[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 46 (Wednesday, April 12, 2000)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D359-D361] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) APPROPRIATIONS--MISSILE DEFENSE Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense concluded hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2001 for the Department of Defense, focusing on missile defense programs, after receiving testimony from Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, USAF, Director, Office of External Affairs, Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Department of Defense. APPROPRIATIONS--INDEPENDENT AGENCIES Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies concluded hearings on proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2001 for Independent Agencies, after receiving testimony in behalf of funds for their respective activities from Harris Wofford, Chief Executive Officer, and Luise S. Jordan, Inspector General, both of the Corporation for National and Community Service; Ellen Lazar, Director, and Maurice Jones, Deputy Director for Policy and Programs, both of the Community Development Financial Institutions; and Andrea Kidd Taylor, Board Member, Chemical Safety and Hazardous Investigations Board. Testimony was also received from Karyn L. Molnar, KPMG, Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Corporation for National and Community Service. INSURANCE AGENT LICENSING REFORMS Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on Securities concluded oversight hearings on multi-state insurance agent licensing reforms and the creation of the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, after receiving testimony from Terri M. Vaughan, Des Moines, Iowa, on behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners; Clare Farragher, New Jersey General Assembly, Trenton, on behalf of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators; Robert A. [[Page D360]] Gleason, Jr., Gleason Agency, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers; and Ronald A. Smith, Smith, Sawyer, and Smith, Inc., Rochester, Indiana, on behalf of the Independent Insurance Agents of America. INTERNET TAXATION Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded hearings on S. 2255, to amend the Internet Tax Freedom Act to extend the moratorium through calendar year 2006, after receiving testimony from Representative Cox; Utah Governor Michael Leavitt, Salt Lake City, on behalf of the National Governors' Association and the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce; John Berthoud, National Taxpayers Union, Alexandria, Virginia; Donald Bruce, University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research, Knoxville; David Bullington, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas; Burr Morse, Morse Farm Sugar Works, Montpelier, Vermont; and Jonathan Zittrain, Harvard University Law School Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Cambridge, Massachusetts. COLUMBIA RIVER HYDROPOWER OPERATIONS Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power concluded oversight hearings to examine federal actions affecting hydropower operations on the Columbia River system, after receiving testimony from Brig. Gen. Carl A. Strock, USA, Division Engineer, Northwestern Division, Army Corps of Engineers; Stephen J. Wright, Senior Vice President, Corporate, Bonneville Power Administration, Department of Energy; William Stelle, Jr., Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northwest Region, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce; and J. William McDonald, Regional Director, Pacific Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior. RUSSIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on European Affairs held hearings to examine issues dealing with the Russian presidential elections, receiving testimony from Steven R. Sestanovich, Ambassador at Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States; and Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies, former National Security Advisor, and Thomas E. Graham, Jr. and Michael A. McFaul, both of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, all of Washington, D.C. Hearings recessed subject to call. CASPIAN SEA ENERGY RESOURCES Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion concluded hearings on the status of infrastructure projects for Caspian Sea energy resources, focusing on offshore drilling, natural gas reserves, the Turkish market, and oil reserve development, after receiving testimony from John S. Wolf, Special Adviser to the President and Secretary of State for Caspian Basin Energy Diplomacy; David L. Goldwyn, Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs; Ralph Alexander, BP Amoco Corporation, London, England; and J. Robinson West, Petroleum Finance Company, and Martha Brill Olcott, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, both of Washington, D.C. WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT AND MULTILATERAL EXPORT Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded hearings to examine the Wassenaar arrangement, a multilateral export control regime for conventional arms and sensitive dual-use goods and technologies, and the future of multilateral export controls, after receiving testimony from John D. Holum, Senior Adviser for Arms Control and International Security, Department of State; William A. Reinsch, Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration; and Stephen J. Hadley, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., Center for Security Policy, and Henry D. Sokolski, Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, all of Washington, D.C. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items: H.J. Res. 86, recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Korean War and the service by members of the Armed Forces during such war; H. Con. Res. 269, commending the Library of Congress and its staff for 200 years of outstanding service to the Congress and the Nation and encouraging the American public to participate in bicentennial activities; and The nominations of Richard C. Tallman, of Washington, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit; John Antoon II, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida; Marianne O. Battani, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan; David M. Lawson, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan; and Mark Reid Tucker, to be United States Marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina. [[Page D361]] ALLEGED CHINESE ESPIONAGE Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts resumed hearings on alleged Chinese espionage issues, focusing on the plea-bargain agreement reached in the case of Peter Lee, receiving testimony from John C. Keeney, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Michael Liebman, Line Attorney, and John Dion, Acting Chief, Internal Security Section, all of the Criminal Division, Department of Justice. Hearings recessed subject to call. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items: S. 2311, to revise and extend the Ryan White CARE Act programs under title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act, to improve access to health care and the quality of health care under such programs, and to provide for the development of increased capacity to provide health care and related support services to individuals and families with HIV disease, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; S. 2366, to amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend provisions relating to the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and The nominations of Mel Carnahan and Scott O. Wright, both of Missouri, each to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Harry S Truman Scholarship Foundation, Nathan O. Hatch, of Indiana, to be a Member of the National Council on the Humanities, Edward B. Montgomery, of Maryland, to be Deputy Secretary of Labor, and Marc Racicot, of Montana, and Alan D. Solomont, of Massachusetts, each to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service. CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded hearings on campaign finance reform proposals, focusing on compelled political speech, First Amendment protection, and federal labor law interpretations, after receiving testimony from Laurence E. Gold, AFL- CIO, Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen, and David S. Fortney, all of Washington, D.C.; Leo Troy, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey; Kenneth F. Boehm, National Legal and Policy Center, McLean, Virginia; and Robert P. Hunter, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Midland, Michigan. INDIAN AFFAIRS MANAGEMENT REFORM Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded oversight hearings on the report of the National Academy of Public Administration on the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs management reform, after receiving testimony from Royce Hanson, Panel Chair and Academy Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration; Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs; W. Ron Allen, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, Sequim, Washington, on behalf of the National Congress of American Indians; Eddie F. Brown, Washington University George Warren Brown School of Social Work/Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies, St. Louis, Missouri; and John L. O'Donnell, Jr., Law Offices of John L. O'Donnell, Los Angeles, California.