject to amendment or a demand for a division of the question. The 
rule provides that, for the purposes of inclusion in such amendments en 
bloc, an amendment printed in the form of a motion to strike may be 
modified to the form of a germane perfecting amendment to the text 
originally proposed to be stricken. The original proponent of an 
amendment included in such amendments en bloc may insert a statement in 
the Congressional Record immediately before the dispositions of the en 
bloc amendments. The rule permits the Chairman of the Committee of the 
Whole to postpone votes on any amendment and to reduce to 5 minutes the 
time for voting after the first of a series of votes provided that the 
first vote is not less than 15 minutes. The rule also permits the 
chairman of the Committee of the Whole to recognize for consideration 
of any amendment printed in the report out of order in which printed, 
but not sooner than one hour after the Chairman of the National 
Security Committee or a designee announces from the floor a request to 
that effect. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit with or 
without instructions. Testimony was heard from Chairman Spence and 
Representatives Weldon of Pennsylvania, Hefley, Saxton, Fowler, Watts 
of Oklahoma, Thornberry, Gibbons, McCollum, Smith of New Jersey, 
Doolittle, Bonilla, Campbell, Wamp, Snowbarger, Graham, Skelton, 
Sisisky, Spratt, Evans, Taylor of Mississippi, Abercrombie, Reyes, 
Markey, Frank of Massachusetts, Traficant, Pallone, Lowey, Engel, Moran 
of Virginia, Norton, Sanders, Cramer, Bishop, Maloney of New York, 
Bentsen, and Etheridge.
COAST GUARD DEEPWATER CAPABILITY REPLACEMENT ANALYSIS
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation held a hearing on Coast Guard 
Deepwater Capability Replacement Analysis. Testimony was heard from 
Adm. Robert Kramek, USCG, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of 
Transportation; and public witnesses.
CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Human Resources held a 
hearing on Child Support Enforcement. Testimony was heard from Donna 
Bonar, Director, Program Operations Division, Office of Child Support 
Enforcement, Department of Health and Human Services; Jeffrey Cohen, 
Director, Office of Child Support, State of Vermont; Diane Fray, IV-D 
Administrator, Department of Social Services, Child Support Program, 
State of Connecticut; Alisha Griffin, Acting Assistant Director, 
Division of Family Development, State of New Jersey; Jacqueline M. 
Jennings, Manager, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Department of 
Human Resources, State of Georgia; and public witnesses.