[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 22, 1998)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D815-D817] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings AGRICULTURAL TRADE--WESTERN HEMISPHERE MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS Committee on Agriculture: Held a hearing to review the 1999 Multilateral Negotiations on Agricultural Trade--Western Hemisphere. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS Committee on Appropriations: Ordered reported the Transportation appropriations for fiscal year 1999. CONDUCT OF MONETARY POLICY Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy held a hearing on the Conduct of Monetary Policy. Testimony was heard from Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System. MORTGAGE LENDING DISCLOSURES REQUIREMENTS REFORMS Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit and the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity held a joint hearing on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and reforms to mortgage lending disclosure requirements. Testimony was heard from Edward M. Gramlich, member, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve System; and Gail W. Laster, General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development. WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC SAFETY ACT Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection approved for full Committee action amended H.R. 3844, Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1998. FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT AMENDMENTS; DEPOSITION AUTHORITY Committee on Education and the Workforce: Ordered reported amended H.R. 4257, to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to permit certain youth to perform certain work with wood products. The Committee also adopted a motion to adopt rules regarding deposition authority. MEDICARE HOME HEALTH AGENCIES Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on Human Resources held a hearing on Medicare Home Health Agencies: Still No Surety Against Fraud and Abuse. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of Health and Human Services: Penny Thompson, Director, Program Integrity, Health Care Financing Administration; and George W. Grob, Deputy Inspector General; and public witnesses. DRUG TREATMENT PROGRAMS Committee on Government Reform and Oversight: Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice held a hearing on Drug Treatment Programs: Making Treatment Work. Testimony was heard from Marsha Blanton, M.D., Associate Director, GAO; Donald Vereen, M.D., Deputy Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy; and public witnesses. MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES Committee on International Relations: Favorably considered the following measures and adopted a motion urging the Chairman to request that they be considered on the Suspension Calendar: H. Con. Res. 292, amended, calling for an end to the recent conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia; H.R. 4283, Africa Seeds of Hope Act of 1998; H. Res. 415, to promote independent radio broadcasting in Africa; H.R. 3743, amended, Iran Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1998; H. Res. 362, amended, commending the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Cuba; and H. Res. 475, recognizing the importance of achieving the goal of the 1997 Microcredit Summit to provide access to microcredit to 100,000 of the world's poorest families. [[Page D816]] U.S. TRADE DEFICIT Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade held a hearing on The U.S. and its Trade Deficit: Restoring the Balance. Testimony was heard from David Aaron, Under Secretary, International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce; and public witnesses. HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT Committee on the Judiciary: Held a hearing on H.R. 3081, Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1997. Testimony was heard from Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice; and public witnesses. LETHAL DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION ACT Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution approved for full Committee action amended H.R. 4006, Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998. MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES Committee on Resources: Ordered reported the following bills: H.R. 1042, amended, to amend the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor Act of 1984 to extend the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor Commission; H.R. 2223, amended, Education Land Grant Act; H.R. 3047, to authorize expansion of Fort Davis National Historic Site in Fort Davis, Texas; H.R. 3055, amended, to deem the activities of the Miccosukee Tribe on the Tamiami Indian Reservation to be consistent with the purposes of the Everglades National Park; H.R. 3109, amended, Thomas Cole National Historic Site Act; H.R. 3498, amended, Dungeness Crab Conservation and Management Act; H.R. 3625, amended, San Rafael Swell National Heritage and Conservation Act; H.R. 3903, amended, Glacier Bay National Park Boundary Adjustment Act of 1998; and H.R. 4284, to authorize the Government of India to establish a memorial to honor Mahatma Gandhi in the District of Columbia. COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE, THE JUDICIARY AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, an open rule providing for 1 hour of debate on H.R. 4276, making appropriations for the Department of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999. The rule waives points of order against consideration of the bill for failure to comply with clause 2(I)(6) of rule XI (requiring a three-day layover of the committee report), clause 7 of rule XXI (requiring relevant printed hearings and reports to be available for three-days prior to the consideration of a general appropriations bill) and section 401(a) of the Budget Act (prohibiting consideration of legislation, as reported, providing new contract, borrowing or credit authority that is not limited to amounts provided in appropriation acts). The rule waives points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 (prohibiting unauthorized appropriations and legislative provisions in an appropriations bill) and clause 6 (prohibiting reappropriations in a general appropriations bill) of rule XXI. The rule provides for consideration of the amendments printed in the Rules Committee report, which may only be offered by a Member designated in the report and only at the appropriate point in the reading in the bill, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified and shall not be subject to further amendment or to a demand for a division of the question. The rule waives all points of order against the amendments printed in the Rules Committee report. The rule permits the Chairman of the Whole to accord priority in recognition to those Members who have pre-printed their amendments in the Congressional Record prior to their consideration. The rule allows the Chairman to postpone recorded votes and to reduce to five minutes the voting time on any postponed question provided that the voting time on the first in any series of questions is not less than 15 minutes. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Testimony was heard from Representatives Rogers, Callahan, Miller of Florida, Saxton, Hutchinson, Mollohan and Meek of Florida. MANDATORY DRUG TESTING--MEMBERS, OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE HOUSE Committee on Rules: Held a hearing on H. Res. 503, amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide for mandatory drug testing of Members, officers, and employees of the House of Representatives. Testimony was heard from Representative Barton of Texas, Paul, Coburn, Weldon of Florida, and Sessions. ELECTRIC UTILITY INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING--SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY IMPACT Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Paperwork held a hearing on the potential impacts on the small business community of restructuring the electric utility industry. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. [[Page D817]] FILIPINO VETERANS BENEFITS Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Held a hearing on benefits for Filipino veterans. Testimony was heard from Representatives Gilman, Cunningham, Abercrombie, Mink, Pelosi, Campbell and Millender-McDonald; Joseph Thompson, Under Secretary, Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs; Dennis Snook, Specialist on Social Legislation, Education and Public Welfare Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; David Pendleton, member, House of Representatives, State of Hawaii; representatives of veterans organizations; and public witnesses. SSA--LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Social Security held a hearing to examine labor-management relations at the SSA. Testimony was heard from James G. Hughes, Jr., Acting Inspector General, SSA. Hearings continue tomorrow. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to consider pending Committee business. COUNTERINTELLIGENCE Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Subcommittee on Human Intelligence, Analysis, and Counterintelligence met in executive session to hold a hearing on Counterintelligence. Testimony was heard from departmental witnesses. Joint Meetings INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE/TRIBAL TRUST FUND SETTLEMENT Joint Hearing: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House Committee on Resources concluded joint hearings on the following bills: S. 1770, to elevate the position of Director of the Indian Health Service to Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, and to provide for the organizational independence of the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services, after receiving testimony from Kevin L. Thurm, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services; Julia A. Davis, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Portland, Oregon; and Buford L. Rolin, National Indian Health Board, Denver, Colorado; and H.R. 3782, to compensate certain Indian tribes for known errors in their tribal trust fund accounts, and to establish a process for settling other disputes regarding tribal trust fund accounts, after receiving testimony from Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs; Roland Johnson, Pueblo of Laguna, Laguna, New Mexico; Mark N. Fox, Intertribal Monitoring Association on Indian Trust Funds, Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Robert M. Peregoy, Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, Colorado.