[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 154 (Wednesday, October 29, 2003)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1192-D1194]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NASA
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing on the future of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration, focusing on NASA's Strategic Plan for future space 
research and exploration, after receiving testimony from Sean O'Keefe, 
Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Admiral 
Harold Gehman, USN (Ret.), Chairman, Columbia Accident Investigation 
Board; Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie 
Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.; Robert Zurbrin, Mars 
Society, Lakewood, Colorado; David Woods, Ohio State University 
Institute for Ergonomics, Columbus; and Rick N. Tumlinson, Space 
Frontier Foundation, Nyack, New York.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Science, Technology and Space concluded a hearing on the status of the 
International Space Station, focusing on the impact the Columbia

[[Page D1193]]

accident has had on International Space Station operations, after 
receiving testimony from William F. Readdy, Associate Administrator for 
Space Flight, and Mary Kicza, Associate Administrator for Biological 
and Physical Research, both of National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration; Allen Li, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing 
Management, General Accounting Office; Robert L. Park, American 
Physical Society, Washington, D.C.; James A. Pawelczyk, Pennsylvania 
State University, University Park; and Arthur I. Zygielbaum, University 
of Nebraska National Center for Information Technology and Education, 
Lincoln.
IRAN: SECURITY THREATS
Committee on Foreign Relations: On Tuesday, October 28, 2003, Committee 
met in closed session to receive a briefing to examine security threats 
and U.S. policy in relation to Iran from Sylvia Copeland, Director, and 
Nathan Tuchrello, Deputy Issue Manager for Iran and Saudi Arabia, both 
of the Office of Near East and South Asia Analysis, Central 
Intelligence Agency.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of Margaret DeBardeleben Tutwiler, of Alabama, 
to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, Zalmay Khalilzad, 
of Maryland, to be Ambassador to Afghanistan, and Louise V. Oliver, of 
the District of Columbia, for the rank of Ambassador during her tenure 
of service as the United States Permanent Representative to the United 
Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization, and to be U.S. 
Representative to the 32nd and General Conference of UNESCO, after each 
nominee testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
COLOMBIA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine challenges for U.S. policy toward Colombia, focusing on the 
Counter Narcotics Brigade (CN Brigade), engineer and infrastructure 
support, professionalism and human rights, and trade issues, after 
receiving testimony from Robert B. Charles, Assistant Secretary of 
State of the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement 
Affairs; Adolfo A. Franco, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin 
America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International Development; 
General James T. Hill, USA, Commander, U.S. Southern Command; and Mark 
L. Schneider, International Crisis Group, Julia E. Sweig, Council on 
Foreign Relations, and Phillip McLean, Center for Strategic and 
International Studies, all of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 423, to promote health care coverage parity for individuals 
participating in legal recreational activities or legal transportation 
activities, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1172, to establish grants to provide health services for improved 
nutrition, increased physical activity, obesity prevention, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1775, to make certain technical and conforming amendments to 
correct the Health Care Safety Net Amendments of 2002, with an 
amendment;
  S. 1786, to revise and extend the Community Services Block Grant Act, 
the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981, and the Assets for 
Independence Act, with an amendment;
  An original bill, to reauthorize the Head Start Act;
  An original bill, to change the 30-year treasury bond rate to a 
composite corporate rate, and to establish a commission on defined 
benefit plans; and
  The nominations of Robert Lerner, of Maryland, to be Commissioner of 
Education Statistics, Department of Education, and Leslie Silverman and 
Naomi Churchill Earp, both of Virginia, and Stuart Ishimaru, of the 
District of Columbia, each to be a Member of the Equal Employment 
Opportunity Commission.
INTELLECTUAL DIVERSITY ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine intellectual diversity on America's 
college campuses, focusing on the problem of freedom of expression, 
politicized instruction, and core curricula, after receiving testimony 
from Anne Neal, American Council of Trustees and Alumni, Washington, 
D.C.; Robert David Johnson, Brooklyn College and the City University of 
New York Graduate Center, Brooklyn, New York; Greg Lukianoff, 
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania; and Anthony Dick, Charlottesville, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following bills:
  S. 1601, to amend the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence 
Prevention Act to provide for the reporting and reduction of child 
abuse and family violence incidences on Indian reservations, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;

[[Page D1194]]


  S. 420, to provide for the acknowledgement of the Lumbee Tribe of 
North Carolina, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and
  S. 1423, to extend Federal recognition to the Chickahominy Indian 
Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe--Eastern Division, the Upper 
Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc., the Monacan Indian 
Nation, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe, with an amendment.
INDIAN MONEY ACCOUNT CLAIMS SATISFACTION ACT
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing on S. 1770, 
to establish a voluntary alternative claims resolution process to reach 
a settlement of pending class action litigation, after receiving 
testimony from James Cason, Associate Deputy Secretary of the Interior; 
John E. Echohawk, Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, Colorado; Tex 
G. Hall, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, D.C.; D. 
Fred Matt, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Pablo, Montana; and 
Jim Gray, Osage Tribal Council, Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
competitive and economic effects of the Bowl Championship series on and 
off the field, focusing on the impact on the academic missions of 
universities, student-athletes, bowl games and fans, financial 
contributions to higher education, increased fan attendance, media 
exposure, the economic impact on the host community, and charitable 
responsibility, after receiving testimony from Senator Bennett; Harvey 
S. Perlman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska; Myles 
Brand, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana; 
Scott S. Cowen, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana; Keith R. 
Tribble, Orange Bowl Committee, and the Football Bowl Association, 
Miami, Florida; LaVell Edwards, Provo, Utah, formerly with Brigham 
Young University.
NOMINATION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nomination of James B. Comey, of New York, to be Deputy Attorney 
General, Department of Justice, after the nominee, who was introduced 
by Senator Schumer, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.