[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 45 (Tuesday, April 11, 2000)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D347-D349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
hearings on the nomination of

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Christopher A. McLean, of Nebraska, to be Administrator, Rural 
Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture, after the nominee, who 
was introduced by Senators Hagel and Kerrey, testified and answered 
questions in his own behalf.
MTBE AND RENEWABLE FUELS
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine issues relating to alleged pollution of drinking 
water supplies by Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE), the future of 
renewable fuels, and the Reformulated Gasoline Program, after receiving 
testimony from Keith Collins, Chief Economist, Department of 
Agriculture; Robert Perciasepe, Assistant Administrator for Air and 
Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency; Mark J. Mazur, Director, 
Office of Policy, Department of Energy; R. James Woolsey, Shea and 
Gardner, Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Advisory Committee of the 
Clean Fuels Foundation; Iowa Governor Thomas Vilsack, Des Moines, on 
behalf of the Governors' Ethanol Coalition; Trevor T. Guthmiller, 
American Coalition for Ethanol, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Nathan 
Kimpel, New Energy Corporation, South Bend, Indiana; Rus Miller, 
Arkenol, Inc., Mission Viejo, California; Jason S. Grumet, Northeast 
States for Coordinated Air Use Management, Boston, Massachusetts; and 
David Morris, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Minneapolis, 
Minnesota.
APPROPRIATIONS--DOE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development concluded hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal 
year 2001 for the Department of Energy, after receiving testimony in 
behalf of funds for their respective activities from Carolyn L. 
Huntoon, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, Dan W. 
Reicher, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
Energy, James Decker, Acting Director, Office of Science, William D. 
Magwood, IV, Director, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and 
Technology, and Ivan Itkin, Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive 
Waste Management, all of the Department of Energy.
APPROPRIATIONS--FOREIGN HEALTH ASSISTANCE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Foreign Operations 
concluded hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2001 
for foreign health assistance, focusing on the President's Millennium 
Initiative to help combat infectious diseases, after receiving 
testimony from Lawrence H. Summers, Secretary of the Treasury; Adel 
Mahmoud, Merck and Co., Whitehouse Station, New Jersey; Gro Brundtland, 
General World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; William Foege, 
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, Washington; and Nils 
Daulaire, Global Health Council, Norwich, Vermont.
APPROPRIATIONS--DOE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior concluded 
hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2001 for the 
Department of Energy, after receiving testimony from Bill Richardson, 
Secretary of Energy.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of Bernard Daniel Rostker, of Virginia, to be Under 
Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Gregory Robert 
Dahlberg, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary of the Army, and Madelyn 
R. Creedon, of Indiana, to be Deputy Administrator for Defense 
Programs, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of 
Energy, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their 
own behalf. Mr. Dahlberg was introduced by Representative Murtha.
WTO CHINA ACCESSION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine China's accession into the World Trade 
Organization, focusing on granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations, 
after receiving testimony from William M. Daley, Secretary of Commerce; 
Lt. Gen. Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.), Scowcroft Group, former National 
Security Advisor, H. Richard Kahler, Caterpillar China, Inc., on behalf 
of the Business Roundtable, Jack Valenti, Motion Picture Association of 
America, Lori Wallach, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, and Harry 
Wu, Laogai Research Foundation, all of Washington, D.C.
ELECTRIC POWER
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee held hearings on 
S. 2098, to facilitate the transition to more competitive and efficient 
electric power markets, and to ensure electric reliability, S. 2071, to 
benefit electricity consumers by promoting the reliability of the bulk-
power system, S. 1369, to enhance the benefits of the national electric 
system by encouraging and supporting State programs for renewable 
energy sources, universal electric service, affordable electric 
service, and energy conservation and efficiency, S. 1284, to amend the 
Federal Power Act to ensure that no State may establish, maintain, or 
enforce on behalf of any electric utility an exclusive right to sell 
electric energy or otherwise unduly discriminate against any consumer 
who seeks to purchase electric energy in interstate commerce from

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any supplier, S. 1273, to amend the Federal Power Act, to facilitate 
the transition to more competitive and efficient electric power 
markets, S. 1047, to provide for a more competitive electric power 
industry, S. 516, to benefit consumers by promoting competition in the 
electric power industry, and S. 282, to provide that no electric 
utility shall be required to enter into a new contract or obligation to 
purchase or to sell electricity or capacity under section 210 of the 
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, receiving testimony 
from Bill Richardson, Secretary of Energy; Arthur W. Adelberg, Central 
Maine Power Group, Inc., on behalf of the Alliance for Competitive 
Electricity, and Stephen Ward, Maine Office of Public Advocate, on 
behalf of the National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, 
both of Augusta; Bob Rowe, Montana Public Service Commission, Helena, 
on behalf of the National Association of Regulatory Utility 
Commissioners; David N. Cook, North American Electric Reliability 
Council, Princeton, New Jersey; and William Mayben, Nebraska Public 
Power District, Columbus, on behalf of the Large Public Power Council.
  Hearings continue on Thursday, April 13.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on the 
nominations of Carey Cavanaugh, of Florida, for the rank of Ambassador 
during his tenure of service as Special Negotiator for Nagorno-Karabakh 
and New Independent States Regional Conflicts, Christopher Robert Hill, 
of Rhode Island, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Poland, and Thomas 
G. Weston, of Michigan, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of 
service as Special Coordinator for Cyprus, after the nominees testified 
and answered questions in their own behalf.
U.S. CHINA POLICY
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee held hearings on United 
States policy towards the People's Republic of China, focusing on 
granting Permanent Normal Trade Status and human rights conditions, 
receiving testimony from Wei Jingsheng, Columbia University Center for 
the Study of Human Rights, New York, New York, on behalf of the Wei 
Jingsheng Foundation, Inc.; and Arthur Waldron, American Enterprise 
Institute, Greg Mastel, New America Foundation, and Robert A. Kapp, 
U.S.-China Business Council, all of Washington, D.C.
  Hearings recessed subject to call.
EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAMS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on 
Children and Families concluded hearings to examine early childhood 
programs for low-income families, focusing on federal and state funding 
and collaborative efforts and the effectiveness of federal preschool 
and child care programs, after receiving testimony from Marnie S. 
Shaul, Associate Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security 
Issues, Health, Education, and Human Services Division, General 
Accounting Office; Elaine Zimmerman, Connecticut General Assembly 
Commission on Children, Hartford; and Douglas J. Besharov, American 
Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C.
FUNERAL AND BURIAL CONSUMER PROTECTION
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
issues facing consumers when preplanning, arranging and conducting 
funeral and burial activities, focusing on educating consumers about 
funeral-related industries, exposing bad practices, exploring the 
extent of consumer satisfaction, and law enforcement activities, after 
receiving testimony from Eileen Harrington, Associate Director for 
Marketing Practices, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Federal Trade 
Commission; G. V. Ayers, California Department of Consumer Affairs 
Cemetery and Funeral Bureau, Sacramento; Jay U. Jacobson, Pella, Iowa, 
on behalf of the National Funeral Directors Association; and Paul M. 
Elvig, International Cemetery and Funeral Association, Reston, 
Virginia.