[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 58 (Tuesday, April 27, 1999)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D438-D439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS--AGRICULTURE/FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, and Related Agencies concluded hearings on proposed budget 
estimates for fiscal year 2000, after receiving testimony on behalf of 
the Department of Agriculture's nutrition assistance programs from 
Shirley R. Watkins, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer 
Services, Rajen Anand, Executive Director, Center for Nutrition Policy 
and Promotion, and Dennis Kaplan, Deputy Director, Office of Budget and 
Program Analysis, all of the Department of Agriculture; and after 
receiving testimony on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration from 
Jane E. Henney, Commissioner, Michael A. Friedman, Deputy Commissioner 
for Operations, Robert J. Byrd, Deputy Commissioner for Management and 
Systems/Chief Financial Officer, all of the Food and Drug 
Administration, and Dennis P. Williams, Deputy Assistant Secretary for 
Budget, all of the Department of Health and Human Services.
APPROPRIATIONS--KOSOVO
Committee on Appropriations: Committee concluded hearings on the 
President's proposed supplemental budget estimates to finance military 
and humanitarian operations related to Kosovo, after receiving 
testimony from Jacob J. Lew, Director, Office of Management and Budget; 
John J. Hamre, Deputy Secretary of Defense; and J. Brian Atwood, 
Administrator, Agency for International Development.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of Brian E. Sheridan, of Virginia, to be Assistant 
Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, 
Lawrence J. Delaney, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary of the Air 
Force for Acquisition, and Carolyn L. Huntoon, of Virginia, to be 
Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management, after the 
nominees, who were introduced by Senator Warner, testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS-TRAFFICKING
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and 
Capabilities concluded hearings on the threat of international 
narcotics-trafficking and the role of the Department of Defense in the 
Nation's war on drugs, after receiving testimony from Gen. Barry R. 
McCaffrey, USA (Ret.), Director, Office of National Drug Control 
Policy; Brian E. Sheridan, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict; and Gen. 
Charles E. Wilhelm, USMC, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Southern Command.
MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY PROGRAM
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
hearings on the effectiveness of the Motor Carrier Safety Programs and 
the organizational structure of the Department of Transportation, after 
receiving testimony from Kenneth M. Mead, Inspector General, Barbara 
Cobble, Program Director, Surface Transportation, and Eugene A. Conti, 
Jr., Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, all of the 
Department of Transportation; James E. Hall, Chairman, and Joseph E. 
Osterman, Director, Office of Highway Safety, both of the National 
Transportation Safety Board; Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen, on behalf 
of the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, and John F. Murphy, 
International Brotherhood of Teamsters, both of Washington, D.C.; 
Walter B. McCormick, Jr., American Trucking Associations, Inc., 
Alexandria, Virginia; Peter D. Worthington, DATTCO, Inc., New Britain, 
Connecticut, on behalf of the American Bus Association; and Stephen F. 
Campbell, Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, Bethesda, Maryland.
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REVENUES
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee held hearings on 
S. 25, to provide Coastal Impact Assistance to State and local 
governments, to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Amendments 
of 1978, the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, the Urban 
Park and Recreation Recovery Act, and the Federal Aid in Wildlife 
Restoration Act (commonly referred to as the Pittman-Robertson Act) to 
establish a fund to meet the outdoor conservation and recreation needs 
of the American people, S. 446, to provide for the permanent protection 
of the resources of the United States in the year

[[Page D439]]

2000 and beyond, S. 532, to provide increased funding for the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund and Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery 
Programs, to resume the funding of the State grants program of the Land 
and Water Conservation Fund, and to provide for the acquisition and 
development of conservation and recreation facilities and programs in 
urban areas, S. 819, to provide funding for the National Park System 
from outer Continental Shelf revenues, and the Administration's Lands 
Legacy Initiative, receiving testimony from Oregon Governor John 
Kitzhaber, Salem; New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Trenton; 
Alaska State Senator Robin L. Taylor, Juneau; J. Allison DeFoor, II, 
Office of the Governor of Florida, Tallahassee; Leon E. Panetta, 
Panetta Institute, California State University-Monterey Bay, Seaside, 
California; Mark Davis, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Baton 
Rouge; Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, New 
York; Paul L. Kelly, Rowan Companies, Inc., Houston, Texas; Ralph 
Grossi, American Farmland Trust, Washington, D.C.; and Elliot L. Marks, 
The Nature Conservancy, Seattle, Washington.
  Hearings continue on Tuesday, May 4.
REVENUE RAISING PROPOSALS
Committee on Finance: Committee held hearings to examine revenue 
raising proposals as contained in the Administration's fiscal year 2000 
budget, focusing on corporate tax shelters, life insurance taxation, 
and taxation of investment income of trade associations, receiving 
testimony from Donald C. Lubick, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 
for Tax Policy; Harold R. Handler, Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett, on 
behalf of the New York State Bar Association, David A. Lifson, American 
Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Edward D. Kleinbard, 
Clearly, Gottlieb, Steen, and Hamilton, on behalf of the Securities 
Industry Association, all of New York, New York; Stefan F. Tucker, 
American Bar Association, and Jeanne E. Hoenicke, American Council of 
Life Insurance, both of Washington, D.C.; Lester D. Ezrati, Hewlett-
Packard Company, Palo Alto, California, on behalf of the Tax 
Executives' Institute, Inc.; and Nancy H. Worman, KeyCorp, Cleveland, 
Ohio, on behalf of the American Bankers Association.
  Hearings recessed subject to the call.
NONPROLIFERATION/ARMS CONTROL/POLITICAL MILITARY ISSUES
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee held hearings on 
nonproliferation, arms control, and political military issues, 
receiving testimony from Eric D. Newsom, Assistant Secretary of State 
for Political-Military Affairs; and Rose E. Gottemoeller, Assistant 
Secretary of Energy for Nonproliferation and National Security.
  Hearings recessed subject to the call.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 
625, to amend title 11, United States Code, relating to bankruptcy 
reform, with amendments.
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN BORDER PATROLS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration concluded 
hearings on the need for additional border patrol at the northern and 
southern borders of the U.S. to further deter illegal immigration and 
drug smuggling, after receiving testimony from Gus De la Vina, Chief, 
Ron Sanders, Chief Patrol Agent, Tucson, Arizona Sector, on behalf of 
the Chief Patrol Agent's Association, and Robert E. Lindemann, Senior 
Patrol Agent, Detroit, Michigan Sector, on behalf of the National 
Border Patrol Council, all of the United States Border Patrol, 
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice; and 
Arizona State Representative Gail Griffin, Sierra Vista.
MEDICAL RECORDS PRIVACY
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded hearings on issues relating to medical records 
confidentiality in a changing health care environment, and related 
measures including S.881 and S. 578, bills to ensure confidentiality 
with respect to medical records and health care-related information, to 
ensure confidentiality with respect to medical records and health care-
related information, after receiving testimony from Senators Bennett 
and Leahy; John Bentivoglio, Special Counsel for Health Care Fraud, 
Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Department of Justice; Ronald H. 
Weich, Zuckerman, Spaeder, Goldstein, Taylor & Kolker, Washington, 
D.C., on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union; Robyn S. 
Shapiro, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, on behalf of the 
American Bar Association; LaDonna Shedor, Centra Health, Lynchburg, 
Virginia, on behalf of the Healthcare Leadership Council; Paul 
Appelbaum, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, on 
behalf of the American Psychiatric Association; John G. Curd, 
Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, California; and Chris Koyanagi, Judge 
David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Washington, D.C., on 
behalf of the Consumer Coalition for Health Privacy.