[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 73 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D511-D512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported 211 
military nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
DECIMALIZED MARKETS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Securities and Investment concluded hearings on the recent conversion 
of quotations in equity securities and options from fractional to 
decimal pricing and the effects that this change has on market dynamics 
and trading behavior, after receiving testimony from Laura S. Unger, 
Acting Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission; J. Patrick 
Campbell, Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc., and Peter Jenkins, Zurich Scudder 
Investments, both of Washington, D.C.; Catherine R. Kinney, New York 
Stock Exchange, Donald D. Kittell, Securities Industry Association, and 
Robert B. Fagenson, Van der Moolen Specialists USA, all of New York, 
New York; and Kenneth D. Pasternak, Knight Trading Group, Inc., Jersey 
City, New Jersey.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Michael K. Powell, of Virginia, 
to be Chairman, and Kathleen Q. Abernathy, of Maryland, Michael Joseph 
Copps, of Virginia, and Kevin J. Martin, of North Carolina, each to be 
a Member, all of the Federal Communications Commission, Timothy J. 
Muris, of Virginia, to be a Federal Trade Commissioner, Donna R. 
McLean, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for 
Budget and Programs/Chief Financial Officer, and Sean B. O'Hollaren, of 
Oregon, to be Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs, both of the 
Department of Transportation, and Kathleen B. Cooper, of Texas, to be 
Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Maria Cino, of Virginia, to be 
Assistant Secretary/Director General of the United States and Foreign 
Commercial Service, and Bruce P. Mehlman, of Maryland, to be Assistant 
Secretary for Technology Policy, all of the Department of Commerce.
U.S. ENERGY POLICY
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded hearings 
on the Administration's National Energy Policy report, and Price-
Anderson Act provisions of pending energy legislation, including S. 
388, to protect the energy and security of the United States and 
decrease America's dependency on foreign oil sources to 50% by the year 
2011 by enhancing the use of renewable energy resources conserving 
energy resources, improving energy efficiencies, and increasing 
domestic energy supplies; improve environmental quality by reducing 
emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases; mitigate the effect 
of increases in energy prices on the American consumer, including the 
poor and the elderly, S. 472, to ensure that nuclear energy continues 
to contribute to the supply of electricity in the United States, and S. 
597, to provide for a comprehensive and balanced national energy 
policy, after receiving testimony from Spencer Abraham, Secretary of 
Energy.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following business items:
  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;
  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; and
  S. Res. 91, condemning the murder of a United States citizen and 
other civilians, expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the 
failure of the Indonesian judicial system to hold accountable those 
responsible for the killings, proposed legislation condemning the 
practices of the Taleban, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute; and
  The nominations of Thelma J. Askey, of Tennessee, to be Director of 
the Trade and Development Agency, Stephen Brauer, of Missouri, to be 
Ambassador to Belgium, William J. Burns, of the District of Columbia, 
to be Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, Lorne W. Craner, of 
Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and 
Labor, Ruth A. Davis, of Georgia, to be Director General of the Foreign 
Service, Donald Burnham Ensenat, of Louisiana, to be Chief of Protocol, 
and to have the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of

[[Page D512]]

service, Carl W. Ford, Jr., of Arkansas, to be Assistant Secretary for 
Intelligence and Research, A. Elizabeth Jones, of Maryland, to be 
Assistant Secretary for European Affairs, Walter H. Kansteiner, of 
Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Paul Vincent 
Kelly, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, 
and Christina B. Rocca, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for 
South Asian Affairs, all of the Department of State, Peter S. Watson, 
of California, to be President of the Overseas Private Investment 
Corporation, and certain Foreign Service Officer promotion lists.
U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Terrorism concluded hearings to examine issues related 
to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, including the 
Administration's democracy promotion and human rights policy, the 
importance of maintaining leadership in this field, and the impact of 
the United States' recent loss of membership in the Commission, after 
receiving testimony from Paula J. Dobrianski, Under Secretary of State 
for Global Affairs; and Nina Shea, Freedom House Center for Religious 
Freedom, and Tom Malinowski, Human Rights Watch, both of Washington, 
D.C.
HUMAN TISSUE INDUSTRY
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Permanent Subcommittee on 
Investigations held oversight hearings to examine alleged problems in 
the human tissue industry, such as claims of excessive charges and 
profit making within the industry, problems in obtaining appropriate 
informed consent from donor families, issues related to quality control 
in processing tissue, and whether current regulatory efforts are 
adequate to ensure the safety of human tissue transplants, receiving 
testimony from George F. Grob, Deputy Inspector General for Evaluation 
and Inspections, and Kathryn C. Zoon, Director, Center for Biologics 
Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, both of the 
Department of Health and Human Services; Valerie J. Rao, Florida 
District Five Medical Examiner's Office, Leesburg; P. Robert Rigney, 
Jr., American Association of Tissue Banks, McLean, Virginia; and 
William F. Minogue, Washington Regional Transplant Consortium, 
Washington, D.C.
  Hearings recessed subject to call.
PATIENT SAFETY
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded hearings to examine issues surrounding Congress' role in 
increasing patient safety in the health care system, including 
proposals that would reflect the Institute of Medicine's report 
recommendations to establish a center for quality improvement and 
safety to fund research and disseminate information about patient 
safety, while provide for confidentiality protections of this 
information, after receiving testimony from Paul H. O'Neill, Secretary 
of the Treasury; Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human 
Services; James P. Bagian, Director, National Center for Patient 
Safety, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs; 
Lucian L. Leape, Harvard School of Public Health, and Donald M. 
Berwick, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, both of Boston, 
Massachusetts; and John R. Brumsted, Fletcher Allen Health Care, 
Burlington, Vermont, on behalf of the Vermont Program for Quality 
Health Care.
PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETPLACE COMPETITION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
competition in the pharmaceutical marketplace, focusing on the 
antitrust implications of patent settlements, the underlying patent 
law, pattern of cases, and whether the law needs to be changed, after 
receiving testimony from Gary Buehler, Acting Director, Office of 
Generic Drugs, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug 
Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; Molly Boast, 
Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission; James M. 
Griffin, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, 
Department of Justice; and Utah Attorney General Mark L. Shurtleff, 
Salt Lake City.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the nominations of Leo S. Mackay, Jr., of Texas, to be Deputy 
Secretary, Robin L. Higgins, of Florida, to be Under Secretary for 
Memorial Affairs, Maureen Patricia Cragin, of Maine, to be Assistant 
Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Jacob Lozada, 
of Puerto Rico, to be Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and 
Administration, all of the Department of Veterans Affairs.