[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D417-D419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
AGRICULTURAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS
Committee on Agriculture: Held a hearing to review Agricultural Trade 
Negotiations. Testimony was heard from Ann M. Veneman, Secretary of 
Agriculture; and Robert B. Zoellick, U.S. Trade Representative.
LABOR, HHS, EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education, and Related Agencies held a hearing on Global 
Disease. Testimony was heard from Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., Director, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and 
Human Services.
LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative held a hearing 
on GPO. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the GPO: 
Bruce R. James, Public Printer of the United States; William H. Turri, 
Deputy Public Printer; Steven T. Shedd, Chief Financial Officer; and 
Marc A. Nichols, Inspector General.
  The Subcommittee also held a hearing on the Capitol Police. Testimony 
was heard from the following officials of the Capitol Police Board: 
Wilson Livingood, Sergeant at Arms, U.S. House of Representatives, 
Chairman; William H. Pickle, Sergeant at Arms, U.S. Senate; Alan M. 
Hantman, Architect of the Capitol; and Terrance W. Gainer, Chief, U.S. 
Capitol Police; and Members of the Board.
TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury 
and Independent Agencies held a

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hearing on the Federal Transit Administration. Testimony was heard from 
Jennifer L. Dorn, Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, 
Department of Transportation.
LABOR DEPARTMENT'S FINAL OVERTIME REGULATIONS WORKERS AND EMPLOYERS
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Held a hearing entitled 
``Assessing the Impact of the Labor Department's Final Overtime 
Regulations on Workers and Employers Overtime Regulations.'' Testimony 
was heard from Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor; and public witnesses.
SATELLITE HOME VIEWER IMPROVEMENT ACT REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Telecommunications 
and the Internet approved for full Committee action, as amended, a 
measure reauthorizing the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act.
TRIA REVIEW--EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Capital Markets, 
Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprise and the Subcommittee on 
Oversight and Investigations held a joint hearing entitled: ``A Review 
of TRIA and Its Effect on the Economy: Helping America Move Forward.'' 
Testimony was heard from Wayne A. Abernathy, Assistant Secretary, 
Financial Institutions, Department of the Treasury; Richard J. Hillman, 
Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, GAO; and Gregory 
V. Serio, Superintendent, Department of Insurance, State of New York.
PRESIDENTIAL $1 COIN ACT OF 2004; COIN AND CURRENCY DESIGN AND 
COUNTERFEITING ISSUES
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Domestic and 
International Monetary Policy, Trade and Technology approved for full 
Committee action, as amended, H.R. 3916, Presidential $1 Coin Act of 
2004.
  Prior to this action, the Subcommittee held a hearing entitled 
``Money Matters: Coin and Currency Design and Counterfeiting Issues. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of 
the Treasury: Henrietta H. Fore, Director, United States Mint; Thomas 
A. Ferguson, Director, Bureau of Engraving and Printing; Bruce 
Townsend, Deputy Assistant Director, Office of Investigations, U.S. 
Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security; Jeffrey C. Marquardt, 
Associate Director, Reserve Bank Operations and Payments Systems, Board 
of Governors, Federal Reserve System; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--GPO
Committee on House Administration: Held a oversight hearing on the GPO. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the GPO: Bruce T. 
James, Public Printer of the United States; and Marc A. Nichols, 
Inspector General; Linda D. Koontz, Director, Information Management 
Issues, GAO; and public witnesses.
UN OIL-for-FOOD PROGRAM
Committee on International Relations: Held a hearing on the United 
Nations Oil-for-Food Program: Issues of Accountability and 
Transparency. Testimony was heard from Joseph A. Christoff, Director, 
International Affairs and Trade, GAO; and public witnesses.
NORTH KOREA: HUMAN RIGHTS, REFUGEES AND HUMANITARIAN CHALLENGES
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific and the Subcommittee on International Terrorism, 
Nonproliferation and Human Rights held a joint hearing on North Korea: 
Human Rights, Refugees and Humanitarian Challenges. Testimony was heard 
from public witnesses.
U.S. GOVERNMENT AND THE EUROPEAN UNION RECOGNIZING 50 YEARS OF 
RELATIONS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Europe approved 
for full Committee action, as amended, H. Res. 577, Recognizing 50 
years of relations between the United States Government and the 
European Union.
CRITICAL HABITAT REFORM ACT
Committee on Resources: Held a hearing on H.R. 2933, Critical Habitat 
Reform Act of 2003. Testimony was heard from Judge Craig Manson, 
Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Department of the 
Interior; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held 
a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 3744, To authorize the Secretary 
of Agriculture to sell or exchange all or part of certain 
administrative sites and other land in the Ozark-St. Francis and 
Ouachita National Forests and to use funds derived from the sale or 
exchange to acquire, construct, or improve administrative sites; S. 33, 
To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange all or 
part of certain administrative sites and other land in the Ozark-St. 
Francis and Ouachita National Forests and to use funds derived from the 
sale or exchange to acquire, construct, or improve administrative 
sites;

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S. 434, Idaho Panhandle National Forest Improvement Act of 2003; S. 
435, Sandpoint Land and Facilities Conveyance Act of 2003; and S. 1537, 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the New Hope 
Cemetery Association certain land in the State of Arkansas for use as a 
cemetery. Testimony was heard from Representative Ross; and Tom 
Thompson, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, USDA.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY BUDGET FISCAL YEAR 2005.
Committee on Science: Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and 
Standards held a hearing entitled ``Fiscal Year 2005 National Institute 
of Standards and Technology Budget: Views from Industry.'' Testimony 
was heard from public witnesses.
INTEGRATED DEEPWATER SYSTEM
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation held a hearing on Integrated 
Deepwater System. Testimony was heard from VADM Thomas J. Barrett, 
USCG, Vice Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard. Department of Homeland 
Security; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--AGING WATER SUPPLY INFRASTRUCTURE
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on Water 
Resources and Environment held an oversight hearing on Aging Water 
Supply Infrastructure. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
DVA--RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER'S, DIABETES AND PARKINSON'S DISEASES
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing on the Department of Veterans Affairs' 
research on Alzheimer's, Diabetes and Parkinson's diseases. Testimony 
was heard from Judith Salerno, M.D., Deputy Director, National 
Institute on Aging, NIH, Department of Health and Human Services; and 
the following officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs: Michael 
Kussman, M.D., Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Health and Timothy J. 
O'Leary, M.D., Director, Biomedical Laboratory R&D Services, Office of 
Chief Research and Development Officer, both with the Veterans Health 
Administration; Franklin J. Zieve, M.D., Associate Chief of Staff for 
Research, Richmond VA Medical Center; Robert Ferrante, Director, 
Experimental Neuropathology Program, Geriatric Research, Education and 
Clinical Center, Bedford VA Medical Center; and Mary Sano, M.D., Acting 
Chief of Staff for Research, Bronx VA Medical Center.
OVERSIGHT DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS FIRST RESPONDER ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Select Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Emergency 
Preparedness and Response held an oversight hearing entitled ``The 
Office for Domestic Preparedness First Responder Assistance Programs.'' 
Testimony was heard from C. Suzanne Mencer, Director, Office for 
Domestic Preparedness, Department of Homeland Security; and Dennis R. 
Schrader, Director, Governor's Office of Homeland Security, State of 
Maryland.

Joint Meetings
CONSUMER-DIRECTED DOCTORING
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
consumer-directed doctoring, focusing on alternatives to the 
traditional third-party payer health care system, innovative and 
entrepreneurial doctors who respond to gaps in the current medical care 
system, and reducing medical liability pressures, after receiving 
testimony from Robert S. Berry, PATMOS EmergiClinic, Inc., Greeneville, 
Tennessee; Alieta Eck, Zarephath Health Center, Zarephath, New Jersey; 
Bernard Kaminetsky, Colton and Kaminetsky, Boca Raton, Florida; and 
Robert A. Berenson, Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.