[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 25, 2004)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D112-D113] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) APPROPRIATIONS: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on the District of Columbia concluded ahearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2005 for the government of theDistrict of Columbia, after receiving testimony from Rufus G. King III, Chief Judge, SuperiorCourt of the District of Columbia; Annice M. Wagner, Chief Judge, D.C. Court of Appeals andChair, Joint Committee on Judicial Administration; and Frederick Lindstrom, U.S. Commissionof Fine Arts, Craig W. Floyd, National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, and PatriciaGallagher, National Capital Planning Commission, all of Washington, D.C. SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel concluded a hearing toexamine policies and programs for preventing and responding to incidents of sexual assault in thearmed services, after receiving testimony from David S.C. Chu, Under Secretary of Defense forPersonnel and Readiness; General George W. Casey, Jr., USA, Vice Chief of Staff, United StatesArmy; Admiral Michael G. Mullen, USN, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, and Terri J. Rau,Head, Policy and Prevention Section, Counseling, Advocacy and Prevention Branch, NavyPersonnel Command, Bureau of Naval Personnel, both of the United States Navy; GeneralWilliam L. Nyland, USMC, Assistant Commandant, United States Marine Corps; General T.Michael Moseley, USAF, Vice Chief of Staff, United States Air Force; Susan H. Mather, ChiefOfficer, Office of Public Health and Environmental Hazards, Veterans Health Administration,Department of Veterans' Affairs; Christine Hansen, The Miles Foundation, Newtown,Connecticut; and Deborah D. Tucker, National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Austin,Texas. DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Strategic Forces concluded a hearing toexamine the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management, Office of FutureLiabilities, and Office of Legacy Management, in review of the defense authorization request forfiscal year 2005, after receiving testimony from Jessie H. Roberson, Assistant Secretary forEnvironment Management, and Michael W. Owen, Director, Office of Legacy Management, bothof the Department of Energy. MUTUAL FUND INDUSTRY Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing toexamine current investigations and regulatory actions regarding the mutual fund industry,focusing on understanding the fund industry from the investor's perspective, including the role ofState Treasurers, financial literacy Programs, management fee disclosure, and the recent scandalsin the industry, after receiving testimony from Gary Gensler, Brooklandville, Maryland, formerUnder Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance; Tim Berry, Indiana State Treasurer,Indianapolis, on behalf of the National Association of State Treasurers; James S. Riepe, T. RowePrice Group, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland; Don Phillips, Morningstar, Inc., Chicago, Illinois; andJames K. Glassman, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C. HOUSING GSEs Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing toexamine proposals for improving the regulation of the housing government sponsored enterprises(GSEs), after receiving testimony from Franklin D. Raines, Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C.;Richard F. Syron, Freddie Mac, McLean, Virginia; and Norman B. Rice, Federal Home LoanBank of Seattle, Seattle, Washington. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BUDGET Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the President'sproposed budget request for fiscal year 2005 for the Department of Homeland Security, afterreceiving testimony from Tom Ridge, Secretary of Homeland Security. [[Page D113]] SEAFOOD PROCESSOR QUOTAS Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a hearing toexamine the economic implications of seafood processor quotas, focusing on the Alaska crabrationalization plan developed by North Pacific Fishery Management Council, including effectson competition of the rationalization plan and antitrust issues associated with the plan's pricearbitration system, after receiving testimony from J. Bruce McDonald, Deputy Assistant AttorneyGeneral, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice; Anu K. Mittal, Director, National Resourcesand Environment, and Keith Oleson, Assistant Director, both of the General Accounting Office;Robert Halvorsen, University of Washington, and Joseph T. Plesha, Trident SeafoodsCorporation, both of Seattle; Scott C. Matulich, Washington State University, Pullman; RichardD. Young, Crescent City, California, on behalf of the Fishermen's Marketing Association; andRichard Powell, Kodiak, Alaska. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported the United NationsConvention on the Law of the Sea, with Annexes, done at Montego Bay, December 10, 1982 (the``Convention''), and the Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the UnitedNations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982, with Annex, adopted at NewYork, July 28, 1994 (the ``Agreement''), and signed by the United States, subject to ratification, on July 29, 1994 (Treaty Doc. 103-39). TAX TREATIES Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the Convention Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, signed at Washington on November 6, 2003, together with a Protocol and an exchange of notes (the ``Convention'') (Treaty Doc. 108-14), and the Protocol Amending the Convention Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income signed at Colombo on March 14, 1985, together with an exchange of notes, signed at Washington on September 20, 2002 (the ``Protocol'') (Treaty Doc. 108-9), focusing on a zero-rate dividend provision, anti- conduit rules, insurance excise tax, restructured financial institutions, and the U.S. operating subsidiary, after receiving testimony from Barbara M. Angus, International Tax Counsel, Department of the Treasury; George Yin, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation; William A. Reinsch, National Foreign Trade Council, and James W. Fatheree, U.S.-Japan Business Council, both of Washington, D.C. USAID CONTRACTING POLICIES Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on International Economic Policy, Export and Trade Promotion concluded a hearing to examine the United States Agency for International Development's (USAID) contracting policies, focusing on programs in Afghanistan and Iraq, after receiving testimony from Everett L. Mosley, Inspector General, and Tim Beans, Director, Office of Procurement, both of the United States Agency for International Development; Frederick D. Barton, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Allan V. Burman, Jefferson Solutions, and Marcus L. Stevenson, The Urban Institute, all of Washington, D.C. INDIAN PROGRAMS BUDGET Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded hearings to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2005 for Indian Programs, after receiving testimony from Ross Swimmer, Special Trustee for American Indians, Department of the Interior; Gary J. Hartz, Acting Director, Office of Public Health, Indian Health Service, and Douglas Black, Director, Office of Tribal Programs, Indian Health Service, both of the Department of Health and Human Services; Victoria Vasques, Deputy Under Secretary, and Director, Office of Indian Education, and Lonna Jones, Acting Director, Elementary, Secondary and Vocational Analysis Division, Budget Service, both of the Department of Education; Michael Liu, Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Public and Indian Housing; David Garman, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and Tracy Henke, Deputy Associate Attorney General, Department of Justice. NOMINATION Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nomination of Roger T. Benitez, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Feinstein, testified and answered questions in his own behalf. Testimony was also received from Marilyn L. Huff, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California; and Thomas Z. Hayward, Jr., Chicago, Illinois, and Richard M. Macias, Los Angeles, California, both on behalf of the Standing Committee on Federal Judiciary, American Bar Association.