[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D839-D841]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Subcommittee on 
Forestry, Conservation, and Rural Revitalization concluded an oversight 
hearing to examine the Conservation Reserve Program, the voluntary 
program for agricultural landowners that provides annual rental 
payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-
conserving covers on eligible farmland, after receiving testimony from 
James R. Little, Administrator, Farm Service Agency, Department of 
Agriculture; Dan Forster, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, 
Social Circle; Sherman Reese, Echo, Oregon, on behalf of the National 
Association of Wheat Growers; Kendell W. Keith, National Grain and Feed 
Association, and Krysta Harden, National Association of Conservation 
Districts, both on behalf of sundry groups, both of Washington, D.C.; 
and Jeffrey W. Nelson, Ducks Unlimited, Inc., Bismarck, North Dakota, 
on behalf of sundry groups.
NATIONAL ALERT SYSTEM
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Disaster Prevention and Prediction concluded a hearing to examine the 
need for a national all-hazards alert and public warning system, 
focusing on the role and activities of the Federal Government to ensure 
the quick and accurate dissemination of alert and warning information, 
after receiving testimony from Reynold N. Hoover, Director, Office of 
National Security Coordination, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
Department of Homeland Security; Kenneth Moran, Acting Director, Office 
of Homeland Security, Enforcement Bureau, Federal Communications 
Commission; Mark Paese, Director, Maintenance, Logistics and 
Acquisition Division, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce; and Christopher E. 
Guttman-McCabe, CTIA--The Wireless Association, Richard Taylor, ComCARE 
Alliance, and John M. Lawson, Association of Public Television 
Stations, all of Washington, D.C.
FAIR RATINGS ACT
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine S. 1372, to provide for the accuracy of television 
ratings services, focusing on Nielsen's implementation of the local 
people meter (LMP) service, after receiving testimony from George Ivie, 
Media Rating Council, Inc., Susan Whiting, Nielsen Media Research, 
Ceril Shagrin, Univision, and Kathy Crawford, MindShare, all of New 
York, New York; Patrick J. Mullen, Tribune Broadcasting Company, 
Chicago, Illinois; and Gale Metzger, SMART Media, Cranford, New Jersey.
HYDROGEN AND FUEL CELL RESEARCH
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Energy 
concluded a hearing to examine recent progress in hydrogen and fuel 
cell research sponsored by the Department of Energy and by private 
industry, including challenges to the development of these 
technologies, after receiving testimony from Douglas L. Faulkner, 
Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy; Jeremy Bentham, Royal Dutch Shell, Amsterdam, The 
Netherlands; Lawrence D. Burns, General Motors Corporation, Warren, 
Michigan; and Dennis Campbell, Ballard Power Systems, Burnaby, British 
Columbia.
MEDICARE
Committee on Finance: Committee held a hearing to examine the role of 
value-based purchasing relating to improving quality in Medicare, 
focusing on the use of pay-for-performance reimbursement systems within 
the Medicare program, receiving testimony from Herb Kuhn, Director, 
Center for Medicare Management, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services, Department of Health and Human Services;

[[Page D840]]

Mark E. Miller, Executive Director, Medicare Payment Advisory 
Commission; Thomas Byron Thames, AARP, and Nancy H. Nielsen, American 
Medical Association, both of Washington, D.C.; Leo P. Brideau, Columbia 
St. Mary's, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on behalf of the American Hospital 
Association; and James J. Mongan, Partners HealthCare, Boston, 
Massachusetts.
  Hearing recessed subject to the call.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the Nominations of William J. Burns, of the District of 
Columbia, to be Ambassador to the Russian Federation, who was 
introduced by Senator Hagel; William Robert Timken, Jr., of Ohio, to be 
Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, who was introduced by 
Senators Voinovich, DeWine, and Allen; Richard Henry Jones, of 
Nebraska, to be Ambassador to Israel; and Francis Joseph Ricciardone, 
Jr., of New Hampshire, to be Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt, 
after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own 
behalf.
UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING REFORM
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Terrorism concluded a hearing to examine United Nations 
peacekeeping reform efforts, focusing on exploitation by United Nations 
peacekeepers of civilian populations, relating to the need for stronger 
oversight, investigative and disciplinary procedures, and training to 
prevent such abuse, after receiving testimony from Philo L. Dibble, 
Acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization 
Affairs.
  Also, committee received a briefing on United Nations peacekeeping 
efforts from H.R.H. Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent 
Representative of the Hashemite, Kingdom of Jordan, and Jane Holl Lute, 
Assistant Secretary General, Peacekeeping Operations, both of the 
United Nations.
CHEMICAL FACILITIES SECURITY
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee held 
a hearing to determine whether the Federal government is doing enough 
to secure chemical facilities, focusing on security operations relating 
to marine transportation, the fertilizer industry, and the industrial 
sector, receiving testimony from Rear Admiral Craig E. Bone, Director 
of Port Security, Maritime Safety, Security, and Environmental 
Protection Directorate, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland 
Security; Robert A. Full, Allegheny County Department of Emergency 
Services, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Beth Turner, E.I. duPont de Nemours 
and Company, Inc., Wilmington, Delaware; Jim L. Schellhorn, Terra 
Industries, Inc., Washington, D.C., on behalf of The Fertilizer 
Institute; and John P. Chamberlain, Shell Oil Company, Houston, Texas, 
on behalf of the American Petroleum Institute.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and 
International Security concluded a hearing to examine financial 
management at the Securities and Exchange Commission, focusing on the 
results of the fiscal year 2004 financial audit of the Commission, 
after receiving testimony from David M. Walker, Comptroller General of 
the United States, Government Accountability Office; and James M. 
McConnell, Executive Director, Securities and Exchange Commission.
INDIAN GAMING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight to 
examine lands eligible for gaming pursuant to the Indian Gaming 
Regulatory Act, after receiving testimony from Senators Voinovich and 
Vitter; George T. Skibine, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the 
Interior for Policy and Economic Development for Indian Affairs; Penny 
J. Coleman, Acting General Counsel, National Indian Gaming Commission; 
Walter Gray, Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians, Talmage, California; 
Christine Norris, The Jena Band of Choctaw Indians, Jena, Louisiana; 
John R. Barnett, Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Longview, Washington; and 
Charles D. Enyart, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Seneca, Missouri.
FBI OVERSIGHT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to 
examine the Federal Bureau of Investigation, focusing on the creation 
of an intelligence service within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
specifically impacting the language program, information technology 
capabilities, and ability to recruit, hire, train, and retain 
expertise, after receiving testimony from former Representative Lee 
Hamilton, on behalf of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks 
Upon the United States; Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, and Glenn A. Fine, Inspector General, both of 
the Department of Justice; William H. Webster, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, 
and McCloy, LLP, former Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and 
John A. Russack, Information Sharing Environment, both of Washington, 
D.C.

[[Page D841]]


INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of 
the intelligence community.
ELDERLY VICTIMIZATION
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the victimization of the elderly through scams, focusing on internet 
fraud, prize and sweepstakes fraud, health-related fraud, identity 
theft, and consumer education, after receiving testimony from Lois C. 
Greisman, Associate Director, Division of Planning and Information, 
Federal Trade Commission; Zane M. Hill, Acting Assistant Chief 
Inspector, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Anthony R. Pratkanis, 
University of California at Santa Cruz; Denise C. Park, University of 
Illinois Beckman Institute, Urbana-Champaign; Helen Marks Dicks, 
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, Madison; and Vicki Hersen, Elders 
in Action, Portland, Oregon.