[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 73 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D509-D511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                             Thursday, May 24, 2001

[[Page D509]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      The House agreed to the Senate Amendments to H.R. 801, the 
      Veterans' Opportunities Act--clearing the measure for the 
      President.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S5571-S5662
Measures Introduced: Nineteen bills and two resolutions were 
introduced, as follows: S. 945-963, S. Res. 94, and S. Con. Res. 43. 
                                                         Pages S5615-16
Measures Reported:
  S. Res. 88, expressing the sense of the Senate on the importance of 
membership of the United States on the United Nations Human Rights 
Commission.
  S. Con. Res. 35, expressing the sense of Congress that Lebanon, 
Syria, and Iran should allow representatives of the International 
Committee of the Red Cross to visit the four Israelis, Adi Avitan, 
Binyamin Avraham, Omar Souad, and Elchanan Tannenbaum, presently held 
by Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
  S. Con. Res. 42, condemning the Taleban for their discriminatory 
policies and for other purposes.                             
Page S5613
Measures Passed:
  Veterans' Survivor Benefits Improvements Act: Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs was discharged from further consideration of H.R. 801, to amend 
title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility for CHAMPVA, to 
provide for family coverage and retroactive expansion of the increase 
in maximum benefits under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance, and to 
make technical amendments, and the bill was then passed, after agreeing 
to the following amendment proposed thereto:             
  Pages S5574-77
  Thomas (for Specter/Rockefeller) Amendment No. 790, in the nature of 
a substitute.                                            
Pages S5574-77
  Recognizing Armed Forces: Senate agreed to S. Res. 94, to designate 
May 28, 2001, as a special day for recognizing the sacrifices of the 
members of the Armed Forces killed in hostile action since the end of 
the Vietnam War.                                         
  Pages S5638-58
  Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center: Senate passed S. 378, to 
redesignate the Federal building located at 3348 South Kedzie Avenue, 
in Chicago, Illinois, as the ``Paul Simon Chicago Job Corps Center''. 
                                                             Page S5658
  James C. Corman Federal Building: Senate passed S. 468, to designate 
the Federal building located at 6230 Van Nuys Boulevard in Van Nuys, 
California, as the ``James C. Corman Federal Building''.     
  Page S5658
  Edward N. Cahn Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse: Senate passed S. 
757, to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse 
located at 504 West Hamilton Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as the 
``Edward N. Cahn Federal Building and United States Courthouse''. 
                                                             Page S5658
  Lee H. Hamilton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse: Senate passed 
S. 774, to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse 
located at 121 West Spring Street in New Albany, Indiana, as the ``Lee 
H. Hamilton Federal Building and United States Courthouse''. 
                                                             Page S5658
  Wildland Fire Management: Senate passed H.R. 581, to authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to use funds 
appropriated for wildland fire management in the Department of the 
Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001, to reimburse 
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine 
Fisheries Service to facilitate the interagency cooperation required 
under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 in connection with wildland 
fire management, clearing the measure for the President.     
  Page S5658
Tax Relief Reconciliation Amendment Modified: By unanimous-consent, 
Boxer Amendment No. 767, to extend the work opportunity credit to 
encourage the hiring of certain veterans, which fell on a point of 
order, to H.R. 1836, Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act 
(as passed the Senate on May 24, 2001), was modified.        
  Page S5638

[[Page D510]]

Messages From the President: Senate received the following messages 
from the President of the United States:
  Transmitting, pursuant to law, a report on the National Emergencies 
with respect to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and 
Montenegro) and Kosovo; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs. (PM-23)                                             
Page S5610
  Transmitting, pursuant to law, a report on the continuation of 
emergency with respect to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia 
and Montenegro) the Bosnian Serbs, and Kosovo; to the Committee on 
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. (PM-24)                 
Page S5610
Nominations Confirmed: Senate confirmed the following nominations:
  By 51 yeas 47 nays (Vote No. 167), Theodore Bevry Olson, of the 
District of Columbia, to be Solicitor General of the United States. 
(Prior to this action, Senate discharged the Committee on the Judiciary 
from further consideration.)
  By 96 yeas 1 nay (Vote No. 168), Viet D. Dinh, of the District of 
Columbia, to be an Assistant Attorney General.
  By 95 yeas 1 nay (Vote No. 169), Michael Chertoff, of New Jersey, to 
be an Assistant Attorney General.
  Stephen A. Perry, of Ohio, to be Administrator of General Services.
  Maurice A. Ross, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate 
Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of 
fifteen years.
  Erik Patrick Christian, of the District of Columbia, to be an 
Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for 
the term of fifteen years.
  Angela Styles, of Virginia, to be Administrator for Federal 
Procurement Policy.
  Maureen Patricia Cragin, of Maine, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs (Public and Intergovernmental Affairs).
  Lee Sarah Liberman Otis, of Virginia, to be General Counsel of the 
Department of Energy.
  Leo S. Mackay, Jr., of Texas, to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs.
  Robin L. Higgins, of Florida, to be Under Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs for Memorial Affairs.
  Alphonso R. Jackson, of Texas, to be Deputy Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development.
  Romolo A. Bernardi, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development.
  John Charles Weicher, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
  Linda J. Fisher, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
  Jacob Lozada, of Puerto Rico, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs.
  Richard A. Hauser, of Maryland, to be General Counsel of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
  Thomas E. White, of Texas, to be Secretary of the Army.
  James G. Roche, of Maryland, to be Secretary of the Air Force. 
                                  Pages S5578-S5603, S5659-60, S5661-62
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations:
  Jennifer L. Dorn, of Nebraska, to be Federal Transit Administrator.
  Bennett William Raley, of Colorado, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
the Interior.
  Howard H. Leach, of California, to be Ambassador to France.
  Sarah V. Hart, of Pennsylvania, to be Director of the National 
Institute of Justice.
  James Edward Rogan, of California, to be Under Secretary of Commerce 
for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and 
Trademark Office.
  Thomas P. Christie, of Virginia, to be Director of Operational Test 
and Evaluation, Department of Defense.
  Sue McCourt Cobb, of Florida, to be Ambassador to Jamaica.
  Eileen J. O'Connor, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Attorney General.
  Arthur F. Rosenfeld, of Virginia, to be General Counsel of the 
National Labor Relations Board for a term of four years.
  Odessa F. Vincent, of the District of Columbia, to be an Associate 
Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for the term of 
fifteen years.
  3 Navy nominations in the rank of admiral.             
Pages S5660-61
Executive Communications:                                
  Pages S5611-13
Petitions and Memorials:                                     
  Page S5613
Executive Reports of Committees:                         
  Pages S5613-15
Messages From the House:                                 
  Pages S5610-11
Measures Referred:                                           
  Page S5611
Statements on Introduced Bills:                          
  Pages S5618-37
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages S5616-18
Amendments Submitted:                                    
  Pages S5637-38
Additional Statements:                                   
  Pages S5608-10
Authority for Committees:                                    
  Page S5638
Privilege of the Floor:                                      
  Page S5638

[[Page D511]]

Record Votes: Three record votes were taken today. (Total--169) 
                                                         Pages S5601-03
Adjournment: Senate met at 10 a.m., and adjourned at 6:40 p.m., until 
10 a.m., on Friday, May 25, 2001. (For Senate's program, see the 
remarks of the Acting Majority Leader in today's Record on page S5660.)