[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 8, 1999)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D628-D630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Agriculture: Subcommittee on Risk Management, Research, 
and Specialty Crops continued hearings on the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission Reauthorization. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Ordered reported the Transportation 
appropriations for fiscal year 2000.
SOCIAL SECURITY TRUST FUND
Committee on the Budget: Social Security Task Force held a hearing on 
the Social Security Trust Fund: Myth and Reality. Testimony was heard 
from David

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Koitz, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; and a 
public witness.
KANSAS--AD VALOREM TAX REFUND
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing 
on the Kansas Ad Valorem Tax Refund. Testimony was heard from 
Representative Moran of Kansas; Douglas Smith, General Counsel, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy; Carla Stovall, 
Attorney General, State of Kansas; Sheila Lumpe, Chair, Public Service 
Commission, State of Missouri; and public witnesses.
MIDDLE EAST DEVELOPMENTS
Committee on International Relations: Held a hearing on Developments in 
the Middle East. Testimony was heard from Martin S. Indyk, Assistant 
Secretary, Near Eastern Affairs, Department of State.
CHILD CUSTODY PROTECTION ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution approved 
for full Committee action H.R. 1218, Child Custody Protection Act.
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, a structured rule on H.R. 
1401, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2000 and 
2001, providing one hour of general debate to be equally divided 
between the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Armed Services. The rule waives all points of order against 
consideration of the bill. The rule makes in order the Committee on 
Armed Services amendment in the nature of a substitute now printed in 
the bill, 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 Rules Committee 
report and pro forma amendments offered by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Armed Services for the purpose of 
debate. The rule provides that the amendments printed in part B of the 
Rules Committee report may be offered en bloc. The rule makes in order 
the amendment by Representative Cox printed in the Congressional Record 
on June 8, 1999. 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. The rules provides that, except 
as otherwise specified in the report, each amendment printed in the 
report shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled 
by the proponent and an opponent and shall not be subject to amendment 
(except that the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee 
on Armed Services 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 the amendments printed in the Rules 
Committee report and those amendments en bloc described in section 3 of 
the resolution. The rule provides an additional period of general 
debate prior to the consideration of the last five amendments in part A 
of the Rules Committee report for one hour, which shall be confined to 
the subject of the United States policy relating to the conflict in 
Kosovo. The rule authorizes the chairman of the Armed Services 
Committee or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of 
amendments printed in part B of the Rules Committee report or germane 
modifications thereto, which shall be considered as read (except that 
modifications shall be reported), shall be debatable for 20 minutes 
equally divided between the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Armed Services Committee or their designees, and shall not be subject 
to amendment or 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 disposition of the en 
bloc amendments. The rule allows 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 permits the Chairman of the Committee 
of the Whole to recognize for consideration of any amendment printed in 
the report out of the order in which printed, but not sooner than one 
hour after the chairman of the Armed Services Committee or a designee 
announces from the floor a request to that effect. The rule provides 
that before consideration of any other amendment it will be in order to 
consider the amendment printed in the Congressional Record on June 8, 
1999, by Representative Cox, if offered by Representative Cox or his 
designee, which will be considered as read, debatable for one hour 
equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, will 
not be subject to amendment, and will not be subject to a demand for a 
division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole, 
and waives all points of order against the amendment. The rule

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provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. The rule 
provides that after passage of H.R. 1401, it shall be in order to take 
from the Speaker's table S. 1059 and to consider the Senate bill in the 
House. The rule waives all points of order against the Senate bill and 
against its consideration. The rule provides that it shall be in order 
to move to strike all after the enacting clause of the Senate bill and 
to insert in lieu thereof the provisions of H.R. 1401 as passed by the 
House and waives all points of order against the motion. Finally, the 
rule provides that House Resolution 195 is laid on the table.
U.S.-CHINA TRADE RELATIONS
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Trade held a hearing on 
United States-China trade relations and the possible accession of China 
to the World Trade Organization. Testimony was heard from 
Representatives Smith of New Jersey, Frank of Massachusetts, Wolf, 
Pelosi, Rohrabacher, Dooley of California and Blumenauer; Richard W. 
Fisher, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative; Stanley Roth, Assistant 
Secretary, East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State; and 
public witnesses.
BRIEFING--ENCRYPTION ISSUES
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
hold a briefing on Encryption Issues. The Committee was briefed by 
Barbara McNamara, Deputy Director, NSA, Department of Defense.
FBI HANDLING--COUNTERINTELLIGENCE MATTERS--LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL 
LABORATORY
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
hold a hearing on FBI Handling of Counterintelligence Matters at the 
Los Alamos National Laboratory. Testimony was heard from departmental 
witnesses.

Joint Meetings
WESTERN EUROPEAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine religious freedom issues in Western Europe, 
focusing on religious minorities and growing government intolerance, 
after receiving testimony from Willy Fautre, Human Rights Without 
Frontiers, Brussels, Belgium; Louis DeMeo, Grace Church of Nimes, 
Nimes, France; and Alain Garay, on behalf of the Jehovah's Witnesses, 
Paris, France.