[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 96 (Tuesday, July 16, 2002)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D762-D764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
MARITIME SECURITY PROGRAM--U.S. OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF VESSELS 
OPERATING
Committee on Armed Services: Merchant Marine Panel held a hearing on 
U.S. ownership and control of vessels operating in the Maritime 
Security Program. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
MID-SEASON REVIEW
Committee on the Budget: Held a hearing on Mid-Session Review. 
Testimony was heard from Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr., Director, OMB.

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HIGHER EDUCATION--LOW-INCOME STUDENTS
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Held a hearing on ``Access to 
Higher Education for Low-Income Students: A Review of the Advisory 
Committee on Student Financial Assistance Report on College Access.'' 
Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
OSHA'S PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE LEVELS
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Subcommittee on Workforce 
Protections held a hearing on ``Can a Consensus Be Reached to Update 
OSHA's Permissible Exposure Levels (PELs).'' Testimony was heard from 
public witnesses.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS--EPA OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Environment and 
Hazardous Materials and the Subcommittee on Health held a joint hearing 
on Recent Developments in the EPA Office of the Ombudsman. Testimony 
was heard from the following officials of the EPA: Robert E. Fabricant, 
General Counsel; and Mark Bialek, Office of the Inspector General; John 
B. Stephenson, Director, Environmental Issues, GAO; and public 
witnesses.
GOVERNMENT SPONSORED ENTERPRISES--TREASURY DEPARTMENT'S POLICY
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Capital Markets, 
Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises held a hearing 
regarding the Department of the Treasury's policy on the Government 
Sponsored Enterprises. Testimony was heard from Peter Fisher, Under 
Secretary, Domestic Finance, Department of the Treasury.
EPA CABINET ELEVATION
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural 
Resources and Regulatory Affairs held a hearing on EPA Cabinet 
Elevation: Agency and Stakeholder Views. Testimony was heard from 
Christine Todd Whitman, Administrator, EPA; James Connaughton, 
Chairman, Council on Environmental Quality; and public witnesses.
MISSILE DEFENSE
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on National Security, 
Veterans' Affairs and International Relations held a hearing on Missile 
Defense: A New Organization, Evolutionary Technologies and Unrestricted 
Testing. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Defense: Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, USAF, Director, 
Missile Defense Agency; Thomas Cristie, Director, Office of Test and 
Evaluation; and Kent G. Stansberry, Deputy Director, Missile Warfare, 
Office of the Secretary; Robert E. Levin, Director, Acquisition and 
Sourcing Management, GAO: and public witnesses.
INTERNET TAX FAIRNESS ACT; HOUSING AFFORDABILITY FOR AMERICA ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law approved for full Committee action the following 
bills: H.R. 2526, amended, Internet Tax Fairness Act of 2001; and H.R. 
3995, Housing Affordability for America Act of 2002.
GROWING NATURAL GAS SUPPLY AND DEMAND IMBALANCE
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources 
held a hearing on ``The Growing Natural Gas Supply and Demand 
Imbalance: the Role that Public Lands and Federal Submerged Lands could 
play in the Solution.'' Testimony was heard from Rebecca Watson, 
Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management, Department of the 
Interior; Mary Hutzler, Acting Administrator, Energy Enforcement 
Administration, Department of Energy; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and 
Public Lands held a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 3434, 
McLoughlin House National Historic Site Act; H.R. 3449, to revise the 
boundaries of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument; and 
H.R. 4953, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to grant to 
Deschutes and Crook Counties in the State of Oregon a right-of-way to 
West Butt Road. Testimony was heard from Representatives Walden of 
Oregon, Hooley of Oregon and Jo Ann Davis of Virginia; from the 
following officials of the Department of the Interior: Sue Masica, 
Associate Director, Park Planning, Facilities and Lands, National Park 
Service; and Robert Anderson, Deputy Assistant, Minerals, Realty, and 
Resource Protection, Bureau of Land Management; and Scott R. Cooper, 
Judge, Crook County Court, Crook County, Oregon.
RESTRUCTURING SBA
Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Workforce, Empowerment and 
Government Programs held a hearing on Restructuring SBA. Testimony was 
heard from Lloyd A. Blanchard, Chief Operating Officer, SBA; Davi M. 
D'Agostino, Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, GAO; 
and public witnesses.

[[Page D764]]


IN THE MATTER OF REPRESENTATIVE JAMES A TRAFICANT, JR.
Committee on Standards of Official Conduct: Adjudicatory Subcommittee 
continued hearings in the Matter of Representative James A. Traficant, 
Jr., to determine whether any counts in the Statement of Alleged 
Violations have been proven by clear and convincing evidence. Testimony 
was heard from Representative Traficant; Linda Kovachik, member, staff 
of Representative Traficant; Sandra Ferrante, friend; Michael 
Robertson, private investigator; and Richard E. Detore, former Chief 
Operating Officer, U.S. Aerospace Group.
OVERSIGHT--FAA ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE PROBLEMS
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on 
Aviation held an oversight hearing on Problems with the FAA 
Organizational Structure. Testimony was heard from Jane F. Garvey, 
Administrator, FAA, Department of Transportation; and public witnesses.
HIGHWAY TRUST FUND--LONG-TERM OUTLOOK
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on 
Highways and Transit held a hearing on Long-term Outlook on Highway 
Trust Fund: Are Fuel Taxes a Viable Measure? Testimony was heard from 
Bob Taft, Governor, State of Ohio; Larry King, Deputy Secretary, 
Department of Transportation, State of Pennsylvania; and public 
witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Ordered reported the following bills: 
H.R. 4940, Arlington National Cemetery Burial Eligibility Act; H.R. 
5055, to authorize the placement in Arlington National Cemetery of a 
memorial honoring the World War II veterans who fought in the Battle of 
the Bulge; and H.R. 3645, amended, Veterans Health-Care and Procurement 
Improvement Act of 2002.
  The Committee also held a hearing on H.R. 4939, Veterans Medicare 
Payment Acct of 2002. Testimony was heard from the following officials 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs: Robert H. Roswell, Under 
Secretary, Health; and Tim S. McClain, General Counsel; Tom Grissom, 
Director, Center for Medicare Management, Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services; and 
representatives of veterans organizations.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Select Committee on Homeland Security: Continued hearings on H.R. 5005, 
Homeland Security Act of 2002. Testimony was heard from Ann Veneman, 
Secretary of Agriculture; Tommy G. Thompson, Secretary of Health and 
Human Services; Norman Y. Mineta, Secretary of Transportation; Spencer 
Abraham, Secretary of Energy; Kay Cole James, Director, OPM; and 
Representatives Thornberry, Gibbons, Harman, Tauscher and 
Sensenbrenner.
  Hearings continue tomorrow.

Joint Meetings
9/11 INTELLIGENCE INVESTIGATION
Joint Hearing: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the House 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence met in closed session to 
consider events surrounding September 11, 2001.
  Committees will meet again on Thursday, July 18.
AMERICAN CLAIMANTS PROPERTY RESTITUTION IN EUROPE
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission): 
Commission concluded hearings on the state of property restitution in 
Central and Eastern Europe for American claimants, focusing on 
restitution and compensation for property seized during World War II 
and the communist-era, after receiving testimony from Randolph Bell, 
Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, Department of State; Yehuda Evron, 
Holocaust Restitution Committee, Whitestone, New York; Olga Jonas, Free 
Czechoslovakia Fund, Bethesda, Maryland; and Mark Meyer, Romanian-
American Chamber of Commerce, and Israel Singer, Conference on Jewish 
Material Claims Against Germany/World Jewish Restitution Organization, 
both of New York, New York.