[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 95 (Thursday, July 16, 1998)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D777-D779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation approved 
for full Committee action the Transportation appropriations for fiscal 
year 1999.
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS--RELIEVING REGULATORY BURDEN
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee on Financial 
Institutions and Consumer Credit held a hearing on proposals to reduce 
unnecessary regulatory burden on the financial services industry and 
streamlining the regulatory process. Testimony was heard from 
Representatives Metcalf, Kelly and McCollum; Laurence H. Meyer, member, 
Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System; the following officials of 
the Department of the Treasury: Julie L. Williams, Acting Comptroller 
of the Currency; and Carolyn Buck, Chief Counsel, Office of Thrift 
Supervision; Donna Tanoue, Chairman, FDIC; and public witnesses.
REWARDING PERFORMANCE IN COMPENSATION ACT
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections held a hearing on H.R. 2710, Rewarding Performance in 
Compensation Act. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--EARLY CHILDHOOD INTERVENTION
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on Human 
Resources held an oversight hearing on Early Childhood Interventions: 
Public-Private Partnerships. Testimony was heard from Lincoln C. 
Almond, Governor, State of Rhode Island; and public witnesses.
U.S. AND RUSSIA: ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIP
Committee on International Relations: Held a hearing on U.S. and 
Russia: Assessing the Relationship. Testimony was heard from Steve 
Sestanovich, Ambassador-at-Large, Office of the Special Adviser to the

[[Page D778]]

Secretary For the Newly Independent States, Department of State; Paul 
Goble, Director, Communications Division, Radio Free Europe/Radio 
Liberty, Inc., USIA; and public witnesses.
U.S. AND KOREA--COMMEMORATING 50 YEARS OF RELATIONS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia approved for 
full Committee action H. Res. 459, commemorating 50 years of relations 
between the United States and the Republic of Korea.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Ordered reported amended the following 
bills: H.R. 3891, Trademark Anticounterfeiting Act of 1998; and H.R. 
4090, Public Safety Act Officer Medal of Valor Act of 1998.
  The Committee also approved private immigration bills.
COMMISSION TO ASSESS THE BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT TO THE U.S.
Committee on National Security: Held a hearing on the findings and 
conclusions of the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to 
the United States. Testimony was heard from the following officials of 
the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United 
States: Donald Rumsfeld, Chairman; William R. Graham and Gen. George 
Lee Butler, USAF (Ret.), both members.
GREAT LAKES FISH AND WILDLIFE RESTORATION ACT; OVERSIGHT
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, 
Wildlife and Oceans approved for full Committee action amended H.R. 
1481, Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act of 1997.
  The Subcommittee also held an oversight hearing on Pilot Program to 
Control Non- Indigenous Species Nutria at the Blackwater National 
Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. Testimony was heard from Glenn Carowan, 
Refuge Manager, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior; Sarah Taylor-Rogers, 
Assistant Secretary, Department of Natural Resources, State of 
Maryland; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--REGIONAL HAZE
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held 
an oversight hearing on Regional Haze. Testimony was heard from Janice 
McDougal, Associate Deputy Chief, State and Private Forestry, Forest 
Service, USDA; John Seitz, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and 
Standards, EPA; Don Matlick, Director, Smoke Management, Department of 
Forestry, State of Oregon; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands 
held a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 3981, to modify the 
boundaries of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument; H.R. 
4109, to authorize the Gateway Visitor Center at Independence National 
Historical Park; H.R. 4141, to amend the Act authorizing the 
establishment of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area to 
modify the boundaries of the Area, and to provide for the protection of 
lands, waters, and natural, cultural, and scenic resources within the 
national recreation area; and H.R. 4158, National Park Enhancement and 
Protection Act. Testimony was heard from Speaker Gingrich; 
Representatives Bateman, Fox of Pennsylvania, Bartlett of Maryland and 
Borski; Destry Jarvis, Assistant Director, External Affairs, National 
Parks System, Department of the Interior; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power approved for 
full Committee action amended the following bills: H.R. 2161, to direct 
the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Palmetto Bend Project to 
the State of Texas; H.R. 3677, to authorize and direct the Secretary of 
the Interior to convey certain works, facilities, and titles of the 
Gila Project, and Designated Lands within or adjacent to the Gila 
Project, to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District; H.R. 
3706, Clear Creek Distribution System Conveyance Act; and H.R. 3715, 
Pine Ridge Project Conveyance Act.
TEENAGE PREGNANCY--SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COSTS
Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Empowerment held a hearing 
on the social and economic costs of teenage pregnancy. Testimony was 
heard from Val Stevens, Senator, State of Washington; and public 
witnesses.
SBA'S PROPOSED NEW AUTOMATED LOAN MONITORING SYSTEM
Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Government Programs and 
Oversight held a hearing with respect to the SBA's Proposed New 
Automated Loan Monitoring System. Testimony was heard from Joel 
Willemssen, Director, Accounting and Information Management Division, 
GAO; the following officials of the SBA: John L. Gray, Associate Deputy 
Administrator; and Lawrence E. Barrett, Chief Information Officer; and 
public witnesses.

[[Page D779]]


MISCELLANEOUS CONSTRUCTION REQUESTS; GSA IMPROVEMENT ACT
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Public 
Buildings and Economic Development held a hearing on the Status of the 
Courthouse Construction Program, U.S. Mission to the United Nations 
Construction Request and comments on H.R. 2751, General Services 
Administration Improvement Act of 1997. Testimony was heard from Judge 
Norman Stahl, Chairman, Security and Facilities Committee, Judicial 
Conference of the United States; Judge Ann C. Williams, U.S. District 
Court, Northern District of Illinois; Robert Peck, Commissioner, Public 
Buildings Service, GSA; and Ambassador A. Peter Burleigh, Deputy 
Representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
OVERSIGHT--STANDARDS FOR ADJUDICATING CLAIMS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Benefits held an 
oversight hearing on the standards for adjudicating claims presented by 
veterans suffering from hepatitis C, cerebral malaria and Persian Gulf 
illnesses. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs: Teresa Wright, M.D., Director, 
Gastroenterology, VA Medical Center San Francisco; John Booss, 
Director, Neurology; Robert Epley, Director, Compensation and Pension 
Service, Veterans Benefits Administration; and Nils Roberts Varney, 
Psychologist, VA Medical Center Iowa City; and representatives of 
various veterans organizations.
ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN TO DELAY IMPLEMENTATION OF BALANCED BUDGET ACT
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on 
the Administration's Plan to Delay Implementation of the Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997. Testimony was heard from Senator Collins; 
Representative Pappas; Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, Administrator, Health 
Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; 
William J. Scanlon, Director, Health Financing Systems, GAO; and public 
witnesses.