[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 23, 1999)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D329-D332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense met in executive 
session to hold a hearing on Fiscal Year 2000 Navy/Marine Corps 
Acquisition Program. Testimony was heard from the following officials 
of the Department of Defense: H. Lee Buchanan, Assistant Secretary of 
the Navy; Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval 
Operations; and Lt. Gen. Michael J. Williams, USMC, Deputy Chief of 
Staff, U.S. Marine Corps.
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development held a hearing on U.S.

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Army Corps of Engineers. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the Department of the Army: Joseph W. Westphal, Assistant 
Secretary of the Army, (Civil Works); Lt. Gen. Joe N. Ballard, USA, 
Chief, Corps of Engineers; Maj. Gen. Russell L. Fuhrman, USA, Director 
of Civil Works; and Thomas F. Caver, Jr., Chief, Programs Management 
Division, Directorate of Civil Works.
FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING AND RELATED PROGRAMS 
APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing and Related Programs held a hearing on Military Training 
Report. Testimony was heard from Walter B. Slocombe, Under Secretary, 
Policy, Department of Defense; and Eric D. Newsom, Assistant Secretary, 
Political-Military Affairs, Department of State.
INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior held a hearing on 
Indian Health Service. Testimony was heard from Michael H. Trujillo, 
M.D., Assistant Surgeon General, Director, Indian Health Service, 
Department of Health and Human Services.
LABOR-HHS-EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education held a hearing on Departmental Management Panel 
and on Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Education Goals 
Panel. Testimony was heard from Patricia Lattimore, Assistant 
Secretary, Administration and Management, Department of Labor; John 
Callahan, Assistant Secretary, Management and Budget, Chief Financial 
Officer and Chief Information Officer, Department of Health and Human 
Services; Marshall S. Smith, Acting Deputy Secretary, Department of 
Education; Kenneth P. Boehne, Chief Financial Officer, Railroad 
Retirement Board; John Dyer, Principal Deputy Commissioner, SSA, and 
public witnesses.
VA-HUD-INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent 
Agencies held a hearing on NASA. Testimony was heard from Daniel S. 
Goldin, Administrator, NASA.
SUPERFUND PROGRAM
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials 
held a hearing on the Superfund Program. Testimony was heard from Tim 
Fields, Assistant Administrator, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency 
Response, EPA; Peter F. Guerrero, Director, Environmental Protection 
Issues, GAO; and a public witness.
WORK INCENTIVES IMPROVEMENT ACT
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Health and Environment held a 
hearing on the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. Testimony was 
heard from Representatives Lazio and Waxman; Sally Richardson, 
Director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, Health Care 
Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; 
Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, District of Columbia; Roger Auerbach, 
Administrator, Senior and Disabled Services Division, State of Oregon; 
and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--OSHA
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections held an oversight hearing on the OSHA. Testimony was heard 
from Charles N. Jeffress, Assistant Secretary, Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, Department of Labor; and public witnesses.
HUD--REFORMS
Committee on Government Reform: Held a hearing on ``HUD Losing $1 
Million Per Day: Promised `Reforms' Slow in Coming''. Testimony was 
heard from the following officials of the Department of Housing and 
Urban Development: Nancy H. Cooper, District Inspector General, Audit; 
and William Apgar, Assistant Secretary, Housing, Federal Housing 
Commissioner; Stanley Czerwinski, Associate Director, Resources, 
Community, and Economic Development Division, GAO; and public 
witnesses.
SIERRA LEONE
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Africa held a 
hearing on Sierra Leone: Prospects for Peace and Stability. Testimony 
was heard from Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary, African Affairs, 
Department of State; and public witnesses.
NEGOTIATING WTO AGRICULTURAL AGREEMENT
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Economic Policy and Trade held a hearing on Leveling the Playing Field 
and Opening Markets: Negotiating a WTO Agricultural Agreement. 
Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
FOREIGN RELATIONS AUTHORIZATION ACT
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights approved for full Committee action amended 
H.R. 1211, Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 
2001.

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CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT--FLAG DESECRATION
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution held a 
hearing on H.J. Res. 33, proposing an amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States authorizing the Congress to prohibit the physical 
desecration of the flag of the United States. Testimony was heard from 
Representatives Cunningham, Lewis of Georgia, Sweeney and Gilchrest; 
former Representative David Skaggs of Colorado; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources 
and the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands held a joint 
oversight hearing on Secretarial powers under the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976: excessive use of Sec. 204 withdrawal 
authority by the Administration. Testimony was heard from Bruce 
Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--NEPA PARITY
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held 
an oversight hearing on ``NEPA Parity''. Testimony was heard from 
Sandra Key, Associate Deputy Chief, Programs and Legislation, Forest 
Service, USDA; and public witnesses.
EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, an open rule providing l 
hour of debate on H.R. 1141, making emergency supplemental 
appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999. The rule 
waives clause 4(c) of rule XIII (requiring the three-day availability 
of printed hearings on a general appropriations bill) and section 302 
(prohibiting consideration of a committee's legislation providing new 
budget authority until that committee has filed its 302(b) report and 
consideration of legislation providing new budget authority in excess 
of a subcommittee's 302(b) allocations of such authority) and section 
306 (prohibiting consideration of legislation within the Budget 
Committee's jurisdiction, unless reported by the Budget Committee) of 
the Congressional Budget Act against consideration of the bill. The 
rule provides that the bill be open to amendment by paragraph.
  The rule waives clause 2 of rule XXI (prohibiting unauthorized 
appropriations or legislative provisions in a general appropriations 
bill and prohibiting non-emergency designated amendments to be offered 
to an appropriations bill containing an emergency designation) against 
provision in the bill. The rule waives all points of order against the 
amendment printed in the report accompanying the rule and provides that 
the amendment shall be offered only by a Member designated in the 
report or his designee, shall be considered as read, shall not be 
subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for a 
division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole.
  The rule permits the chairman of the Committee of the Whole to grant 
priority in recognition to members who have pre-printed their 
amendments in the Congressional Record prior to their consideration. 
The rule allows for the chairman of the Committee of the Whole to 
postpone votes during consideration of the bill, and to reduce voting 
time to five minutes on a postponed question if the vote follows a 
fifteen minute vote.
  The rule waives clause 2(e) of rule XXI (prohibiting non-emergency 
designated amendments to be offered to an appropriations bill 
containing an emergency designation) and section 302(c) of the 
Congressional Budget Act (prohibiting consideration of a committee's 
legislation providing new budget authority until that committee has 
filed its 302(b) report) against all amendments during the 
consideration of this bill. Finally, the rule provides one motion to 
recommit with or without instructions. Testimony was heard from 
Chairman Young and Representatives Hansen, Obey, Edwards, Waters and 
Bentsen.
LOCAL CENSUS QUALITY CONTROL ACT
Committee on Rules: Heard testimony from Representatives Miller of 
Florida, Maloney of New York, Millender-McDonald and Gonzalez, but 
action was deferred on H.R. 472, Local Census Quality Control Act.
U.S. FIRE ADMINISTRATION AUTHORIZATION
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Basic Research held a hearing on 
the U.S. Fire Administration Authorization for Fiscal Years 2000 and 
2001. Testimony was heard James Lee Witt, Director, FEMA; Karen Brown, 
Deputy Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
Department of Commerce; and public witnesses.
BARRIERS TO MINORITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Empowerment held a hearing 
on barriers to minority entrepreneurship. Testimony was heard from 
public witnesses.
PENSION ISSUES
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing 
on Pension Issues. Testimony was heard from Donald C. Lubick, Assistant

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Secretary, Tax Policy, Department of the Treasury; Leslie Kramerich, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy of the Pension and Welfare Benefits 
Administration, Department of Labor; David M. Strauss, Executive 
Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; and public witnesses.
CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN RELIEF AND ECONOMIC STABILIZATION
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Trade held a hearing on 
the trade provisions of H.R. 984, Caribbean and Central American Relief 
and Economic Stabilization Act. Testimony was heard from Senator 
Graham; Representative Kolbe; Richard W. Fisher, Deputy U.S. Trade 
Representative; Alan P. Larson, Assistant Secretary, Economic and 
Business Affairs, Department of State; from the following Ambassadors 
to the United States: Bernardo Vega, Dominican Republic; Francisco X. 
Aguirre-Sacasa, Nicaragua; Rene A. Leon, Republic of El Salvador; and 
Jaime Daremblum, Costa Rica; and public witnesses.
BUDGET: OVERHEAD (SATELLITE) COLLECTION
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
hold a hearing on Fiscal Year 2000 Budget: Overhead (Satellite) 
Collection. Testimony was heard from departmental witnesses.