[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 87 (Thursday, June 29, 2006)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D736-D737]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
RENEWABLE FUELS MARKET
Committee on Agriculture: Held a hearing to review Agriculture's Role 
in the Renewable Fuels Market. Testimony was heard from Thomas C. Dorr, 
Under Secretary, Rural Development, USDA; and public witnesses.
REPORTS OF WMD IN IRAQ
Committee on Armed Services: Held a hearing on reports of weapons of 
mass destruction findings in Iraq. Testimony was heard from LTG Michael 
D. Maples, USA, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, Department of 
Defense; Terence Taylor, former Commissioner, U.N. Special Commission 
on Iraq; and public witnesses.
SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND MISSIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional 
Threats and Capabilities held a hearing on assessing United States 
Special Operations Command's missions and roles. Testimony was heard 
from GEN Wayne A. Downing, USA (Ret.); and public witnesses.
U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Held a hearing on Growth, 
Opportunity, Competition--America Goes to Work. Testimony was heard 
from Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce.
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND INFLUENZA PREPAREDNESS
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing entitled ``Pandemic Influenza 
Preparedness in the Financial Services Sector.'' Testimony was heard 
from D. Scott Parsons, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Critical 
Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy, Department of the 
Treasury; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Government Reform: Ordered reported the following 
measures: H.R. 3329, Civilian Prisoner-of-War Medal Act of 2005; H.R. 
5607, Federal Wildland Firefighter Classification Act; H.R. 4962, To 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
100 Pitcher Street in Utica, New York, as the ``Captain George A. Wood 
Post Office Building''; H.R. 5626, To designate the facility of the 
United States Postal Service located at 802 South Carrier Parkway in 
Grand Prairie, Texas, as the ``Alexander McRae Dechman Post Office 
Building''; H. Res. 189, Expressing the sense of the House of 
Representatives that a day ought to be established to bring awareness 
to the issue of missing persons; H. Res. 721, Supporting the goals and 
ideals of a Salvadoran-American Day (El Dia del Salvadoreno) in 
recognition of all Salvadoran-Americans for their hard work, 
dedication, and contribution to the stability and well-being of the 
United States; and H.R. 5711, To permit the Joint Committee on Judicial 
Administration in the District of Columbia to establish a program of 
voluntary separation incentive payments for nonjudicial employees of 
the District of Columbia courts.
WHISTLEBLOWERS PROTECTIONS
Committee on Government Reform: Held a hearing entitled ``What Price 
Free Speech?: Whistleblowers and the Ceballos Decision.'' Testimony was 
heard from Richard Ceballos, Deputy District Attorney, Los Angeles 
County, California; and public witnesses.
CHEMICAL FACILITY ANTI-TERRORISM ACT OF 2006
Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Economic Security, 
Infrastructure Protection and Cybersecurity held a hearing on H.R. 
5695, Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. Testimony was heard 
from Michael A.L. Balboni, Senator, New York State; and public 
witnesses.
SOMALIA CRISIS
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Africa, Global 
Human Rights and International Operations and the Subcommittee on 
International Terrorism and Nonproliferation held a joint hearing on 
Somalia: Expanding Crisis in the Horn of Africa. Testimony was heard 
from Jendayi E. Frazer, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, 
Department of State; Ted Dagne, Specialist in African Affairs, CRS, 
Library of Congress; and public witnesses.
NORTH KOREAN BRINKMANSHIP
Committee on International Relations: Subcommittee on Asia and the 
Pacific, hearing on North Korean Brinkmanship: Is U.S. Policy Up to the 
Challenge? Testimony was heard from Christopher Hill, Assistant 
Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of 
State.
PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Ordered reported H.R. 5323, Proud to Be an 
American Citizen Act.
JUDICIARY TRANSPARENCY AND ETHICS ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2006
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and 
Homeland Security held a hearing on H.R. 5219, Judiciary Transparency 
and Ethics Enhancement Act of 2006. Testimony was heard from Senator 
Grassley; and public witnesses.

[[Page D737]]


NORTH AMERICAN WETLANDS CONSERVATION ACT OF 2006
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans held a 
hearing on H.R. 5539, North American Wetlands Conservation 
Reauthorization Act of 2006. Testimony was heard from Representative 
Kennedy of Minnesota; Mathew J. Hogan, Acting Assistant Secretary, 
Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Department of the Interior; John Frampton, 
Director, Department of Natural Resources, State of South Carolina; and 
public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--HEALTHY FORESTS: TARGETS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Committee on Resources: Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held 
an oversight hearing on Healthy Forests: Targets and Accomplishments. 
Testimony was heard from P. Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary, Department 
of the Interior; and Mark Rey, Under Secretary, Natural Resources and 
Environment, USDA.
OVERSIGHT--AIRLINE PASSENGER BAGGING SCREENING
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on 
Aviation held an oversight hearing on Airline Passenger Baggage 
Screening: Technology and Airport Deployment Update. Testimony was 
heard from Randy Null, Assistant Administrator, Operational Process and 
Technology, Transportation Security Administration, Department of 
Homeland Security; Cathleen A. Berrick, Director, Homeland Security and 
Justice Issues, GAO; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--VA DATA SECURITY
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Held an oversight hearing on VA's 
current status of mitigating the nation's second largest data breach. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs: R. James Nicholson, Secretary; Gordon H. Mansfield, 
Deputy Secretary; Jonathan Perlin, M.D., Under Secretary, Health, 
Veterans Health Administration; Ronald R. Aument, Deputy Under 
Secretary, Benefits, Veterans Benefits Administration; and William 
Tuerk, Under Secretary, Memorial Affairs, National Cemetery 
Administration.
CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES IMPROVEMENT ACT; U.S.-OMAN FREE TRADE 
AGREEMENT IMPLEMENTATION ACT
Committee on Ways and Means: Ordered reported the following bills: H.R. 
5640, amended, Child and Family Services Improvement Act of 2006; and 
H.R. 5684, United States-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act.
INTEGRATED COLLECTION ARCHITECTURE
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
hold a hearing on Integrated Collection Architecture. Testimony was 
heard from departmental witnesses.
BRIEFING--GLOBAL UPDATES/HOTSPOTS
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
receive a briefing on Global Updates/Hotspots. The Committee was 
briefed by departmental witnesses.