[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 35 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D240-D242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science 
and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget 
estimates for fiscal year 2008 for the Department of Commerce, after 
receiving testimony from Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary, William 
Jeffrey, Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
Technology Administration, and Jon W. Dudas, Director, Patent and 
Trademark Office, all of the Department of Commerce.

[[Page D241]]


AFGHANISTAN
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
Afghanistan, after receiving testimony from Eric S. Edelman, Under 
Secretary of Defense for Policy; Lieutenant General Douglas E. Lute, 
USA, Director for Operations, J-3, The Joint Staff; General James L. 
Jones, Jr., USMC (Ret.), Former Commander, United States European 
Command and Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; and Barnett R. Rubin, New 
York University Center on International Cooperation, New York, New 
York.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BUDGET
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
President's proposed budget for fiscal year 2008 for defense and war 
costs, after receiving testimony from Gordon England, Deputy Secretary, 
and Tina W. Jonas, Under Secretary (Comptroller) and Chief Financial 
Officer, both of the Department of Defense; and Admiral Edmund P. 
Giambastiani, Jr., Vice Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.
UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the present and future of the universal service 
fund, after receiving testimony from Deborah Taylor Tate, and Michael 
J. Copps, both a Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission, Larry 
S. Landis, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Indianapolis, John 
Downes Burke, Vermont Public Service Board, Montpelier, and Billy Jack 
Gregg, Public Service Commission of West Virginia, Charleston, all of 
the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service; David Crothers, 
North Dakota Association of Telephone Cooperatives, Mandan, on behalf 
of the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association; Brian K. 
Staihr, Embarq Corporation, Overland Park, Kansas; Richard Massey, 
Alltel Corporation, Little Rock, Arkansas; Tom Tauke, Verizon, 
Washington, D.C.; and Tom Simmons, Midcontinent Communications, Sioux 
Falls, South Dakota.
ANNUAL ENERGY OUTLOOK
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the Energy Information Administration's Annual 
Energy Outlook 2007, after receiving testimony from Guy Caruso, 
Administrator, Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy.
SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF-DETERMINATION ACT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Public Lands 
and Forests concluded a hearing to examine S. 380, to reauthorize the 
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, 
after receiving testimony from Mark Rey, Under Secretary of Agriculture 
for Natural Resources and Environment; Julie Jacobson, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management; John 
Douglas Robertson, Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Roseburg, 
Oregon; Jonathan Kusel, Sierra Institute for Community and Environment, 
Taylorsville, California; and Michael A. Francis, Wilderness Society, 
Washington, D.C.
GLOBAL WARMING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee held a hearing to 
examine state, local, and regional government approaches to address 
global warming, receiving testimony from New Jersey Governor Jon S. 
Corzine, Trenton; California State Assembly Representative Fabian 
Nunez, and California State Senator Don Perata, both of Sacramento; 
Oklahoma State Representative Dennis Adkins, Oklahoma City; Colorado 
State Senator Ted Harvey, Denver; Mayor Greg Nickels, Seattle, 
Washington; Mayor Frank Cownie, Des Moines, Iowa; and Mayor Richard P. 
Homrighausen, Dover, Ohio.
  Hearings recessed subject to the call.
MEDICARE PAYMENTS
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine Medicare 
payments for physician services, focusing on new approaches to the 
sustainable growth rate (SGR) system used in Medicare's physician 
payment system, after receiving testimony from Peter R. Orszag, 
Director, Congressional Budget Office; Glenn M. Hackbarth, Medicare 
Payment Advisory Commission, Washington, D.C.; and Cecil B. Wilson, 
Winter Park, Florida, on behalf of the American Medical Association, 
and Byron Thames, both of AARP, Orlando, Florida.
FEDERAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and 
International Security concluded a hearing to examine improving federal 
financial management, focusing on the progress that has been made and 
the challenges ahead, after receiving testimony from Linda M. Combs, 
Controller, Office of Management and Budget; and David M. Walker, 
Comptroller General of the United States, Government Accountability 
Office.
ASBESTOS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on 
Employment and Workplace Safety concluded a hearing to examine 
asbestos, focusing on efforts to better protect the health of American

[[Page D242]]

workers and their families, after receiving testimony from John Thayer, 
Supervisor, Capitol Power Plant Tunnel Crew, Office of the Architect of 
the Capitol; Harvey I. Pass, New York University School of Medicine, 
New York, New York; Richard Wilson, Harvard University Department of 
Physics and Center for Risk Analysis, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Barry 
Castleman, Garrett Park, Maryland; and Susan Vento, Maplewood, 
Minnesota.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 378, to amend title 18, United States Code, to protect judges, 
prosecutors, witnesses, victims, and their family members, with an 
amendment;
  S. 442, to provide for loan repayment for prosecutors and public 
defenders, with amendments;
  S. Con. Res. 10, honoring and praising the National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 98th 
anniversary;
  H. Con. Res. 44, honoring and praising the National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 98th 
anniversary;
  S. Res. 78, designating April 2007 as ``National Autism Awareness 
Month'' and supporting efforts to increase funding for research into 
the causes and treatment of autism and to improve training and support 
for individuals with autism and those who care for individuals with 
autism;
  S. Res. 84, observing February 23, 2007, as the 200th anniversary of 
the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire, honoring the 
distinguished life and legacy of William Wilberforce, and encouraging 
the people of the United States to follow the example of William 
Wilberforce by selflessly pursuing respect for human rights around the 
world; and
  The nominations of John Preston Bailey, to be United States District 
Judge for the Northern District of West Virginia, Otis D. Wright II, to 
be United States District Judge for the Central District of California, 
and George H. Wu, to be United States District Judge for the Central 
District of California.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
  Committee recessed subject to the call.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
consider pending intelligence matters and adopted its rules of 
procedure for the 110th Congress.
  Committee recessed subject to the call.