[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 95 (Thursday, July 20, 2000)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D790-D793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS--TREASURY/POSTAL SERVICE
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported an 
original bill (S. 2900) making appropriations for the Treasury 
Department, the United States Postal Service, the Executive Office of 
the President, and certain Independent Agencies, for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2001.
ENERGY AND AGRICULTURE
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine current energy policy and its implications on 
American energy security and environmental interests, including the 
role of energy in U.S. agriculture and the effects of this year's 
increases in energy prices on agriculture as both a user and a producer 
of energy, after receiving testimony from former Senator Johnston; Bill 
Richardson, Secretary of Energy; James Schlesinger, former Secretary of 
Defense and former Secretary of Energy; Keith Collins, Chief Economist, 
Department of Agriculture; Harry S. Baumes, WEFA Inc., Eddystone, 
Pennsylvania; Eric Vaughn, Renewable Fuels Association, and R. Skip 
Horvath, Natural Gas Supply Association, both of Washington, D.C.; 
James McCarthy, CITGO Petroleum Corporation, Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Don 
Hutchens, Nebraska Corn Board, Lincoln.
IRAQ
Committee on Armed Services: Committee held closed hearings to examine 
the situation in Iraq and United States military operations in and 
around Iraq, receiving testimony from Vice Adm. Scott A. Fry, USN, 
Director, Operations Directorate (J-3), and Rear Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, 
USN, Director, Intelligence Directorate (J-2), both of the Office of 
the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Bruce Pease, Director, Office of Near 
Eastern, South Asian and African Analysis, Directorate of Intelligence, 
Central Intelligence Agency.
  Committee recessed subject to call.
MONETARY POLICY
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine the conduct of monetary policy and economic outlook 
by the Federal Reserve, after receiving testimony from

[[Page D791]]

Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Norman Y. Mineta, of California, 
to be Secretary of Commerce, Francisco J. Sanchez, of Florida, to be an 
Assistant Secretary of Transportation, Debbie D. Branson, of Texas, to 
be a Member of the Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council, 
Department of Transportation, and Katherine Milner Anderson, of 
Virginia, Frank Henry Cruz, of California, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, of 
Virginia, and Ernest J. Wilson III, of Maryland, each to be a Member of 
the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and 
a United States Coast Guard promotion list received in the Senate on 
July 18, 2000.
INTERNET AIRLINE TICKET SALES
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine the Internet's role in the marketing of airline 
services, including whether or not it benefits consumers in purchasing 
airline tickets through the Internet, after receiving testimony from A. 
Bradley Mims, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International 
Affairs, and Kenneth M. Mead, Inspector General, both of the Department 
of Transportation; Terrell B. Jones, Travelocity.com, Dallas, Texas; 
Jeffrey G. Katz, Orbitz, Chicago, Illinois; Mark Silbergeld, Consumers 
Union, Washington, D.C.; and Paul M. Ruden, American Society of Travel 
Agents, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee continued markup 
of H.R. 701, to provide Outer Continental Shelf Impact Assistance to 
State and local governments, to amend the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund Act of 1965, the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978, 
and the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (commonly referred to 
as the Pittman-Robertson Act) to establish a fund to meet the outdoor 
conservation and recreation needs of the American people, but did not 
complete action thereon, and will meet again tomorrow.
TREATIES
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on Inter-
American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles, 
with Annexes, done at Caracas December 1, 1996, (the ``Convention''), 
which was signed by the United States, subject to ratification, on 
December 13, 1996 (Treaty Doc. 105-48); International Plant Protection 
Convention (IPPC), adopted at the Conference of the Food and 
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations at Rome on 
November 17, 1997 (Treaty Doc. 106-23); Food Aid Convention 1999, which 
was opened for signature at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, 
from May 1 through June 30, 1999. Convention was signed by the United 
States June 16, 1999 (Treaty Doc. 106-14); Convention (No. 176) 
Concerning Safety and Health in Mines, adopted by the International 
Labor Conference at its 82nd Session in Geneva on June 22, 1995 (Treaty 
Doc. 106-08); and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification 
in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, 
Particularly in Africa, with Annexes, adopted at Paris, June 17, 1994, 
and signed by the United States on October 14, 1994 (Treaty Doc. 104-
29), after receiving testimony from David B. Sandalow, Assistant 
Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific 
Affairs, and E. Anthony Wayne, Assistant Secretary for Economic and 
Business Affairs, both of the Department of State.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on Everett 
L. Mosley, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Agency for 
International Development, after the nominee testified and answered 
questions in his own behalf.
AFGHANISTAN AND THE TALIBAN
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South 
Asian Affairs concluded hearings on issues relating to United States 
policy towards the government of Afghanistan and the militia that rules 
Afghanistan, known as the Taliban, after receiving testimony from Karl 
F. Inderfurth, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs; 
Peter Tomsen, University of Nebraska, Omaha, former Ambassador and 
Special Envoy to the Afghan Resistance; Zieba Shorish-Shamley, Women's 
Alliance for Peace and Human Rights in Afghanistan, Washington, D.C.; 
and Hamid Karzai, Glenwood, Maryland.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 2812, to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide a 
waiver of the oath of renunciation and allegiance for naturalization of 
aliens having certain disabilities;
  S. Con. Res. 53, condemning all prejudice against individuals of 
Asian and Pacific Island ancestry in the United States and supporting 
political and civic participation by such individuals throughout the

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United States, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 2516, to fund task forces to locate and apprehend fugitives in 
Federal, State, and local felony criminal cases and give administrative 
subpoena authority to the United States Marshals Service, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. Res. 133, supporting religious tolerance toward Muslims;
  S.J. Res. 48, calling upon the President to issue a proclamation 
recognizing the 25th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act; and
  The nominations of Johnnie B. Rawlinson, of Nevada, to be United 
States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, Dennis M. Cavanaugh, to be 
United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, James S. 
Moody, Jr., Gregory A. Presnell, and John E. Steele, each to be a 
United States District Judge for the Middle District of Florida, and 
Glenn A. Fine, of Maryland, to be Inspector General, Daniel Marcus, of 
Maryland, to be Associate Attorney General, and David W. Ogden, of 
Virginia, to be an Assistant Attorney General, all of the Department of 
Justice.
GENETIC INFORMATION IN THE WORKPLACE
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded hearings to examine issues relating to the development of 
federal policy governing the treatment of an individual's genetic 
information in the workplace in light of the recent Human Genome 
Project breakthroughs, after receiving testimony from Senator Daschle; 
Francis S. Collins, Director, National Human Genome Research Institute, 
National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services; 
Paul S. Miller, Commissioner, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; 
Susan R. Meisinger, Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, 
Virginia; and Harold P. Coxson, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak, and 
Stewart, and Susannah Baruch, National Partnership for Women and 
Families, both of Washington, D.C.
SBA PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Committee on Small Business: Committee held hearings on the General 
Accounting Office's performance and accountability review of the Small 
Business Administration, receiving testimony from David M. Walker, 
Comptroller General of the United States, Stanley J. Czerwinski, 
Associate Director, Housing and Community Development Issues, 
Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, Joel C. 
Willemssen, Director, Civil Agencies Information Systems, Accounting 
and Information Management Division, and Michael Brostek, Associate 
Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues, General Government 
Division, all of the General Accounting Office; and Aida Alvarez, 
Administrator, Small Business Administration.
  Hearings recessed subject to call.
VA CLAIMS PROCESSING/VA BENEFITS/CONSTRUCTION
Committee on Veterans Affairs: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
the Department of Veterans Affairs disability claims process, and a 
status report on the adjudication of these claims and efforts the 
Department has made to improve claims processing, and S. 1806, to 
authorize the payment of a gratuity to certain members of the Armed 
Forces who served at Bataan and Corregidor during World War II, or the 
surviving spouses of such members, S. 1810, to amend title 38, United 
States Code, to clarify and improve veterans' claims and appellate 
procedures, S. 2264, to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
establish within the Veterans Health Administration the position of 
Advisor on Physician Assistants, S. 2544, to amend title 38, United 
States Code, to provide compensation and benefits to children of female 
Vietnam veterans who were born with certain birth defects, S. 2637, to 
require a land conveyance, Miles City Veterans Administration Medical 
Complex, Miles City, Montana, S. 2827, to provide for the conveyance of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Ft. Lyon, 
Colorado, to the State of Colorado, proposed legislation providing for 
VA cost of living assistance, proposed Women Veterans' Equity Act, 
proposed Veterans Programs Enhancement Act, and proposed legislation 
authorizing the construction of certain VA facilities, after receiving 
testimony from Joseph Thompson, Under Secretary of Veteran Affairs for 
Benefits; Philip R. Wilkerson, American Legion, and Dennis Cullinan, 
Veterans of Foreign Wars, both of Washington, D.C.; James O'Brien, 
Tequesta, Florida; William R. Baker, Cincinnati, Ohio; William Kennedy, 
Tallahassee, Florida; and Clarence DeVaughn Moore, Hurricane, West 
Virginia.
NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES PRESERVATION
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded hearings on S. 2688, 
to amend the Native American Languages Act to provide for the 
establishment of Native American Language Survival Schools, after 
receiving testimony from Michael Cohen, Assistant Secretary of 
Education for Elementary and Secondary Education; Teresa L. McCarty, 
University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of the American Indian 
Language

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Development Institute; Michael E. Krauss, University of Alaska, Alaska 
Native Language Center, Fairbanks; William G. Demmert, Jr., Western 
Washington University, Bellingham; Darrell R. Kipp, Piegan Institute, 
Browning, Montana; Genevieve Jackson, Navajo Nation, Window Rock, 
Arizona; Matthew Dick, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, 
Nespelem, Washington; Rosita Worl, University of Alaska Southeast, 
Juneau, on behalf of the Sealaska Heritage Foundation and Alaska 
Federation of Natives; A. Brian Wallace, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and 
California, Gardnerville, Nevada; and Kalena Silva and William H. 
Wilson, both of the University of Hawaii Ke'elikolani College of 
Hawaiian Language, and Namaka Rawlins, `Aha Punana Leo, Inc., all of 
Hilo.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
  Committee recessed subject to call.