[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 78 (Tuesday, June 14, 2005)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D600-D601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
AGRICULTURE AND FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the benefits and future developments in 
agriculture and food biotechnology, focusing on crossbreeding, 
hybridization, and bioengineering, legal and regulatory background, and 
the interagency Agricultural Biotechnology Working Group, after 
receiving testimony from Chuck Lambert, Deputy Under Secretary of 
Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; Clifford Gabriel, 
Director, Office of Science Coordination and Policy, Office of 
Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances, Environmental Protection 
Agency; Robert E. Brackett, Director, Center for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health 
and Human Services; Jim Greenwood, Biotechnology Industry Organization, 
Washington, D.C.; Ron Heck, American Soybean Association, Perry, Iowa; 
and Kenneth M. Quinn, World Food Prize Foundation, Des Moines, Iowa.
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved 
for full Committee consideration H.R. 2360, making appropriations for 
the Department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2006, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
APPROPRIATIONS: ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water, and 
Related Agencies approved for full Committee consideration H.R. 2419, 
making appropriations for energy and water development for the fiscal 
year ending September 30, 2006, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute.
CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch resumed 
a hearing to examine the progress of the Capitol Visitor Center 
construction, receiving testimony from Alan Hantman, Architect of the 
Capitol; and Bernard Ungar, Director, and Terrell Dorn, Assistant 
Director, both of Physical Infrastructure, Government Accountability 
Office.
  Hearing will continue on Thursday, July 14.
SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Securities and Investment concluded a hearing to examine the role of 
financial markets in social security reform, focusing on the Federal 
Thrift Savings Plan, personal retirement savings accounts, and 
retirement plan administrative costs, after receiving testimony from 
Gary A. Amelio, Executive Director, Federal Retirement Thrift 
Investment Board; Francis Enderle, Barclays Global Investors, San 
Francisco, California; Francis X. Cavanaugh, Public Finance Consulting, 
Chevy Chase, Maryland; Michael Tanner, CATO Institute, and David C. 
John, The Heritage Foundation, both of Washington, D.C.; and Jason 
Furman, New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, 
New York, New York.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee met and approved recommendations on 
proposed legislation implementing the United States-Central America-
Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement.
NORTH KOREA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the status of the Six-Party Talks in Beijing, and matters 
related to the resolution of the North Korean nuclear crisis, after 
receiving testimony from Christopher R. Hill, Assistant Secretary for 
East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Joseph R. DeTrani, Special Envoy, 
Six-Party Talks, both of the Department of State.

[[Page D601]]


TARGETING ORGANIZED PIRACY
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the 
District of Columbia held a hearing to examine the Strategy Targeting 
Organized Piracy (STOP!) initiative, established to stop trade in 
pirated and counterfeit goods, focusing on activities undertaken by 
STOP! to date, its effectiveness in coordinating Federal government 
efforts to combat intellectual property theft at home and abroad, and 
the Federal government's ability to recruit, train and retain the 
workforce necessary to implement STOP!, including the Administration's 
long-term strategic plan for STOP! and ways the initiative assists 
small business protect its intellectual property rights, receiving 
testimony from Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce for 
Intellectual Property, and Director, United States Patent and Trademark 
Office; Victoria Espinel, Acting Assistant U.S. Trade Representative 
for Intellectual Property; Daniel Baldwin, Acting Assistant 
Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of 
Homeland Security; Laura H. Parsky, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, 
Criminal Division, Department of Justice; Loren Yager, Director, 
International Affairs and Trade, Government Accountability Office; Brad 
Huther, United States Chamber of Commerce, and Franklin J. Vargo, 
National Association of Manufacturers, both of Washington, D.C.; and 
Jeffrey O. Evans, The Will-Burt Company, Orrville, Ohio.
  Hearing recessed subject to call.
FEDERAL BUDGETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and 
International Security concluded a hearing to examine accountability 
and results in Federal budgeting, focusing on the specific metrics and 
tools used by the Office of Management and Budget to determine the 
effectiveness of Federal programs, the advantages and disadvantages of 
using these metrics, and how information provided by these metrics is 
being used to increase effectiveness and accountability in Federal 
budgeting, after receiving testimony from David M. Walker, Comptroller 
General of the United States, Government Accountability Office; Clay 
Johnson, III, Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and 
Budget; Eileen Norcross, George Mason University Mercatus Center, 
Fairfax, Virginia; and Beryl A. Radin, University of Baltimore, 
Baltimore, Maryland.
PATENT LAW REFORM
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Intellectual Property 
concluded a hearing to examine injunctions and damages relating to 
patent law reform, focusing on prior user rights, the first-inventor-
to-file system, and a life sciences perspective on patents, after 
receiving testimony from Carl E. Gulbrandsen, Wisconsin Alumni Research 
Foundation, Madison; Jonathan Band, on behalf of Visa U.S.A. and The 
Financial Services Roundtable, and Jeffrey P. Kushan, Sidley Austin 
Brown and Wood, LLP, both of Washington, D.C.; Mark A. Lemley, Stanford 
Law School, Stanford, California; Chuck Fish, Time Warner, Inc., New 
York, New York; and J. Jeffrey Hawley, Eastman Kodak Company, 
Rochester, New York, on behalf of the Intellectual Property Owners 
Association.