[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 90 (Thursday, July 13, 2000)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D742-D743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
BANNING METHYL BROMIDE--AGRICULTURAL CONSEQUENCES
Committee on Agriculture: Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture 
held a hearing to review the agricultural consequences of banning 
methyl bromide. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on the District of Columbia 
approved for full Committee action the District of Columbia 
appropriations for fiscal year 2001.
TERRORISM AND THREATS TO U.S. INTERESTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Committee on Armed Services: Special Oversight Panel on Terrorism held 
a hearing on terrorism and threats to U.S. interests in the Middle 
East. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
ANTHRAX VACCINE IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM--DOD MANAGEMENT
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Military Personnel held a 
hearing on Department of Defense management of the Anthrax Vaccine 
Immunization Program. Testimony was heard from the following officials 
of the Department of Defense: Rudy de Leon, Deputy Secretary; Gen. 
Tommy R. Franks, Jr., USA, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command; 
Rear Adm. J. Jarrett Clinton, USN, First Assistant to the Assistant 
Secretary, Health Affairs; Maj. Gen. Randall L. West, USMC, Senior 
Advisor to the Deputy Secretary, Chemical and Biological Protection; 
Anna Johnson-Winegar, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Chemical and 
Biological Defense; and April G. Stephenson, Chief, Policy Program 
Division; Defense Contract Audit Agency; Kathryn C. Zoon, Director, 
Center for Biologic Evaluation and Research, FDA, Department of Health 
and Human Services; and a public witness.
RYAN WHITE CARE ACT AMENDMENTS
Committee on Commerce: Ordered reported, as amended, H.R. 4807, Ryan 
White CARE Act Amendments of 2000.
CONSTRUCTION QUALITY ASSURANCE ACT
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on Government Management, 
Information, and Technology held a hearing on H.R. 4012, Construction 
Quality Assurance Act of 2000. Testimony was heard from David Drabkin, 
Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Acquisition Policy, GSA; and 
public witnesses.
FAIRNESS AND VOLUNTARY ARBITRATION ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law approved for full Committee action, as amended, H.R. 
534, Fairness and Voluntary Arbitration Act.
OVERSIGHT--GENE PATENTS AND OTHER GENOMIC INVENTIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual 
Property held an oversight hearing on Gene Patents and Other Genomic 
Inventions. Testimony was heard from Todd Dickinson, Under Secretary, 
Intellectual Property and Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 
Department of Commerce; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing on the 
following bills: H.R. 4423, Probation Officers' Protection Act of 2000; 
and H.R. 3484, Child Sex Crimes Wiretapping Act of 1999. Testimony was 
heard from Representative Johnson of Connecticut; Emmet G. Sullivan, 
U.S. District Judge, District of Columbia, member, Committee on 
Criminal Law, Judicial Conference of the United States; David R. 
Knowlton, Deputy Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation Division, 
FBI, Department of Justice; John Varrone, Acting Assistant 
Commissioner, Office of Investigations, U.S. Customs Service, 
Department of the Treasury; Robert Ryan, Chief Probation Officer, U.S. 
District of Massachusetts; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime held an oversight 
hearing on the U.S. Marshals Service. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the U.S. Marshals Service, Department of 
Justice: John W. Marshall, Director; Donald S. Donovan, Acting 
Assistant Director, Judicial Security Division; Robert J. Finan, II, 
Assistant Director, Investigative Services Division; Kenneth L. 
Pekarek, Acting Assistant Director, Justice Prisoner and Alien 
Transportation System; and George K. McKinney, U.S. Marshal, District 
of Maryland.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks, and Public 
Lands held a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 2752, Lincoln County 
Land Act of 1999; H.R. 4312, Upper Housatonic National

[[Page D743]]

Heritage Area Study Act of 2000; H.R. 4613, National Historic 
Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000; and H.R. 4721, to provide for all 
right, title, and interest in and to certain property in Washington 
County, Utah, to be vested in the United States. Testimony was heard 
from Representative Johnson of Connecticut; the following officials of 
the Department of the Interior: Pete Culp, Assistant Director, 
Minerals, Realty and Resource Protection, Bureau of Land Management; 
and Katherine H. Stevenson, Associate Director, Cultural Resource 
Stewardship and Partnerships, National Park Service; Kevin J. Phillips, 
Mayor, Caliente, Nevada; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power held an 
oversight hearing on the Bureau of Reclamation's Title XVI program. 
Testimony was heard from Eluid Martinez, Commissioner, Bureau of 
Reclamation, Department of the Interior; and public witnesses.
WAIVING SAME DAY CONSIDERATION--SENATE AMENDMENTS--MARRIAGE TAX PENALTY 
RELIEF RECONCILIATION ACT
Committee on Rules: Granted, by voice vote, a rule waiving clause 6(a) 
of rule XIII (requiring a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the 
same day it is reported from the Rules Committee) against certain 
resolutions reported from the Rules Committee. The rule applies the 
waiver to a special rule reported on the legislative day of July 17, 
2000, providing for consideration or disposition of any Senate 
amendments to H.R. 4810, the Marriage Penalty Tax Elimination 
Reconciliation Act of 2000.
EPA--STRENGTHENING SCIENCE
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a 
hearing on Strengthening Science at the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency-National Research Council Findings. Testimony was heard from 
public witnesses.
MORELLA COMMISSION REPORT
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Technology held a hearing to 
review the Morella Commission Report: Recommendations to Attract Women 
and Minorities Into Science, Engineering and Technology. Testimony was 
heard from Col. Eileen Collins, Astronaut, Commander STS-93, NASA; and 
public witnesses.
NATIONAL PARKS--BANNING SNOWMOBILES--IMPACT ON SMALL BUSINESS
Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Tax, Finance, and Exports 
held a hearing on the impact of banning snowmobiles inside National 
Parks on small business. Testimony was heard from Senator Thomas; 
Representatives Stupak and Peterson of Minnesota; and public witnesses.
VETERANS LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Benefits concluded 
hearings on the following bills: H.R. 4765, 21st Century Veterans 
Employment and Training Act; and H.R. 3256, Veterans' Right to Know 
Act. Testimony was heard from representatives of veterans' 
organizations; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Ways and Means: Ordered reported, as amended, H.R. 4843, 
Comprehensive Retirement Security and Pension Reform Act of 2000.
  The Committee also adversely reported H.J. Res. 103, disapproving the 
extension of the waiver authority contained in section 402(c) of the 
Trade Act of 1974 with respect to the People's Republic of China.
SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY PROGRAMS
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Social Security held a 
hearing on Challenges Facing Social Security Disability Programs in the 
21st Century. Testimony was heard from Barbara D. Bovbjerg, Associate 
Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues, Health, 
Education and Human Services Division, GAO; Donald Lollar, Chief, 
Disability and Health Branch, National Center for Environmental Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and 
Human Services; and public witnesses.