[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 28, 2006)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D723-D725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
AFGHANISTAN SECURITY AND STABILITY
Committee on Armed Services: Held a hearing on the status of security 
and stability in Afghanistan. Testimony was heard from Karen Tandy, 
Administrator, DEA, Department of Justice; the following officials of 
the Department of Defense: LTG Karl Eikenberry, USA, Commanding 
General, Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan; and Mary Beth Long, 
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, International Security Affairs; 
and James Kunder, Assistant Administrator, Asia and the Near East, U.S. 
Agency for International Development, Department of State.
CHARACTER BUILDING IN EDUCATION
Committee on Education and the Workforce: Held a hearing on The First 
Tee and Schools: Working To Build Character Education. Testimony was 
heard from public witnesses.
MENTAL ILLNESS AND BRAIN DISEASE
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing 
on Mental Illness and Brain Disease: Dispelling Myths and Promoting 
Recovery Through Awareness and Treatment. Testimony was heard from 
Thomas Insel, M.D., Director, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, 
Department of Health and Human Services; and public witnesses.
MAKING THE INTERNET SAFE FOR KIDS
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations continued hearings entitled ``Making the Internet Safe 
for Kids: The Role of ISPs and Social Networking Sites.'' Testimony was 
heard from Pamela Jones Harbour, Commissioner, FTC; Diego Ruiz, Deputy 
Chief, Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, FCC; and 
public witnesses.
INVESTOR PROTECTION
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Capital Markets, 
Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises held a hearing entitled 
``Investor Protection: A Review of Plaintiffs' Attorney Abuses in 
Securities Litigation and Legislative Remedies.'' Testimony was heard 
from Vaughan R. Walker, Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern 
District of California; William F. Galvin, Secretary, State of 
Massachusetts; and public witnesses.
HOUSING MARKET AND NEXT NATURAL CATASTROPHE
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Housing and Community 
Opportunity held a hearing entitled ``Is America's Housing Market 
Prepared for the Next Natural Catastrophe?'' Testimony was heard from 
public witnesses.
TREAT METHAMPHETAMINE VICTIMS
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug 
Policy, and Human Resources held a hearing entitled ``Availability and 
Effectiveness of Programs To Treat Victims of the Methamphetamine 
Epidemic.'' Testimony was heard from Bertha Madras, Deputy Director, 
Demand Reduction, Office of National Drug Control Policy; the following 
officials of the Department of Health and Human Services: Charles 
Curie, Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration; and Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director, National Institute 
on Drug Abuse, NIH; and public witnesses.
OMB'S FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT LINE OF BUSINESS INITIATIVE
Committee on Government Reform: Subcommittee on Government Management, 
Finance and Accountability held a hearing entitled ``OMB's Financial 
Management Line of Business Initiative: Do Recent Changes to the 
Implementation Guidance Clarify the Rules?'' Testimony was heard from 
Linda Combs, Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, OMB; 
Mary Mitchell, Deputy Associate Administrator, GSA; and public 
witnesses.
HOMELAND SECURITY DEPARTMENT BORDER SECURITY INTELLIGENCE
Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Intelligence, 
Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment held a hearing 
entitled ``DHS Intelligence and Border Security: Delivering Operational 
Intelligence.'' Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Homeland Security: Charles E. Allen, Chief Intelligence 
Officer, Office of Intelligence Analysis; James Sloan, Assistant 
Commandant, Intelligence, U.S. Coast Guard; Cynthia O'Connell, Acting 
Director, Office of Intelligence, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; 
and L. Thomas Bortmes, Director, Office of Intelligence,

[[Page D724]]

Customs and Border Protection; and public witnesses.
EAST TIMOR:
INSTABILITY AND FUTURE PROSPECTS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific held a hearing on East Timor: Instability and Future Prospects. 
Testimony was heard from Eric John, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau 
of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State.
HURRICANE RECONSTRUCTION AND PREPAREDNESS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Western 
Hemisphere held a hearing on Hurricane Reconstruction and Preparedness. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the U.S. Agency for 
International Development, Department of State: Adolfo A. Franco, 
Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean; 
and Timothy M. Callaghan, Senior Regional Advisor, Latin America and 
the Caribbean, Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.
BUSINESS ACTIVITY TAX SIMPLIFICATION ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Ordered reported, as amended, H.R. 1856, 
Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2005.
  The Committee also began consideration of H.R. 5323, Proud to Be an 
American Citizen Act.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing 
on the following bills; H.R. 2692, Acadia National Park Improvement Act 
of 2005; H.R. 3871, To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey to the Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail 
and Visitor Center Foundation, Inc. Certain Federal land associated 
with the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail in Nebraska, to be 
used as an historical interpretive site along the trail; and H.R. 5145, 
to authorize the National War Dogs Monument, Inc. to establish a 
national monument in honor of military working dog teams. Testimony was 
heard from Representatives Michaud, Fortenberry, Osborne, and Terry; 
Sue Masica, Associate Director, Park Planning, Facilities, and Lands, 
National Park Service, Department of the Interior; and public 
witnesses.
DEEP OCEAN ENERGY RESOURCES ACT OF 2006
Committee on Rules: Granted, by a vote of 9 to 4, a structured rule 
providing 1 hour of general debate on H.R. 4761, Domestic Energy 
Production through Offshore Exploration and Equitable Treatment of 
State Holdings Act of 2006, equally divided and controlled by the 
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Resources. The 
rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. The 
rule provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
recommended by the Committee on Resources now printed in the bill shall 
be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment and 
shall be considered as read. The rule waives all points of order 
against the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the 
Committee on Resources. The rule makes in order only those amendments 
printed in the Rules Committee report accompanying the resolution. The 
rule provides that the amendments printed in the report may be offered 
only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a 
Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be 
debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and 
controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to 
amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the 
question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The rule waives 
all points of order against the amendments printed in the report. The 
rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. 
Finally, the rule provides that House Resolutions 162, 163, 181, 182, 
393, 395, 400, 401, 468, and 620 are laid upon the table. Testimony was 
heard from Chairman Pombo, Chairman Boehlert, Chairman Tom Davis of 
Virginia and Representatives Calvert, Flake, Bartlett of Maryland, 
Udall of New Mexico, Markey, Inslee, and Jackson-Lee of Texas.
RESOLUTION--CONDEMNING DISCLOSURE AND PUBLICATION OF CLASSIFIED 
INFORMATION
Committee on Rules: Granted, by a vote of 9 to 4, a closed rule 
providing 1 hour of debate in the House on H. Res. 895, supporting 
intelligence and law enforcement programs to track terrorists and 
terrorist finances conducted consistent with Federal law and with 
appropriate Congressional consultation and specifically condemning the 
disclosure and publication of classified information that impairs the 
international fight against terrorism and needlessly exposes Americans 
to the threat of further terror attacks by revealing a crucial method 
by which terrorists are traced through their finances, equally divided 
and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the 
Committee on Financial Services. The rule waives all points of order 
against consideration of the resolution. Finally, the rule provides one

[[Page D725]]

motion to recommit which may not contain instructions. Testimony was 
heard from Chairman Oxley and Representative Frank of Massachusetts.
HIGH NATURAL GAS PRICE EFFECTS
Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Tax, Finance and Exports 
held a hearing entitled ``The Effects of the High Cost of Natural Gas 
on Small Businesses and Future Energy Technologies.'' Testimony was 
heard from James Kendell, Director, Natural Gas Division, Energy 
Information Administration, Department of Energy; the following 
officials of the Department of the Interior: Walter Cruickshank, Deputy 
Director, Minerals Management Service; and Tom Lonnie, Assistant 
Director, Bureau of Land Management, Minerals, Realty and Resource 
Protection Directorate; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES; ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS SURVEY RESOLUTIONS
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Ordered reported, as 
amended, the following bills: S. 362, Marine Debris Research, 
Prevention, and Reduction Act; H.R. 4650, National Levee Safety Program 
Act of 2005; and H.R. 5681, Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2006.
  The Committee also approved U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Survey 
Resolutions.
VA OFFICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Held a hearing on What VA IT 
Organizational Structure would have best prevented VA's ``Meltdown'' in 
Information Management. Testimony was heard from MG Robert Howard, USA 
(Ret.), Acting Assistant Secretary, Information and Technology and 
Acting Chief Information Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs; and 
the following former Assistant Secretaries, Information Technology and 
Former Chief Information Officers, Department of Veterans Affairs: 
Robert McFarland and John A. Gauss; and public witnesses.
HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
Committee on Ways and Means: Held a hearing on Health Savings Accounts. 
Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
REPORT: AL QAEDA
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session 
and approved the following: ``Report: `al Qaeda: The Many Faces of an 
Islamic Extremist Threat.' ''

Joint Meetings
BUSINESS MEETING
Joint Committee on the Library: Committee met and agreed to certain 
committee procedural matters.
ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE)
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission): 
Commission concluded a hearing to examine Belgium's Chairmanship of the 
OSCE, focusing on developments in Central Asia and neighboring 
Afghanistan, the emergence of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, 
the political situation in the Caucasus, and human rights trends in the 
Russian Federation, after receiving testimony from Karel De Gucht, 
Foreign Minister of Belgium, Brussels.