[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 23, 1999)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D713-D715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAMS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
the findings and recommendations of the Special Investigative Panel of 
the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board to reorganize 
Department of Energy National Security Programs in response to 
espionage threats, after receiving testimony from Senators Kyl and 
Domenici; William B. Richardson, Secretary of Energy; Adm. Henry G. 
Chiles, Jr., USN, Ret. former Commander-in-Chief, United States 
Strategic Command; and Sidney D. Drell, Member, President's Foreign 
Intelligence Advisory Board.
EXPORT ADMINISTRATION ACT
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee resumed 
hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for programs of the 
Export Administration Act, receiving testimony from William A. Reinsch, 
Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration; John Hamre, 
Deputy Secretary of Defense; James Schroeder, Deputy Under Secretary of 
Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; Rose 
Gottemoeller, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nonproliferation and 
National Security; and John Barker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State 
for Nonproliferation Controls.
  Hearings continue tomorrow.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 383, to establish a national policy of basic consumer fair 
treatment for airline passengers, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 97, to require the installation and use by schools and libraries 
of a technology for filtering or blocking material on the Internet on 
computers with Internet access to be eligible to receive or retain 
universal service assistance, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 798, to promote electronic commerce by encouraging and 
facilitating the use of encryption in interstate commerce consistent 
with the protection of national security;
  S. 761, to regulate interstate commerce by electronic means by 
permitting and encouraging the continued expansion of electronic 
commerce through the operation of free market forces, with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 800, to promote and enhance public safety through the use of 9-1-1 
as the universal emergency assistance number, further deployment of 
wireless 9-1-1 service, support of States in upgrading 9-1-1 
capabilities and related functions, encouragement of construction and 
operation of seamless, ubiquitous, and reliable networks for personal 
wireless services, with amendments;
  S. 655, to establish nationally uniform requirements regarding the 
titling and registration of salvage, nonrepairable, and rebuilt 
vehicles;
  S. 1248, to correct errors in the authorizations of certain programs 
administered by the National Highway Traffic Administration;
  S. 937, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 
for certain maritime programs of the

[[Page D714]]

Department of Transportation, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 832, to extend the commercial space launch damage indemnification 
provisions of section 70113 of title 49, United States Code;
  And the nominations of Johnnie E. Frazier, of Maryland, to be 
Inspector General, Department of Commerce, Cheryl Shavers, of 
California, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology, Kelly H. 
Carnes, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of 
Commerce for Technology Policy, Ann Brown, of Florida, to be a 
Commissioner and Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, 
Mary Sheila Gall, of Virginia, to be a Commissioner of the Consumer 
Product Safety Commission, Albert S. Jacquez, of California, to be 
Administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, 
Sylvia de Leon, of Texas, to be a Member of the Reform Board (Amtrak), 
and a nomination for promotion in the United States Coast Guard.
LAND CONVEYANCE AND WILDERNESS DESIGNATION BILLS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and 
Public Land Management concluded hearings on S. 503, designating 
certain land in the San Isabel National Forest in the State of Colorado 
as the ``Spanish Peaks Wilderness'', S. 953, to direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey certain land in the State of South Dakota to the 
Terry Peak Ski Area, S. 977, to provide for the conveyance by the 
Bureau of Land Management to Douglas County, Oregon, of a county park 
and certain adjacent land, S. 1088, to authorize the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey certain administrative sites in national forests 
in the State of Arizona, to convey certain land to the City of Sedona, 
Arizona for a wastewater treatment facility, and H.R. 15 and S. 848, 
bills to designate a portion of the Otay Mountain region of California 
as wilderness, after receiving testimony from Senators Allard and Kyl; 
Representative Bilbray; Denny Bschor, Director, Recreation, Heritage 
and Wilderness Resources, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture; 
Tom Fry, Acting Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the 
Interior; and Douglas Robertson, Douglas County, Roseburg, Oregon.
COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN SALMON RECOVERY
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Fisheries, 
Wildlife, and Drinking Water concluded hearings on issues relating to 
the Columbia River Basin salmon recovery, focusing on the activities of 
the Federal Caucus and the Four-H Paper, and the status of the 99 
Decision, after receiving testimony from Senator Craig; George T. 
Frampton, Jr., Acting Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality; Idaho 
Governor Dirk Kempthorne, and Mark Dunn, J.R. Simplot Company, on 
behalf of the Northwest Food Processors Association, both of Boise, 
Idaho; Donald Sampson, Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, 
Portland, Oregon; Scott Faber, American Rivers, Washington, D.C.; Owen 
C. Squires, Pulp and Paperworkers Resource Council, Lewiston, Idaho, on 
behalf of the Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical, and Energy Workers 
International Union Local 712; Tim Stearns, Save Our Wild Salmon, 
Seattle, Washington; and Lynn Ausman, Waitsburg, Washington, on behalf 
of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers and the Washington 
Barley Commission.
MEDICARE PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFIT
Committee on Finance: Committee held hearings on proposals to add a 
prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program, receiving testimony 
from Laura A. Dummit, Associate Director, Health Financing and Public 
Health Issues, Health, Education, and Human Services Division, General 
Accounting Office; Michael E. Gluck, National Academy of Social 
Insurance, Alan F. Holmer, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of 
America, J. Leighton Read, Aviron, on behalf of the Biotechnology 
Industry Organization, and Martha A. McSteen, National Committee to 
Preserve Social Security and Medicare, all of Washington, D.C.; Kevin 
W. Concannon, Maine Department of Human Services, Augusta; Morris B. 
Mellion, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, Omaha, on behalf of 
the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association; and Jeff Sanders, PCS Health 
Systems, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona.
  Hearings recessed subject to call.
U.S. POLICY TOWARD IRAQ
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South 
Asian Affairs concluded hearings to examine United States policy 
towards Iraq, after receiving testimony from A. Elizabeth Jones, 
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs; 
Ahmad Chalabi, Iraqi National Congress, London, England; and Patrick 
Clawson, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Rend Rahim 
Francke, Iraq Foundation, both of Washington, D.C.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nomination of David B. Sandalow, of the District of Columbia, to be 
Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental 
and Scientific Affairs, after the nominee testified and answered 
questions in his own behalf.

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EXPORT CONTROL PROCESS
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded hearings on 
interagency Inspectors General report on the export control process for 
dual-use and munitions list commodities, after receiving testimony from 
Johnnie E. Frazier, Acting Inspector General, Department of Commerce; 
Gregory H. Friedman, Inspector General, Department of Energy; Donald 
Mancuso, Acting Inspector General, Department of Defense; John C. 
Payne, Deputy Inspector General, Department of State; Lawrence W. 
Rogers, Acting Inspector General, Department of the Treasury; and L. 
Britt Snider, Inspector General, Central Intelligence Agency.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings on issues 
relating to religious liberty protection, after receiving testimony 
from Texas State Representative Scott Hochburg, Houston; Steven T. 
McFarland, Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious 
Freedom, Annandale, Virginia; Nathan J. Diament, Union of Orthodox 
Jewish Congregations of America, Elliot M. Mincberg, People for the 
American Way, and Christopher E. Anders, American Civil Liberties 
Union, all of Washington, D.C.; Manuel A. Miranda, Cardinal Newman 
Society for Catholic Higher Education, Fairfax, Virginia; and Michael 
P. Farris, Home School Legal Defense Association, Purcellville, 
Virginia,
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee resumed 
hearings on proposed legislation authorizing funds for programs of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, focusing on Title VI, 
Innovative Education Program Strategies, receiving testimony from Earin 
M. Martin, Texas Education Agency, Austin, on behalf of the Title VI 
National Steering Committee; Robert McNamara, Vermont Department of 
Education, Montpelier; Sandra J. Erickson, Howard County Public School 
System, Ellicott City, Maryland; Eric A. Hanushek, University of 
Rochester W. Allen Wallis Institute of Political Economy, Rochester, 
New York; Randy Ross, Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project, Los 
Angeles, California; and Lynn Winters, Grassland Middle School, 
Franklin, Tennessee, on behalf of the National Education Association.
  Hearings continue on Tuesday, June 29.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following bills:
  S. 695, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a 
national cemetery for veterans in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan 
area, with amendments;
  S. 1076, to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide a cost-of-
living adjustment in rates of compensation paid to veterans with 
service-connected disabilities, to enhance programs providing health 
care, education, and other benefits for veterans, to authorize major 
medical facility projects, to reform eligibility for burial in 
Arlington National Cemetery, with amendments;
  An original bill to direct VA to provide cost-of-living adjustments 
in compensation and other benefits for calendar year 2000, and would 
codify cost-of-living adjustments provided by VA for calendar year 
1999;
  An original bill to enhance veterans' educational assistance benefits 
programs; and
  The nomination of John T. Hanson, of Virginia, to be Assistant 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.
NATIONAL GAMBLING IMPACT STUDY COMMISSION FINAL REPORT
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded oversight hearings on 
the National Gambling Impact Study Commission final report on the 
status of tribal governmental sponsored gaming in the United States, 
after receiving testimony from Robert W. Loescher, Sealaska 
Corporation, Juneau, Alaska, on behalf of the National Gambling Impact 
Study Commission; Montie R. Deer, National Indian Gaming Commission, 
Raymond C. Scheppach, National Governors' Association, and Richard G. 
Hill, National Indian Gaming Association, all of Washington, D.C.; and 
Deborah Doxtator, Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Oneida.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
  Committee meets again tomorrow.