[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 106 (Thursday, July 17, 2003)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D839-D841]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following bills:
  An original bill (S. 1426) making appropriations for foreign 
operations, export financing and related programs for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2004;
  An original bill (S. 1427) making appropriations for agriculture, 
rural development and food and drug administration and related agencies 
programs for fiscal year ending September 30, 2004; and
  An original bill (S. 1424) making appropriations for energy and water 
development for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004.
  Also, committee began consideration of an original bill, making 
appropriations for the government of the District of Columbia and other 
activities chargeable in whole or in part against the revenues of said 
District for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, but did not 
take final action thereon, and will continue on Thursday, July 24.
FEDERAL HOUSING ENTERPRISE OVERSIGHT
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded 
hearings to examine regulatory oversight of government sponsored 
enterprise accounting practices, focusing on the role of a federal 
financial safety and soundness regulator, an approach to examining 
accounting practices and controls over financial reporting, executive 
compensation, corporate governance, and legislative enhancements,

[[Page D840]]

after receiving testimony from Armando Falcon, Jr., Director, Office of 
Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 1389, to authorize appropriations for the Surface Transportation 
Board for fiscal years 2004 through 2008, with amendments;
  S. 1402, to authorize appropriations for activities under the Federal 
railroad safety laws for fiscal years 2004 through 2008, with 
amendments;
  S. 1250, to improve, enhance, and promote the Nation's homeland 
security, public safety, and citizen activated emergency response 
capabilities through the use of enhanced 911 services, to further 
upgrade Public Safety Answering Point capabilities and related 
functions in receiving E-911 calls, and to support the construction and 
operation of a ubiquitous and reliable citizen activated system;
  S. 1401, to reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, with amendments;
  S. 1400, to develop a system that provides for ocean and coastal 
observations, to implement a research and development program to 
enhance security at United States ports, to implement a data and 
information system required by all components of an integrated ocean 
observing system and related research, with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute;
  S. 1404, to amend the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, 
with amendments;
  S. 1395, to authorize appropriations for the Technology 
Administration of the Department of Commerce for fiscal years 2004 
through 2005, with amendments; and
  The nominations of Nicole R. Nason, of Virginia, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of Transportation, and Pamela Harbour, of New York, to be a 
Federal Trade Commissioner.
DOE LABORATORY MANAGEMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded hearings 
to examine the contrast between management of science and technology 
resources by the Department of Energy with management of such resources 
in other agencies and in the private sector towards the goal of 
suggesting approaches for optimizing DOE's management and use of its 
science and technology resources, after receiving testimony from 
William Schneider, Jr., Chairman, Defense Science Board, Department of 
Defense; John H. Gibbons, Resource Strategies, The Plains, Virginia, 
former Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and 
former Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy; Victor H. 
Reis, Hicks and Associates, Inc., Washington, D.C.; and William J. 
Spencer, International SEMATECH, Austin, Texas.
EXOTIC ANIMALS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded hearings 
to examine the importation of exotic species and the impact on public 
health and safety, after receiving testimony from Senator Ensign; John 
Clifford, Associate Deputy Administrator, Veterinary Services, Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture; Lester 
M. Crawford, Deputy Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, and 
Stephen M. Ostroff, Deputy Director, National Center for Infectious 
Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both of the 
Department of Health and Human Services; Marshall P. Jones, Jr., Deputy 
Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior; 
Gabriela Chavarria, National Wildlife Federation, Reston, Virginia, on 
behalf of the National Environmental Coalition on Invasive Species; 
Robert A. Cook, Columbia University School of International and Public 
Affairs, on behalf of the Wildlife Conservation Society; and N. 
Marshall Meyers, Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, Washington, D.C.
NURSING HOME QUALITY
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded hearings to examine nursing 
home quality, focusing on reports of abuse and neglect and federal 
efforts to improve conditions in nursing homes, after receiving 
testimony from Senator Bond; Dara Corrigan, Acting Principal Deputy 
Inspector General, and Thomas A. Scully, Administrator, Centers for 
Medicare and Medicaid Services, both of the Department of Health and 
Human Services; William J. Scanlon, Director, Health Care Issues, 
General Accounting Office; Mary K. Ousley, Sun Bridge Health Care 
Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, on behalf of the American Health Care 
Association; Jeanne M. Hodgson, Ranson, West Virginia; and Sheila E. 
Albores, Oak Park, Illinois.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following bills:
  S. 1416, to implement the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement; 
and
  S. 1417, to implement the United States-Singapore Free Trade 
Agreement.

[[Page D841]]


BENEFITS FOR VICTIMS OF INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM ACT
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee held hearings to examine S. 
1275, to establish a comprehensive federal program to provide benefits 
to U.S. victims of international terrorism, focusing on issues 
including the importance of blocked assets for U.S. foreign policy and 
national security interests, and maintaining a proper balance between 
administrative and litigation alternatives for international terrorism 
claims, receiving testimony from William H. Taft IV, Legal Adviser, 
Department of State; and Stuart E. Eizenstat, Covington and Burling, 
and Allan Gerson, George Washington University and Gerson International 
Law Group, both of Washington, D.C.
  Hearings recessed subject to the call.
MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded hearings to 
examine certain situations where parents must relinquish custody in 
order to secure mental health services for their children, focusing on 
adolescent males with severe mental health problems, limitations in 
private and public insurance, difficulties accessing services through 
mental health and education agencies, and expanding community mental 
health services and supporting families, after receiving testimony from 
Charles G. Curie, Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; J. 
Robert Flores, Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, Department of 
Justice; and Cornelia M. Ashby, Director, Education, Workforce, and 
Income Security Issues, General Accounting Office.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 1416, to implement the United States-Chile Free Trade Agreement;
  S. 1417, to implement the United States-Singapore Free Trade 
Agreement;
  S. Con. Res. 53, honoring and congratulating chambers of commerce for 
their efforts that contribute to the improvement of communities and the 
strengthening of local and regional economies; and
  The nominations of Kathleen Cardone, to be United States District 
Judge for the Western District of Texas, James I. Cohn, to be United 
States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, Frank 
Montalvo, to be United States District Judge for the Western District 
of Texas, Xavier Rodriguez, to be United States District Judge for the 
Western District of Texas, and Christopher A. Wray, of Georgia, to be 
an Assistant Attorney General, and Jack Landman Goldsmith III, of 
Virginia, to be an Assistant Attorney General, both of the Department 
of Justice.