[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 101 (Thursday, July 19, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7982-S7984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    AUTHORITY FOR COMMITTEES TO MEET


           committee on agriculture, nutrition, and forestry

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to meet during 
the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2001. The purpose of 
this hearing will be to discuss the nutrition title of the next Federal 
farm bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                      committee on armed services

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the 
Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2001, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to 
continue to receive testimony on ballistic missile defense programs and 
policies, in review of the Defense authorization request for fiscal 
year 2002.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


            committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the 
session of the Senate on July 19, 2001, to conduct a hearing on the 
nomination of Mr. Harvey L. Pitt to be Chairman of the Securities and 
Exchange Commission.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


               Committee on energy and natural resources

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the 
session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a 
hearing. The committee will receive testimony on proposals related to 
removing barriers to distributed generation, renewable energy, and 
other advanced technologies in electricity generation and transmission, 
including section 301 and title VI of S. 597, the Comprehensive and 
Balanced Energy Policy Act of 2001; sections 110, 111, 112, 710, and 
711 of S. 388, the National Energy Security Act of 2001; and S. 933, 
the Combined Heat and Power Advancement Act of 2001. The committee will 
also receive testimony on proposals relating to the hydroelectric 
relicensing procedures of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
including title VII of S. 388, title VII of S. 597; and S. 71, the 
Hydroelectric Licensing Process Improvement Act of 2001.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                          committee on finance

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on 
Thursday, July 19, 2001, to hear testimony on Trade Adjustment 
Assistance.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                     committee on foreign relations

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the 
Senate on Thursday, July 19, at 10 a.m., to hold a hearing titled, 
``Mexico City Policy: Effects of Restrictions on International Family 
Planning Funding''.


                               witnesses

  Panel 1: The Honorable Tim Hutchinson, United States Senate, 
Washington, DC; The Honorable Nita M. Lowey, United States House of 
Representatives, Washington, DC; The Honorable Harry Reid, United 
States Senate, Washington, DC.
  Panel 2: Mr. Alan J. Kreczko, Acting Assistant Secretary of the 
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, State Department, 
Washington, DC.

[[Page S7983]]

  Panel 3: Mr. Daniel E. Pellegrom, President, Pathfinder 
International, Watertown, MA; Dr. Nicholas N. Eberstadt, Visiting 
Scholar, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC; Mr. Aryeh 
Neier, President, Open Society Institute, New York, NY; Cathy Cleaver, 
Director of Planning & Information, U.S. Conference of Catholic 
Bishops, Washington, DC.
  Panel 4: Dr. Nirmal Bista, Director General, Family Planning 
Association of Nepal, Kathmandu, Nepal; Ms. Susana Silva Galdos, 
President, Movimiento Manuela Ramos, Lima, Peru; Professor M. Sophia 
Aguirre, The Catholic University of America, Department of Business 
Economics, Washington, DC.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                     committee on foreign relations

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the 
Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2001, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a nomination 
hearing.


                                nominees

  Panel 1: Mr. Stuart A. Bernstein, of the District of Columbia, to be 
Ambassador to Denmark. Mr. Michael E. Guest, of South Carolina, to be 
Ambassador to Romania. Mr. Charles A. Heimbold, Jr., of Connecticut, to 
be Ambassador to Sweden. Mr. Thomas J. Miller, of Virginia, to be 
Ambassador to Greece.
  Panel 2: The Honorable Larry C. Napper, of Texas, to be Ambassador to 
the Republic of Kazakhstan. Mr. Jim Nicholson, of Colorado, to be 
Ambassador to the Holy See. Mr. Mercer Reynolds, of Ohio, to be 
Ambassador to Switzerland, and to serve concurrently and without 
additional compensation as Ambassador to the Principality of 
Liechtenstein.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it so ordered.


                       Committee on the Judiciary

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, 
July 19, 2001, at 10 a.m., in SD226.
  I. Nominations: Ralph F. Boyd Jr. to be Assistant Attorney General, 
Civil Rights Division; Robert D. McCallum Jr. to be Assistant Attorney 
General, Civil Division.
  II. Bills: S. 407, The Madrid Protocol Implementation Act [Leahy/
Hatch]; S. 778. A bill to expand the class of beneficiaries who may 
apply for adjustment of status under section 245(i) of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act by extending the deadline for classification 
petition and labor certification filings. [Kennedy/Hagel]; S. 754, Drug 
Competition Act of 2001.
  III. Commemorative Legislation: S. Res. 16, A resolution designating 
August 16, 2001, as ``National Airborne Day.'' [Thurmond]: S. Con. Res. 
16, A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the 
George Washington letter to Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, 
which is on display at the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish 
Museum in Washington, D.C., is one of the most significant early 
statements buttressing the nascent American constitutional guarantee of 
religious freedom. [Chafee/Reed].
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


            Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Small Business and Entrepreneurship be authorized to meet during the 
session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2001, beginning at 9:15 
a.m., in room 428A of the Russell Senate Office Building to markup 
pending legislation to be immediately followed by a hearing regarding 
the President's nomination of Hector V. Barreto, Jr., to be 
Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                     Committee on Veterans' Affairs

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the 
Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2001, at 1 p.m., in room 418 of the 
Russell Senate Office Building, for a hearing on S. 739, the Heather 
French Henry Homeless Veterans Assistance Act, and other pending 
health-care related legislation.

          Committee on Veterans' Affairs--United States Senate


 Hearing on Pending Veterans Health-Related Legislation, July 19, 2001

     Agenda
       S. 739: Provisions to improve programs for homeless 
     veterans. Sponsor: Senator Wellstone.
       a. Encourages all Federal, State, and local departments and 
     agencies and other entities and individuals to work toward 
     the national goal of ending homelessness among veterans 
     within a decade.
       b. Establishes within the Department of Veterans Affairs 
     the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans.
       c. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) 
     support the continuation within the Department of at least 
     one center to monitor the structure, process, and outcome of 
     Department programs addressing homeless veterans; and (2) 
     assign veterans receiving specified services provided in, or 
     sponsored or coordinated by, the Department as being within 
     the ``complex care'' category.
       d. Directs the Secretary to: (1) make grants to Department 
     health care facilities and to grant and per diem providers 
     for the development of programs targeted at meeting certain 
     special needs of homeless veterans; (2) require certain 
     officials to initiate a plan for joint outreach to veterans 
     at risk of homelessness; (3) carry out two treatment trials 
     in integrated mental health services delivery; (4) ensure 
     that each Department primary care facility has a mental 
     health treatment capacity; (5) carry out a program of 
     transitional assistance grants to eligible homeless veterans; 
     and (6) make technical assistance grants to aid nonprofit 
     community-based groups in applying for homeless program 
     grants.
       e. Extends through FY 2006 the homeless veterans 
     reintegration program.
       S. 1188: Provisions to improve recruitment and retention of 
     VA nurses. Sponsors: Senators Rockefeller, Cleland.
       a. Modifies the VA Employee Incentive Scholarship Program 
     and Debt Reduction Program;
       b. Mandates that VA provide Saturday premium pay to title 
     5/title 38 hybrids;
       c. Requires a report on VA's use of authority to request 
     waivers of the pay reduction for re-employed annuitants;
       d. Gives VA nurses enrolled in the Federal Employee 
     Retirement System the same ability to use unused sick leave 
     as part of the retirement year calculation that VA nurses 
     enrolled in the Civilian Retirement System have.
       e. Requires an evaluation of nurse-managed clinics, 
     including primary care and geriatric clinics;
       f. Requires VA to develop a nationwide policy on staffing 
     standards to ensure that veterans are provided with safe and 
     high quality care. Such staffing standards should consider 
     the numbers and skill mix required of staff in specific 
     medical settings (such as critical care and long-term care);
       g. Requires a report on the use of mandatory overtime by 
     licensed nursing staff and nursing assistants in each 
     facility;
       h. Elevates the office of the Nurse Consultant so that 
     person shall report directly to the Under Secretary for 
     Health;
       i. Exempts registered nurses, physician assistants, and 
     expanded-function dental auxiliaries from the requirement 
     that part-time service performed prior to April 7, 1986, be 
     prorated when calculating retirement annuities;
       j. Requires a report on VA's nurse qualification standards;
       k. Makes technical clarifications to the nurse locality pay 
     authorities.
       S. 1160: Authorizes VA to provide certain hearing-impaired 
     veterans and veterans with spinal cord injury or dysfunction, 
     in addition to blind veterans, with service dogs to assist 
     them with everyday activities. Sponsor: Senator Rockefeller.
       S.  : Draft legislation to change the means test used by 
     the VA in determining whether veterans will be placed in 
     enrollment priority group 5 or 7. The current placement 
     eligibility threshold is set at approximately $24,000 
     regardless of where in the country the veteran is living 
     (text forthcoming). Sponsor:     .
       S. 1042: Provides that within the limits of Department 
     facilities, VA shall furnish hospital and nursing home care 
     and medical services to Commonwealth Army veterans and new 
     Philippine Scouts in the same manner as provided for under 
     section 1710 of title 38 USC. Also authorizes VA to furnish 
     care and services to the same veterans for the treatment of 
     the service-connected disabilities and non-service-connected 
     disabilities of such veterans and scouts residing in the 
     Republic of the Philippines on an outpatient basis at the 
     Manila VA Outpatient Clinic. Sponsor: Senator Inouye.
       S. Res. 61: Expresses the sense of the Senate that the 
     Secretary of Veterans Affairs should, for the payment of 
     special pay by the Veterans Health Administration, recognize 
     board certifications from the American Association of 
     Physician Specialists, Inc., to the same extent that the 
     Secretary recognizes board certifications from the American 
     Board of Osteopathic Specialists. Sponsor: Senator 
     Hutchinson.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                        subcommittee on airland

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Subcommittee

[[Page S7984]]

on Airland of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet 
during the session of the Senate on Thursday, July 19, 2001, at 2:30 
p.m., in open session to receive testimony on Army modernization and 
transformation, in review of the Defense authorization request for 
fiscal year 2002.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is ordered.


                    subcommittee on water and power

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on 
Thursday, July 19, at 2:30 p.m., to conduct a hearing. The subcommittee 
will receive testimony on S. 976, the California Ecosystem, Water 
Supply, and Water Quality Enhancement Act of 2001.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________