[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 59 (Thursday, April 12, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D489-D491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Military Construction and 
Veterans Affairs concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget 
estimates for fiscal year 2008 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
after receiving testimony from R. James Nicholson, Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs.
PET FOOD RECALL
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
concluded a hearing to examine the current pet food recall, after 
receiving testimony from Stephen F. Sundlof, Director, Center for 
Veterinary Medicine, and Steve Solomon, Deputy Director, Office of 
Regional Operations, both of the Food and Drug Administration, 
Department of Health and Human Services; Elizabeth Hodgkins, All About 
Cats Health and Wellness Center, Yorba Linda, California; Claudia A. 
Kirk, University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, 
Knoxville; Duane Ekedahl, Pet Food Institute, Washington, D.C.; and 
Eric Nelson, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer 
Protection, Madison, on behalf of the American Association of Feed 
Control Officers.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the issue of piracy, focusing on intellectual 
property theft's impact on America's place in the global economy and 
strategies for improving enforcement, after receiving testimony from 
Senator Voinovich; Loren Yager, Director, International Affairs and 
Trade, Government Accountability Office; Moises Naim, Foreign Policy, 
and Brad Hunter, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, both of Washington, D.C.; 
and Timothy E. Demarais, ABRO Industries, Inc., South Bend, Indiana.
TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION CREDENTIAL
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine Transportation Workers Identification Credentials 
(TWIC) implementation, after receiving testimony from Kip Hawley, 
Assistant Secretary, Transportation Security Administration, and Rear 
Admiral Brian Salerno, Director, Inspections and Compliance, United 
States Coast Guard, both of the Department of Homeland Security; Norman 
J. Rabkin, Managing Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, 
Government Accountability Office; Lisa B. Himber, Maritime Exchange for 
the Delaware River and Bay, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Paul Kaipo 
Pomaikai, Sr., Sause Bros., Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii; and Michael 
Rodriguez, International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, 
Linthicum Heights, Maryland.
BIOFUELS FOR ENERGY SECURITY AND TRANSPORTATION ACT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine S. 987, to enhance the energy security of the United 
States by promoting biofuels, after receiving testimony from Alexander 
Karsner, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy; Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association, Daniel A. 
Lashof, Natural Resources Defense Council Climate Center, and Red 
Cavaney, American Petroleum Institute, all of Washington, D.C.; and 
Brian Foody, Iogen Corporation, Ontario, Canada.
FEDERAL TAX RETURNS
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) tax filing season performance as an 
indicator of how well the IRS serves taxpayers, after receiving 
testimony

[[Page D490]]

from Mark W. Everson, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, and 
Michael R. Phillips, Deputy Inspector General for Audit, Inspector 
General for Tax Administration, both of the Department of the Treasury; 
James R. White, Director, Strategic Issues, Government Accountability 
Office; Eileen J. O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax 
Division, Department of Justice; and Evangelos Dimitrios Soukas, 
Victorville, California.
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY POLICY
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and 
Infrastructure concluded a hearing to examine international 
perspectives on a policy on alternative energy sources, focusing on 
incentives and mandates and their impacts, after receiving testimony 
from Charles Boortz, Advent Solar, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico; 
Jonathan Johns, Ernst and Young LLP, Exeter, United Kingdom; and John 
Krenicki, Jr., GE Energy, Atlanta, Georgia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 3, to 
amend part D of title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for 
fair prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
GULF COAST RECOVERY
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Ad Hoc 
Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery concluded a hearing to examine ways 
to remove obstacles to the recovery effort, focusing on the Government 
Accountability Office's analysis of the Gulf Coast rebuilding, after 
receiving testimony from Stanley J. Czerwinski, Director, Strategic 
Issues, Government Accountability Office; Donald E. Powell, Federal 
Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, Department of Homeland Security; 
Donna E. Fraiche, Louisiana Recovery Authority, and Edward J. Blakely, 
City of New Orleans Recovery Management, both of New Orleans, 
Louisiana; Mayor John Thomas Longo, Waveland, Mississippi; and Ernest 
Broussard, Jr., Cameron Parish Planning and Development, Lake Charles, 
Louisiana.
EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN WORKERS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine closing the gap relating to equal pay 
for women workers, after receiving testimony from Evelyn F. Murphy, The 
WAGE Project, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts; Jocelyn Samuels, National 
Women's Law Center, Washington, D.C.; Philip N. Cohen, University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Barbara Berish Brown, Paul, 
Hastings, Janofsky and Walker LLP, Baltimore, Maryland.
TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing 
to examine Tribal Colleges and Universities, after receiving testimony 
from Carl J. Artman, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior; David Gipp, United Tribes 
Technical College, Bismarck, North Dakota, and Elmer J. Guy, Navajo 
Technical College, Crownpoint, New Mexico, both on behalf of the 
American Indian Higher Education Consortium; and Jamie P. Merisotis, 
Institute for Higher Education Policy, and Bette Keltner, Georgetown 
University School of Nursing and Health Studies, both of Washington 
D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following:
  S. 236, to require reports to Congress on Federal agency use of data 
mining, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 849, to promote accessibility, accountability, and openness in 
Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States Code 
(commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act);
  S. 621, to establish commissions to review the facts and 
circumstances surrounding injustices suffered by European Americans, 
European Latin Americans, and Jewish refugees during World War II;
  S. 735, to amend title 18, United States Code, to improve the 
terrorist hoax statute;
  S. Res. 112, designating April 6, 2007, as ``National Missing Persons 
Day''; and The nomination of Halil Suleyman Ozerden, to be United 
States District Judge for the Southern District of Mississippi.
  Committee agreed to two motions to give the Committee authority to 
issue subpoenas in connection with the investigation into the 
replacement of United States Attorneys.
  Also, Committee began consideration of S. 376, to amend title 18, 
United States Code, to improve the provisions relating to the carrying 
of concealed weapons by law enforcement officers, but did not complete 
action thereon.
FILIPINO VETERANS EQUITY ACT
Committee on Veterans Affairs: On Wednesday, April 11, Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine S. 57, to amend title 38, United States 
Code, to deem certain service in the organized military forces of the 
Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the Philippine 
Scouts to have been active service for purposes of benefits under 
programs administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, after 
receiving testimony from Ronald R. Aument,

[[Page D491]]

Deputy Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Benefits; Sidath Viranga 
Panangala, Analyst in Social Legislation, Congressional Research 
Service, Library of Congress; H.E. Willy C. Gaa, Philippine Ambassador 
to the United States, Washington, D.C.; Maria Luisa Antonio, Veterans 
Equity Center, and Jenah Yangwas, Student Action for Veterans Equity, 
both of San Francisco, California; Manuel B. Braga, Filipino WWII 
Veterans Federation of San Diego County, San Diego, California; Art A. 
Caleda, WWII Filipino American Veterans and Auxiliary of Hawaii, 
Honolulu; Patrick G. Ganio Sr., American Coalition for Filipino 
Veterans Inc., Arlington, Virginia; Benito Valdez, Filipino Community 
of Seattle, Seattle, Washington; Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Ramsey, 
(Ret.) United States Army, Los Angeles, 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.