[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 155 (Thursday, October 30, 2003)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1203-D1205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
PALESTINIAN EDUCATION
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education concluded a hearing to examine the content of 
Palestinian education materials, including textbooks and films, and the 
effect such materials have on the peace

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process, focusing on the United States foreign aid program in the West 
Bank and the Gaza Strip, and curriculum that promotes principles of 
human rights, democracy, diversity, tolerance, and pluralism, after 
receiving testimony from Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of 
State; James Kunder, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia and the 
Near East, U.S. Agency for International Development; Daniel Pipes, 
U.S. Institute of Peace, and James Zogby, Arab American Institute, both 
of Washington, D.C.; Itamar Marcus, Palestinian Media Watch, Jerusalem, 
Israel; Hassan Abdul Rahman, Palestinian Authority, Gaza; and Morton 
Klein, Zionist Organization of America, New York, New York.
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND EXCHANGE RATE POLICIES
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the Treasury Department's report to Congress on 
international economic and exchange rate policy, after receiving 
testimony from John W. Snow, Secretary of the Treasury.
UNIVERSAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Communications concluded a hearing on the future of Universal 
Telecommunications Service, focusing on opening local markets to 
competition and preserving and advancing universal service, as it 
confronts widespread marketplace and technological developments, after 
receiving testimony from Michael K. Powell, Chairman, Federal 
Communications Commission.
NATIONAL PARKS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on National 
Parks concluded a hearing to examine S. 1241, to establish the Kate 
Mullany National Historic Site in the State of New York, S. 1364, to 
amend the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to authorize 
the payment of expenses after the death of certain Federal employees in 
the State of Alaska, S. 1433, to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, 
conservation, and recreational activities in the Connecticut River 
watershed of the States of New Hampshire and Vermont, and S. 1462, to 
adjust the boundary of the Cumberland Island Wilderness, to authorize 
tours of the Cumberland Island National Seashore, after receiving 
testimony from Senator Clinton; Durand Jones, Deputy Director, National 
Park Service, Department of the Interior; Gregory B. Paxton, The 
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Atlanta; Sean McKeon, 
Northeast Regional Forest Foundation, Brattleboro, Vermont; Hans 
Neuhauser, Georgia Environmental Policy Institute, Athens, on behalf of 
The Wilderness Society, Wilderness Watch, and The Georgia Conservancy; 
and Sharon F. Francis, Connecticut River Joint Commissions, 
Charlestown, New Hampshire.
CALFED BAY-DELTA PROGRAM
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water and 
Power concluded a hearing to examine S. 1097, to authorize the 
Secretary of the Interior to implement the Calfed Bay-Delta Program, 
focusing on authorizing funding for fiscal years 2004 through 2007, as 
well as governance and management authorities for a comprehensive, 
balanced and timely water management program for California, after 
receiving testimony from Representative Calvert; Bennett W. Raley, 
Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science; Patrick 
Wright, California Bay-Delta Authority, and David Guy, Northern 
California Water Association, both of Sacramento; Tom Birmingham, 
Westlands Water District, Fresno, California; Sunne W. McPeak, Bay Area 
Council, San Francisco, California; Ron Gastelum, Metropolitan Water 
District of Southern California, Los Angeles; and Tom Graff, 
Environmental Defense, Oakland, California.
U.S.-SYRIA RELATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing to examine U.S. policy directions relating to Syria 
from J. Cofer Black, Coordinator, Office of the Coordinator for 
Counterterrorism, Department of State.
U.S.-SYRIA RELATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the current direction of U.S. policy towards Syria, focusing on 
developing a relationship with Syria in the context of furthering goals 
toward peace, prosperity and democracy in the Middle East, after 
receiving testimony from William J. Burns, Assistant Secretary for Near 
Eastern Affairs, and J. Cofer Black, Coordinator, Office of the 
Coordinator for Counterterrorism, both of the Department of State; and 
Patrick Clawson, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Richard W. 
Murphy, Council on Foreign Relations, Murhaf Jouejati, George 
Washington University, and Flynt L. Leverett, Brookings Institution, 
Saban Center for Middle East Studies, all of Washington, D.C.
HIV/AIDS IN AFRICA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on African Affairs met 
jointly with the Committee on

[[Page D1205]]

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions' Subcommittee on Children and 
Families to receive a report from Senator Frist relative to the HIV/
AIDS Codel to Africa.
ELDER JUSTICE AND PROTECTION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on 
Aging concluded a hearing to examine financial abuse and exploitation 
of the elderly, focusing on issues that elderly consumers face in 
today's investment marketplace, after receiving testimony from Maryland 
State Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Baltimore; Carol Scott, 
Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, on 
behalf of the National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman 
Programs; Robert B. Blancato, National Committee for the Prevention of 
Elder Abuse, Washington, D.C.; W. Lee Hammond, AARP, Salisbury, 
Maryland; and Richmond D. Chambers, Chevy Chase, Maryland.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 1720, to provide for Federal court proceedings in Plano, Texas, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. Con. Res. 58, expressing the sense of Congress with respect to 
raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking in the United 
States and supporting the goals and ideals of National Stalking 
Awareness Month, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. Con. Res. 76, recognizing that November 2, 2003, shall be 
dedicated to ``A Tribute to Survivors'' at the United States Holocaust 
Memorial Museum; and
  The nominations of Dora L. Irizarry, to be United States District 
Judge for the Eastern District of New York, William K. Sessions III, of 
Vermont, to be a Member of the United States Sentencing Commission, and 
David L. Huber, to be United States Attorney for the Western District 
of Kentucky, Department of Justice.
AGRICULTURE MONOPSONIES
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
monopsony issues in agriculture, focusing on the buying power of 
processors in the nation's agricultural markets, the role of antitrust 
enforcement in ensuring that agricultural markets are competitive, and 
the status of producers in an environment of concentrated purchasers of 
commodities, after receiving testimony from Senator Harkin; R. Hewitt 
Pate, Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Department of 
Justice; DeeVon Bailey, Utah State University Department of Economics 
and Cooperative Extension Service, Logan; Ronald W. Cotterill, 
University of Connecticut Department of Agricultural and Resource 
Economics, Storrs; and Peter C. Carstensen, University of Wisconsin Law 
School, Madison.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Veterans Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Cynthia R. Church, of Virginia, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Public and Intergovernmental Affairs), 
who was introduced by Senator Warner, and Robert N. McFarland, of 
Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Information 
and Technology), who was introduced by Senator Hutchison, after each 
nominee testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
  Committee recessed subject to call.