[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 105 (Wednesday, August 2, 2006)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D887-D889]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FOREST EMERGENCY RECOVERY AND RESEARCH ACT
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Subcommittee on 
Forestry, Conservation, and Rural Revitalization concluded a hearing to 
examine H.R. 4200, to improve the ability of the Secretary of 
Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to promptly implement 
recovery treatments in response to catastrophic events affecting 
Federal lands under their jurisdiction, including the removal of dead 
and damaged trees and the implementation of reforestation treatments, 
to support the recovery of non-Federal lands damaged by catastrophic 
events, to revitalize Forest Service experimental forests, after 
receiving testimony from Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary of the 
Interior; Mark Rey, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural 
Resources and Environment; Oregon State Senator Charlie Ringo, 
Beaverton; Alan Thompson, Ravalli County Commissioner, Hamilton, 
Montana, on behalf of the National Association of Counties; Sue 
Kupillas, Communities for Healthy Forests, Roseburg, Oregon; Jim 
Crouch, Jim Crouch and Associates, Russellville, Arkansas, on behalf of 
Ouachita Timber Purchasers Group, Ozark-St. Francis Renewable Resource 
Council, and the Lake States Federal Timber Purchasers Group; John A. 
Helms, University of California, Berkeley, on behalf of the Society of 
American Foresters; James R. Karr, University of Washington, Seattle; 
Robert L. Krepps, St. Louis County Land Commissioner, Duluth, 
Minnesota; and Leah W. MacSwords, Kentucky State Forester, Frankfort, 
on behalf of the National Association of State Foresters.
CAPITOL VISITOR CENTER
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch resumed 
hearings to examine the progress of Capitol Visitor Center 
construction, receiving testimony from Alan M. Hantman, Architect, and 
Doug Jacobs, Capitol Visitor Center Project Architect, both of the 
Office of the Architect of the Capitol; and Bernard L. Ungar, Director, 
and Terrell Dorn, Director, both of Physical Infrastructure Issues, 
Government Accountability Office.
  Hearing recessed subject to the call.
MILITARY COMMISSIONS: HAMDAN V. RUMSFELD
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded hearings to examine 
the status of military commissions in light of the Supreme Court 
decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, after receiving testimony from Alberto 
R. Gonzales, Attorney General of the United States, Department of 
Justice; and Gordon R. England, Deputy Secretary of Defense.
OVERHEAD IMAGERY SYSTEMS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee met in closed session to discuss 
overhead imagery systems.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee ordered 
favorably reported an original bill to improve ratings quality for the 
protection of investors and in the public interest by fostering 
accountability, transparency, and competition in the credit rating 
agency industry.
VETERANS' HOUSING NEEDS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Housing and Transportation concluded a hearing to examine Federal and 
local efforts to meet the housing needs of veterans, after receiving 
testimony from Mark Johnston, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development for Special Needs; Keith Pedigo, 
Director, Loan Guaranty Service, and Peter H. Dougherty, Director, 
Homeless Veterans Programs, both of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
Cheryl Beversdorf, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 
Washington, D.C.; and Barbara Banaszynski, Volunteers of America, 
Louisville, Kentucky.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Charles D. Nottingham, of 
Virginia, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board, and Sean 
T. Connaughton, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Maritime 
Administration, both of the Department of Transportation, Robert L. 
Sumwalt

[[Page D888]]

III, of South Carolina, to be a Member of the National Transportation 
Safety Board, Jay M. Cohen, of New York, to be Under Secretary of 
Homeland Security for Science and Technology, Nathaniel F. Wienecke, of 
New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, and a promotion 
list for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded an 
oversight hearing to examine the implementation of the Toxic Substances 
Control Act and the chemicals management program of the Environmental 
Protection Agency, after receiving testimony from James B. Gulliford, 
Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic 
Substances, Environmental Protection Agency; John B. Stephenson, 
Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability 
Office; William K. Rawson, Latham and Watkins, LLP, and Gail Charnley, 
HealthRisk Strategies, both of Washington, D.C.; Lynn R. Goldman, Johns 
Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, 
Maryland; Michael P. Walls, American Chemistry Council, Arlington, 
Virginia; Michael P. Wilson, University of California Center for 
Occupational and Environmental Health, Berkeley.
BORDER SECURITY
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
effectiveness of United States Customs and Border Protection in 
screening entrants into the United States at land border crossings, 
after receiving testimony from Gregory D. Kutz, Managing Director, 
Forensic Audits and Special Investigations, Government Accountability 
Office; Jayson P. Ahern, Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field 
Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Michael Everitt, 
Unit Chief, Forensic Document Laboratory, Immigrations and Customs 
Enforcement, both of the Department of Homeland Security; Janice 
Kephart, 9/11 Security Solutions, Alexandria, Virginia; C. David 
Shepherd, Venetian Resort Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada; R. Bruce Reeves, 
AssureTec Systems, Inc., Manchester, New Hampshire; and Scott Carr, 
Digimarc Corporation, Beaverton, Oregon.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nomination of John C. Rood, of Arizona, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of State for International Security and Non-Proliferation, 
after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Cochran, testified and 
answered questions in his own behalf.
IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine the status of Iraq reconstruction, 
focusing on contracting and procurement issues, after receiving 
testimony from Stuart W. Bowen, Jr., Special Inspector General for Iraq 
Reconstruction.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Carmel Borders, of Kentucky, 
Donald D. Deshler, of Kansas, and Timothy Shanahan, of Illinois, each 
to be a Member of the National Institute for Literacy Advisory Board, 
Mark R. Abbott, of Oregon, John T. Bruer, of Missouri, Patricia D. 
Galloway, of Washington, Jose-Marie Griffiths, of Pennsylvania, Karl 
Hess, of Illinois, Thomas N. Taylor, of Kansas, and Richard F. 
Thompson, of California, each to be a Member of the National Science 
Board, National Science Foundation, Josiah Bunting III, of Rhode 
Island, Robert S. Martin, of Texas, Wilfred M. McClay, of Tennessee, 
Manfredi Piccolomini, of New York, Kenneth R. Weinstein, of the 
District of Columbia, Mary Habeck, of Maryland, and Jay Winik, of 
Maryland, each to be a Member of the National Council on the 
Humanities, Victoria Ray Carlson, of Iowa, Chad Colley, of Florida, 
Lisa Mattheiss, of Tennessee, and John R. Vaughn, of Florida, each to 
be a Member of the National Council on Disability, Katherine M.B. 
Berger, of Virginia, Karen Brosius, of South Carolina, Ioannis N. 
Miaoulis, of Massachusetts, Christina Orr-Cahall, of Florida, and Kevin 
Owen Starr, of California, each to be a Member of the National Museum 
and Library Services Board, Arthur F. Rosenfeld, of Virginia, to be 
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Director, and Wilma B. Liebman, of 
the District of Columbia, to be a Member, Peter Schaumber, of the 
District of Columbia, to be a Member, and Ronald E. Meisburg, of 
Virginia, to be General Counsel, all of the National Labor Relations 
Board.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following bills: S. 374, to provide compensation to the Lower Brule and 
Crow Creek Sioux Tribes of South Dakota for damage to tribal land 
caused by Pick-Sloan projects along the Missouri River, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 660, to provide for the acknowledgement of the Lumbee Tribe of 
North Carolina; and
  S. 1535, to amend the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Equitable 
Compensation Act to provide compensation to members of the Cheyenne 
River Sioux

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Tribe for damage resulting from the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
WAR CRIME PROVISIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the authority to prosecute terrorists under the war crime provisions of 
Title 18, including S. 2453 to establish procedures for the review of 
electronic surveillance programs, and S. 2455, to provide in statute 
for the conduct of electronic surveillance of suspected terrorists for 
the purposes of protecting the American people, the Nation, and its 
interests from terrorist attack while ensuring that the civil liberties 
of United States citizens are safeguarded, after receiving testimony 
from Steven G. Bradbury, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Office of 
Legal Counsel, Department of Justice; General Richard B. Myers, former 
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Major General Scott C. Black, USA, 
Judge Advocate General, United States Army; Rear Admiral Bruce 
MacDonald, USN, Judge Advocate General, United States Navy; Major 
General Jack L. Rives, USAF, Judge Advocate General, United States Air 
Force; and Brigadier General Kevin M. Sandkuhler, USMC, Staff Judge 
Advocate to the Commandant, United States Marine Corps.
ATTORNEY'S FEES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil 
Rights, and Property Rights concluded a hearing to examine efforts to 
create a fair standard for attorney's fee awards in establishment 
clause cases, focusing on S. 3696, to amend the Revised Statutes of the 
United States to prevent the use of the legal system in a manner that 
extorts money from State and local governments, and the Federal 
Government, and inhibits such governments' constitutional actions under 
the first, tenth, and fourteenth amendments, after receiving testimony 
from Rees Lloyd, American Legion, Banning, California; Marc D. Stern, 
American Jewish Congress, New York, New York; Mathew D. Staver, Liberty 
University School of Law, Lynchburg, Virginia; Melissa Rogers, Wake 
Forest University Divinity School, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and 
Shannon Demos Woodruff, American Center for Law and Justice, Virginia 
Beach, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session and 
ordered favorably reported the nomination of Randall M. Fort, of 
Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and 
Research.
  Committee recessed until Thursday, August 3.