[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 82 (Thursday, June 22, 2006)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D686-D688]
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 a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for the 
government of the District of Columbia for fiscal year 2007, after 
receiving testimony from Mayor Anthony A. Williams, Linda W. Cropp, 
Chairman, Council, Natwar M. Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer, and 
Clifford B. Janey, Superintendent, Public Schools, all of the District 
of Columbia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following bills:
  H.R. 5384, making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, 
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2007, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute; and
  H.R. 5521, making appropriations for the Legislative Branch for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 2007, with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute.
  Also, Committee adopted the 302(b) subcommittee allocations of budget 
outlays and new budget authority for fiscal year 2007.
IRAN AND LIBYA SANCTIONS ACT REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the policy of the United States toward Iran, 
focusing on S. 2657, to extend the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 
1996, after receiving testimony from R. Nicholas Burns, Under Secretary 
of State for Political Affairs; and Patrick O'Brien, Assistant 
Secretary of the Treasury, Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial 
Crimes.
TRAVEL AND TOURISM INDUSTRY
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development concluded a hearing to examine 
the state of the U.S. tourism industry, including challenges from the 
impact of 9/11, international pandemics such as SARS, and the 
continuing economic uncertainty of the airline industry, after 
receiving testimony from Franklin L. Lavin, Under Secretary of Commerce 
for International Trade; Wanda L. Nesbitt, Assistant Secretary of State 
for Consular Affairs; Robert M. Jacksta, Executive Director, Traveler 
Security and Facilitation, Office of Field Operations U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; James W. LeDuc, 
Coordinator for Influenza, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
Department of Health and Human Services; Todd Davidson, Oregon Tourism 
Commission, Salem, on behalf of the National Council of State Tourism 
Directors and the Western States Tourism Policy Council; Jay Rasulo, 
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Burbank, California, on behalf of the 
Travel Industry Association and U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board; 
Jonathan M. Tisch, Loews Hotels, New York, New York, on behalf of the 
Travel Business Roundtable; and Virginia Pressler, Hawaii Pacific 
Health, Honolulu.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee began 
markup of H.R. 5252, to promote the deployment of broadband networks 
and services, but did not complete action thereon, and will meet again 
on Tuesday, June 27.
ENHANCED ENERGY SECURITY ACT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine S. 2747, to enhance energy efficiency and conserve 
oil and natural gas, after receiving testimony from Senators Bayh and 
Coleman; Alexander Karsner, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy; and Daniel A. Lashof, Natural 
Resources Defense Council, Kateri Callahan, Alliance to Save Energy, 
and Steven Nadel, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, all 
of Washington, D.C.
HERITAGE AREAS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on National 
Parks concluded a hearing to examine S. 574, to amend the Quinebaug and 
Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor Act of 1994 to 
increase the authorization of appropriations and modify the date on 
which the authority of the Secretary of the Interior terminates under 
the Act, S. 1387, to provide for an update of the Cultural Heritage and 
Land Management Plan for the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley 
National Heritage Corridor, to extend the authority of the John H. 
Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission, 
to authorize the undertaking of a special resource study of sites and 
landscape features within the Corridor, and to authorize additional 
appropriations for the Corridor,

[[Page D687]]

S. 1721, to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 
1996 to extend the authorization for certain national heritage areas, 
S. 2037, to establish the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area in 
the State of Colorado, and S. 2645, to establish the Journey Through 
Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area, after receiving testimony from 
Donald W. Murphy, Deputy Director, National Park Service, Department of 
the Interior; W. Michael Sullivan, Rhode Island Department of 
Environmental Management, Providence; Ann Marie Velasquez, Los Caminos 
Antiguous Scenic and Historic Byway, Antonito, Colorado; Cate Magennis 
Wyatt, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, Waterford, Virginia; Daniel 
M. Rice, Ohio and Erie Canal Way Coalition, Akron; and Charlene Perkins 
Cutler, Quinebaug-Shetucket Heritage Corridor, Inc., Putnam, 
Connecticut.
NUCLEAR PLANT REGULATION
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Clean Air, 
Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety concluded an oversight hearing to 
examine the regulatory processes for new and existing nuclear plants, 
including progress on implementing the provisions of the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005, programs for new reactor regulation, and the current state 
of the Reactor Oversight Process, after receiving testimony from Nils 
J. Diaz, Chairman, and Edward McGaffigan, Jr., Jeffrey S. Merrifield, 
Gregory B. Jaczko, and Peter B. Lyons, each a Commissioner, all of the 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; J. Barnie Beasley, Jr., Southern 
Nuclear Operating Company, Birmingham, Alabama; David A. Lochbaum, 
Nuclear Safety Project, Washington, D.C., on behalf of the Union of 
Concerned Scientists; and Kevin Book, Friedman, Billings, Ramsey and 
Company, Inc., Arlington, Virginia.
ENERGY SECURITY
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine energy security in Latin America, including S. 2435, to 
increase cooperation on energy issues between the United States 
Government and foreign governments and entities in order to secure the 
strategic and economic interests of the United States, after receiving 
testimony from Senators Craig and Salazar; Domingo Cavallo, DFC 
Associates LLC, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Luis E. Giusti, Center for 
Strategic and International Studies, and David L. Goldwyn, Goldwyn 
International Strategies LLC, both of Washington, D.C.; and Eduardo 
Pereira de Carvalho, Brazilian Association of Sugar Cane and Ethanol 
Producers, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nomination of Clifford M. Sobel, of New Jersey, to be 
Ambassador to the Federative Republic of Brazil, after the nominee, who 
was introduced by Senators Frist and Lautenberg, testified and answered 
questions in his own behalf.
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and 
International Security concluded a hearing to examine efforts to assure 
healthy initiatives in health information technology, after receiving 
testimony from Jodi G. Daniel, Director, Policy and Research, Office of 
the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Department 
of Health and Human Services; Linda D. Koontz, Director, Information 
Management Issues, Government Accountability Office; Carl E. Hendricks, 
Chief Information Officer for the Military Health System, Department of 
Defense; and Michael Kussman, Deputy Under Secretary for Health, and 
Robert Howard, Supervisor, Office of Information and Technology, and 
Ross Fletcher, Chief of Staff, VA Medical Center Wilmington, all of the 
Department of Veterans' Affairs.
MEDICAL LIABILITY
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee held a 
hearing to examine alternatives to improve the medical liability system 
work better for patients, focusing on S. 1337, to restore fairness and 
reliability to the medical justice system and promote patient safety by 
fostering alternatives to current medical tort litigation, receiving 
testimony from David M. Studdert, Harvard University School of Public 
Health, Boston, Massachusetts; Philip K. Howard, Common Good, and 
William M. Sage, Columbia Law School, both of New York, New York; 
Richard C. Boothman, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor; 
Susan E. Sheridan, Consumers Advancing Patient Safety, Boise, Idaho; 
Cheryl Niro, American Bar Association, Chicago, Illinois; and Neil 
Vidmar, Duke University Law School, Durham, North Carolina.
  Hearing recessed subject to the call.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 2464, to revise a provision relating to a repayment obligation of 
the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation under the Fort McDowell Indian 
Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 1990;
  S. 3501, to amend the Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of 
Utah Water Rights Settlement

[[Page D688]]

Act to establish an acquisition fund for the water rights and habitat 
acquisition program;
  S. 3526, to amend the Indian Land Consolidation Act to modify certain 
requirements under that Act.
  Also, Committee approved the report on Tribal Lobbying Matters and 
Recommendations.
VA LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following bills:
  S. 2562, to increase, effective as of December 1, 2006, the rates of 
compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the 
rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of 
certain disabled veterans;
  S. 3421, to authorize major medical facility projects and major 
medical facility leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
fiscal years 2006 and 2007, with an amendment; and
  S. 2694, to amend title 38, United States Code, to remove certain 
limitation on attorney representation of claimants for veterans 
benefits in administrative proceedings before the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of 
the intelligence community.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session and 
ordered favorably reported the nomination of Kenneth L. Wainstein, of 
Virginia, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice.
  Committee recessed subject to the call.