[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 153 (Thursday, November 17, 2005)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1236-D1238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
AVIAN INFLUENZA
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the role of United States agriculture in the 
control and eradication of avian influenza, focusing on the healthcare 
system, antiviral drugs, and enhancement of quarantine stations, after 
receiving testimony from Ron DeHaven, Administrator, Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture; Julie L. 
Gerberding, Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
Department of Health and Human Services; Donald Waldrip, Wayne Farms, 
LLC, Oakwood, Georgia, on behalf of the National Chicken Council; S.H. 
Kleven, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine Poultry 
Diagnostic and Research Center, Athens; Gretta Irwin, Iowa Turkey 
Federation, Ames, on behalf of the National Turkey Federation.
FINANCIAL PRODUCT SALES
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine a Government Accountability Office report on the 
sale of financial products to military personnel, focusing on actions 
needed to protect military members, after receiving testimony from 
Richard J. Hillman, Managing Director, Financial Markets and Community 
Investment, Government Accountability Office; John M. Molino, Deputy 
Under Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy; 
Lori Richards, Director, Office of Compliance Inspections and 
Examinations, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; John Oxendine, 
Georgia Commissioner of Insurance, Atlanta; and Mary Schapiro, National 
Association of Securities Dealers, Washington, D.C.
AVIATION SAFETY
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Aviation concluded a hearing to examine the Federal Aviation 
Administration's efforts to maintain a high level of safety through a 
safety oversight system, after receiving testimony from Marion Blakey, 
Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, and Kenneth Mead, 
Inspector General, both of the Department of Transportation; John S. 
Carr, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Basil J. Barimo, 
Air Transport Association of America, Inc., and Robert Roach, Jr., 
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, all of 
Washington, D.C.; and Christian A. Klein, Aeronautical Repair Station 
Association, Alexandria, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 1110, to amend the Federal Hazardous Substances Act to require 
engine coolant and antifreeze to contain a bittering agent in order to 
render the coolant or antifreeze unpalatable, proposed Polar Bear 
Treaty, with amendments;
  S. 2013, to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to 
implement the Agreement on the Conservation and Management of the 
Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population;
  S. 1052, to improve transportation security, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 65, to amend the age restrictions for pilots, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1102, to extend the aviation war risk insurance program for 3 
years;
  S. 517, to establish a Weather Modification Operations and Research 
Board, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 687, to regulate the unauthorized installation of computer 
software, to require clear disclosure to computer users of certain 
computer software features that may pose a threat to user privacy, with 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and
  The nominations of William E. Kovacic, of Virginia, J. Thomas Rosch, 
of California, each to be a Federal Trade Commissioner, and a Coast 
Guard Promotion List.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the following business items:
  S. 1496, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a pilot 
program under which up to 15 States may issue electronic Federal 
migratory bird hunting stamps, with an amendment;
  S. 1165, to provide for the expansion of the James Campbell National 
Wildlife Refuge, Honolulu County, Hawaii, with an amendment;
  S. 2006, to provide for recovery efforts relating to Hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita for Corps of Engineers projects, with an amendment;
  S. 1708, to modify requirements relating to the authority of the 
Administrator of General Services to

[[Page D1237]]

enter into emergency leases during major disasters and other 
emergencies; and
  S. 2015, to provide a site for construction of a national health 
museum.
NEW ORLEANS' LEVEES
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the degree to which the preliminary findings on the 
failure of the levees are being incorporated into the restoration of 
hurricane protection, after receiving testimony from Daniel H. 
Hitchings, Regional Business Director, Mississippi Valley Division, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army; Thomas F. Zimmie, 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Environmental Engineering Department, 
Troy, New York, on behalf of National Science Foundation Investigative 
Team; Sherwood Gagliano, Coastal Environments, Inc., and Joseph N. 
Suhayda, Louisiana State University, both of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; 
Larry Roth, American Society of Civil Engineers, Washington, D.C.; and 
Robert R.M. Verchick, Loyola University Law School, New Orleans, 
Louisiana.
AFRICAN ORGANIZATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on African Affairs 
concluded a hearing to examine cross-continental progress relating to 
African organizations and institutions, focusing on the African Union 
and African sub-regional organizations to advance freedom, peace, and 
prosperity in Africa, after receiving testimony from Jendayi E. Frazer, 
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; Lloyd O. Pierson, 
Assistant Administrator for Africa, U.S. Agency for International 
Development; and Victoria K. Holt, The Henry L. Stimson Center, and 
Jennifer G. Cooke, Center for Strategic and International Studies, both 
of Washington, D.C.
NATIONAL SECURITY PERSONNEL SYSTEM
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine regulations for the National Security 
Personnel System, focusing on the Department of Defense in partnership 
with the Office of Personnel Management, the establishment of a new 
civilian human resources management system to support the U.S. critical 
national security mission, after receiving testimony from Gordon R. 
England, Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense; Brad Bunn, Deputy Program 
Executive Officer, National Security Personnel System; Linda M. 
Springer, Director, and George Nesterczuk, Senior Advisor on Department 
of Defense, both of the Office of Personnel Management; David M. 
Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, Government 
Accountability Office; John Gage, American Federation of Government 
Employees, AFL-CIO, on behalf of the United Department of Defense 
Workers Coalition, and Ronald Ault, Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, 
both of Washington, D.C.; Dan Schember, Association of Civilian 
Technicians, Lake Ridge, Virginia; and Michael B. Styles, Alexandria, 
Virginia.
TRIBAL LOBBYING MATTERS
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee continued oversight hearings to 
examine In Re Tribal Lobbying Matters, Et Al, focusing on lobbying 
fraud, receiving testimony from Italia Federici, Council of Republicans 
for Environmental Advocacy, Washington, D.C.
  Hearing recessed subject to the call.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 1789, to prevent and mitigate identity theft, to ensure privacy, 
to provide notice of security breaches, and to enhance criminal 
penalties, law enforcement assistance, and other protections against 
security breaches, fraudulent access, and misuse of personally 
identifiable information, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 1961, to extend and expand the Child Safety Pilot Program;
  S. 1354, to establish commissions to review the facts and 
circumstances surrounding injustices suffered by European Americans, 
European Latin Americans, and Jewish refugees during World War II; and
  The nominations of Joseph Frank Bianco, to be United States District 
Judge for the Eastern District of New York, Timothy Mark Burgess, to be 
United States District Judge for the District of Alaska, Gregory F. Van 
Tatenhove, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District 
of Kentucky, Eric Nicholas Vitaliano, to be United States District 
Judge for the Eastern District of New York, Kristi Dubose, of Alabama, 
to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of 
Alabama, W. Keith Watkins, of Alabama, to be United States District 
Judge for the Middle District of Alabama, Virginia Mary Kendall, of 
Illinois, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District 
of Illinois, Emilio T. Gonzalez, of Florida, to be Director of the 
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland 
Security, and Catherine Lucille Hanaway, to be United States Attorney 
for the Eastern District of Missouri, Department of Justice.
FUTURE ASBESTOS CLAIMS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
recent developments in assessing

[[Page D1238]]

future asbestos claims under the FAIR Act, and S. 852, to create a fair 
and efficient system to resolve claims of victims for bodily injury 
caused by asbestos exposure, after receiving testimony from Douglas 
Holtz-Eakin, Director, Congressional Budget Office; Charles E. Bates, 
Bates White, LLC, and Laura Welch, Center to Protect Workers Rights, 
both of Washington, D.C.; Mark A. Peterson, Legal Analysis Systems, 
Thousand Oaks, California; Mark Lederer, Manville Personal Injury 
Settlement Trust, Katonah, New York; and Denis Neumann Martin, National 
Economic Research Associates Consulting, New York, New York.
NOMINATION
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the nomination of Dale W. Meyerrose, of Indiana, to be Chief 
Information Officer, Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
  Prior to this action, committee concluded a closed hearing to examine 
the nomination of Dale W. Meyerrose, of Indiana, to be Chief 
Information Officer, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 
after the nominee testified and answered questions in his own behalf.