[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 22, 2000)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D244-D247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
U.S. GRAIN STANDARDS ACT REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Agriculture: Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, 
Resource Conservation, and Credit held a hearing to review the 
reauthorization of the United States Grain Standards Act. Testimony was 
heard from James R. Baker, Administrator, Grain Inspection, Packers and 
Stockyards Administration, USDA; and public witnesses.
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FDA, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies held a 
hearing on Rural Development. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the USDA: Jill Long-Thompson, Under Secretary, Rural 
Development; Christopher A. McLean, Administrator, Rural Utilities 
Service; James C. Kearney, Administrator, Rural Housing Service; Dayton 
J. Watkins, Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative Service; and 
Stephen B. Dewhurst, Budget Officer.
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE AND JUDICIARY APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State, 
and Judiciary, held a hearing on Federal Judiciary and on Immigration 
and Naturalization Service. Testimony was heard from John G. Heyburn, 
Judge, U.S. District Court, Kentucky; Robert C. Broomfield, Judge, U.S. 
District Court, Arizona; Leonidas Ralph Mecham, Director, 
Administrative Office of the Courts; and Fern M. Smith, Judge, U.S. 
District Court, California, Director, Federal Judicial Center.
DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense, met in executive 
session to hold a hearing on Fiscal Year 2001 Intelligence Budget. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of 
Defense: Lt. Gen. Michael V. Hayden, USAF, Director, National Security 
Agency; Lt. Gen. James C. King, USA, Director, National Imagery and 
Mapping Agency; and Keith Hall, Director, National Reconnaissance 
Office; and the following officials of the CIA: George J. Tenet, 
Director; and Joan A. Dempsey, Deputy Director, Community Management.
INTERIOR APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior held a hearing on 
Presidio Trust and on Department of Energy--Energy Information 
Administration. Testimony was heard from James E. Meadows, Executive 
Director, Presidio Trust; and Jay E. Hakes, Administrator, Energy 
Information Administration, Department of Energy.
LABOR-HHS-EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education, held a hearing on Pension Agencies; Bureau of 
Labor Statistics and the Secretary of Labor. Testimony was heard

[[Page D245]]

from the following officials of the Department of Labor: Alexis Herman, 
Secretary; Katherine G. Abraham, Bureau of Labor Statistics; and Alan 
D. Lebowitz, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Program Operations, Pension 
and Welfare Benefits Administration; and David M. Strauss, Executive 
Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; .
TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation held a 
hearing on Aviation. Testimony was heard from Jim Hall, Chairman, 
National Transportation Safety Board; and the following officials of 
the Department of Transportation: Kenneth M. Mead, Inspector General; 
and Jane F. Garvey, Administrator, FAA.
TREASURY, POSTAL SERVICE, AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service, 
and General Government held a hearing on Federal Election Commission. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Federal 
Election Commission: Darryl R. Wold, Chairman; and Danny L. McDonald, 
Vice Chairman.
VA, HUD AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on VA, HUD and Independent 
Agencies, held a hearing on the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 
Testimony was heard from Togo West, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION
Committee on Armed Services: Continued hearings on the Fiscal year 2001 
National Defense authorization budget request. Testimony was heard from 
the following officials of the Department of Defense: Louis Caldera, 
Secretary of the Army; Richard Danzig, Secretary of the Navy; and F. 
Whitten Peters, Secretary of the Air Force.
HOUSING FINANCE REGULATORY IMPROVEMENT ACT
Committee on Banking and Financial Services: Subcommittee on Capital 
Markets, Securities, and Government Sponsored Enterprises held a 
hearing on improving the regulation of the housing Government Sponsored 
Enterprises, focusing on H.R. 3703, Housing Finance Regulatory 
Improvement Act. Testimony was heard from Gary Gensler, Under 
Secretary, Domestic Finance, Department of the Treasury; the following 
officials of the Department of Housing and Urban Development: William 
Apgar, Assistant Secretary, Housing; and Armando Falcon, Director, 
Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight; and Bruce A. Morrision, 
Chairman, Federal Housing Finance Board.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Commerce: Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing 
on the following bills: H.R. 3383, to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954 to remove separate treatment or exemption for nuclear safety 
violations by nonprofit institutions; H.R. 3906, to ensure that the 
Department of Energy has appropriate mechanisms to independently assess 
the effectiveness of its policy and site performance in the areas of 
safeguards and security and cyber security; and H.R. 3907, External 
Regulation of the Department of Energy Act. Testimony was heard from 
Mary Anne Sullivan, General Counsel, Department of Energy; Richard A. 
Meserve, Chairman, NRC; Jerrold R. Mande, Deputy Assistant Secretary, 
Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Department of 
Labor; John T. Conway, Chairman, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety 
Board; Gary Jones, Associate Director, Energy, Resources, and Science 
Issues, GAO; Charles V. Shank, Director, Lawrence Berkeley National 
Laboratory; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on Civil Service approved 
for full Committee action, as amended, the following bills: H.R. 4040, 
Long-Term Care Security Act; and H.R. 2842, Federal Employees Health 
Benefits Children's Equity Act of 1999.
HUD'S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AUDIT RESULTS
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on Government Management, 
Information, and Technology held a hearing on ``Results of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development's Fiscal Year 1999 
Financial Statements Audit''. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the Department of Housing and Urban Development: Susan 
Gaffney, Inspector General; and Saul Ramirez, Deputy Secretary.
COMBATING TERRORISM
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on National Security, 
Veterans' Affairs and International Relations held a hearing on 
Combating Terrorism: Coordination of Nonmedical Research and 
Development Programs. Testimony was heard from Kwai-Cheung Chan, 
Director, National Security and International Affairs Division, GAO; 
Carmen J. Spencer, Director, Chemical and Biological Defense, Defense 
Threat Reduction Agency, Department of Defense;

[[Page D246]]

Page O. Stoutland, Director, Chemical and Biological Nonproliferation 
Program, Department of Energy; and the following officials of the FBI, 
Department of Justice: Donald M. Kerr, Assistant Director, FBI 
Laboratory; and Robert Burnham, Section Chief, Domestic Terrorism-
Counter Terrorism Planning.
INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTION ACT
Committee on International Relations: Ordered reported, as amended, 
H.R. 2909, Intercountry Adoption Act of 1999.
REAFFIRMING U.S. POLICY TOWARD TAIWAN AND THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF 
CHINA
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific approved for full Committee action H. Con. Res. 292, 
congratulating President-elect Chen Shui-bian and Vice President-elect 
Annette Lu of Taiwan and reaffirming United States policy toward Taiwan 
and the People's Republic of China.
EXPORT ADMINISTRATION'S FUTURE
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Economic Policy and Trade held a hearing on the Future of the Export 
Administration Act-Part 1. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
FREE MARKET ANTITRUST IMMUNITY REFORM ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Held a hearing on H.R. 3138, Free Market 
Antitrust Immunity Reform (FAIR) Act of 1999. Testimony was heard from 
the following officials of the Federal Maritime Commission: Harold J. 
Creel, Jr., Chairman; and Delmond J.H. Won, Commissioner; John Nannes, 
Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Department of 
Justice; and public witnesses.
IMMIGRATION SERVICES AND IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT BUREAUS WITHIN JUSTICE 
DEPARTMENT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims 
approved for full Committee action H.R. 3918, to establish the Bureau 
of Immigration Services and the Bureau of Immigration Enforcement 
within the Department of Justice.
CONCURRENT BUDGET RESOLUTION
Committee on Rules: granted, by voice vote, a structured rule providing 
three hours of general debate on H. Con. Res. 290, establishing the 
congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 
2001, revising the congressional budget for the United States 
Government for fiscal year 2000, and setting forth appropriate 
budgetary levels for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2005, with two 
hours equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on the Budget and one hour on economic 
goals and policies equally divided and controlled by Representative 
Saxton and Representative Stark. The rule waives clause 4(a) of rule 
XIII (requiring a three-day layover of the committee report) against 
consideration of the resolution. The rule makes in order the amendment 
in the nature of a substitute printed in Part A of the Rules Committee 
report as an original concurrent resolution for the purpose of 
amendment. The rule waives all points of order against the amendment 
printed in Part A of the Rules Committee report.
  The rule makes in order only those amendments printed in Part B of 
the Rules Committee report which may be offered only in the order 
printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in 
the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the 
time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the 
proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to amendment. The 
rule waives all points of order against the amendments except that, if 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute is adopted, it is not in 
order to consider further substitutes. The rule provides, upon the 
conclusion of consideration of the concurrent resolution for amendment, 
for a final period of general debate not to exceed 10 minutes equally 
divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of 
the Committee on the Budget. The rule permits the Chairman of the 
Committee on the Budget to offer amendments in the House to achieve 
mathematical consistency. Finally, the rule suspends the application of 
House Rule XXIII (relating to the establishment of the statutory limit 
on the public debt) with respect to the concurrent resolution on the 
budget for fiscal year 2001. Testimony was heard from Chairman Kasich 
and Representatives Gekas, Spratt, Thompson, Markey, Holt, Stenholm, 
Tanner, Clyburn and Tierney.
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS ACT AND LEGISLATIVE PROCESS OF HOUSE 
COMMITTEES
Committee on Rules: Subcommittee on Rules and Organization held a 
hearing on the Government Performance and Results Act and the 
Legislative Process of House Committees. Testimony was heard from 
Representative Horn; David Walker, Comptroller, GAO; Joshua Gotbaum, 
Executive Associate Director and Controller, Office of Financial 
Management, OMB; and a public witness.

[[Page D247]]


EPA'S SLUDGE RULE
Committee on Science: Held a hearing on EPA's Sludge Rule: Closed Minds 
or Open Debate. Testimony was heard from J. Charles Fox, Assistant 
Administrator, Office of Water, EPA; and public witnesses.
NASA'S BUDGET REQUEST
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a 
hearing on NASA's Fiscal Year 2001 Budget Request: Life and 
Microgravity Research. Testimony was heard from Arnauld Nicogossian, 
Associate Administrator, Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and 
Applications, NASA; Richard Hodes, Director, National Institute on 
Aging, NIH, Department of Health and Human Services; and public 
witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on 
Economic Development, Public Buildings, Hazardous Materials, and 
Pipeline Transportation, approved for full Committee action the 
following bills: H.R. 3171, amended, National Health Museum Site 
Selection Act; H.R. 3069, amended, Southeast Federal Center Public-
Private Development Act of 2000; H.R. 1359, amended, to designate the 
Federal building and United States courthouse to be constructed at 10 
East Commerce Street in Youngstown, Ohio, as the ``Frank J. Battisti 
and Nathaniel R. Jones Federal Building and United States Courthouse''; 
and S. 1567, to designate the United States courthouse located at 223 
Broad Street in Albany, Georgia, as the ``C.B. King United States 
Courthouse.''
PROGRAM DATA QUALITY
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on 
Oversight, Investigations, and Emergency Management held a hearing on 
Program Data Quality. Testimony was heard from J. Christopher Mihm, 
Associate Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues, GAO; the 
following officials of the Department of Transportation: Raymond 
DeCarli, Deputy Inspector General; and Peter Basso, Assistant 
Secretary, Budget and Programs/Chief Financial Officer; the following 
officials of the GSA: Eugene L. Waszily, Assistant Inspector General, 
Auditing; and William C. Piatt, Chief Information Officer; and the 
following officials of the EPA: Nikki L. Tinsley, Inspector General; 
and Margaret N. Schneider, Assistant Administrator, Environmental 
Information.
ADMINISTRATION'S PROPOSALS--WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Water 
Resources and Environment held a hearing on the Administration's 
proposals for a Water Resources Development Act of 2000. Testimony was 
heard from the following officials of the Department of the Army: 
Joseph W. Westphal, Assistant Secretary (Civil Works); and Lt. Gen. Joe 
N. Ballard, USA, Chief of Engineers.
EDUCATION SAVINGS AND SCHOOL EXCELLENCE ACT
Committee on Ways and Means: Ordered reported, as amended, H.R. 7, 
Education Savings and School Excellence Act of 1999.

Joint Meetings
VETERANS PROGRAMS
  Joint Hearing: Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs concluded joint 
hearings with the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to review the 
legislative recommendations of certain veterans organizations, after 
receiving testimony from Raymond G. Boland, Wisconsin Department of 
Veterans Affairs, Madison, on behalf of the National Association of 
State Directors of Veteran Affairs; George C. Duggins, Vietnam Veterans 
of America, Robert F. Norton, Retired Officers Association, and Zack 
Roberts, American Ex-Prisoners of War, all of Washington, D.C.; and 
Charles L. Taylor, AMVETS, Lanham, Maryland.
TURKMENISTAN DEMOCRATIZATION
  Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki): On 
Tuesday, March 21, commission concluded hearings to examine 
Turkmenistan's prospects for democratization, fair elections, 
observance of human rights, and how the United States can promote 
Turkmenistan's observance of the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe commitments, after receiving testimony from John 
Byerle, Principal Deputy to the Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor 
to the Secretary of State for Independent States, and E. Wayne Merry, 
Atlantic Council of the United States, both of Washington, D.C.; Avdy 
Kuliev, Turkmen opposition leader in exile, Moscow, Russia; Pyotr 
Iwaszkiewicz, formerly of the OSCE Office in Ashgabat, Warsaw, Poland; 
Firuz Kazemzadeh, International Commission of Religious Freedom, Alta 
Loma, California; and Cassandra Cavanaugh, Human Rights Watch, 
Helsinki, New York, New York.