[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 22, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D721-D723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: U.S. FOREST SERVICE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and 
Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget 
estimates for fiscal year 2008 for the United States Forest Service, 
after receiving testimony from Mark E. Rey, Under Secretary for Natural 
Resources and Environment, and Lenise Lago, Director, Forest Service 
Budget, both of the Department of Agriculture.
AUTHORIZATION: DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Seapower met in a closed 
session and approved for full committee consideration, those provisions 
which fall within the jurisdiction of the subcommittee, of the proposed 
National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008.
AUTHORIZATION: DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel met in a closed 
session and approved for full committee consideration, those provisions 
which fall within the jurisdiction of the subcommittee, of the proposed 
National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008.
AUTHORIZATION: DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Airland met in a closed 
session and approved for full committee consideration, those provisions 
which fall within the jurisdiction of the subcommittee, of the proposed 
National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008.
AUTHORIZATION: DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Readiness and Management 
Support met in a closed session and approved for full committee 
consideration, those provisions which fall within the jurisdiction of 
the subcommittee, of the proposed National Defense Authorization Act 
for fiscal year 2008.
AUTHORIZATION: DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and 
Capabilities met in a closed session and approved for full committee 
consideration, those provisions which fall within the jurisdiction of 
the subcommittee, of the proposed National Defense Authorization Act 
for fiscal year 2008.
RAIL SAFETY AUTHORIZATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and 
Security concluded a hearing to examine rail safety authorization, 
after receiving testimony from Senators Schumer and Clinton; Jo Strang, 
Associate Administrator for Safety, Federal Railroad Administration, 
and Kurt W. Hyde, Assistant Inspector General for Surface and Maritime 
Programs, both of the Department of

[[Page D722]]

Transportation; Robert L. Sumwalt, Vice-Chairman, National 
Transportation Safety Board; Katherine Siggerud, Director, Physical 
Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office; and Edward R. 
Hamberger, Association of American Railroads, Edward Wytkind, AFL-CIO, 
and Richard F. Timmons, American Short Line and Regional Railroad 
Association, all of Washington, D.C.
ENERGY BILLS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Energy 
concluded a hearing to examine S. 645, to amend the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 to provide an alternate sulfur dioxide removal measurement for 
certain coal gasification project goals, S. 838, to authorize funding 
for eligible joint ventures between United States and Israeli 
businesses and academic persons, to establish the International Energy 
Advisory Board, S. 1089, to amend the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act 
to allow the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation 
Projects to hire employees more efficiently, S. 1203, to enhance the 
management of electricity programs at the Department of Energy, H.R. 
85, to provide for the establishment of centers to encourage 
demonstration and commercial application of advanced energy methods and 
technologies, and H.R. 1126, to reauthorize the Steel and Aluminum 
Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988, after 
receiving testimony from Drue Pearce, Federal Coordinator, Office of 
the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, 
Department of the Interior; and David R. Hill, General Counsel, 
Department of Energy.
CALIFORNIA WAIVER
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the case for the California waiver, focusing on 
California's pending request that the Environmental Protection Agency 
waive federal preemption for the state's greenhouse gas emission 
standards for motor vehicles, after receiving testimony from California 
Attorney General Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Sacramento; Pete Grannis, New 
York Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany; and Jonathan H. 
Adler, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of James R. Keith, of Virginia, to be 
Ambassador to Malaysia, Miriam K. Hughes, of Florida, to be Ambassador 
to the Federated States of Micronesia, Hans G. Klemm, of Michigan, to 
be Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Cameron R. 
Hume, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia, and 
Ravic Rolf Huso, of Hawaii, to be Ambassador to the Lao People's 
Democratic Republic, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
FEMA REFORM
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine implementing Federal Emergency 
Management Agency (FEMA) reform, focusing on preparation for the 2007 
hurricane season, after receiving testimony from Michael P. Jackson, 
Deputy Secretary, and R. David Paulison, Administrator, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, both of the Department of Homeland 
Security.
MINE IMPROVEMENT AND NEW EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACT
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on 
Employment and Workplace Safety concluded a hearing to examine the 
progress of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, after 
receiving testimony from Jeffery L. Kohler, Associate Director for 
Mining and Construction Safety and Health Research, National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services; Dennis O' Dell, 
United Mine Workers of America, Fairfax, Virginia; S.L. Bessinger, BHP 
Billiton, Waterflow, New Mexico; and Bruce Watzman, National Mining 
Association, Washington, D.C.
RESTORING HABEAS CORPUS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
restoring habeas corpus, focusing on protecting American values and the 
Great Writ, including the Military Commissions Act (Public Law 109-
366), S. 185, to restore habeas corpus for those detained by the United 
States, the Administrative Procedures Act, and the Detainee Treatment 
Act, after receiving testimony from Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter, 
(Ret.) USN, Duquesne University School of Law, Pittsburgh, 
Pennsylvania; Mariano-Florentino Cuellar, Stanford Law School, 
Stanford, California; and David B. Rivkin, Jr., Baker and Hostetler 
LLP, Orin S. Kerr, George Washington University Law School, and William 
Howard Taft, IV, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson LLP, all of 
Washington, D.C.
MINORITY ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine minority entrepreneurship, focusing on the 
effectiveness of Small Business Administration programs for the 
minority

[[Page D723]]

business community, after receiving testimony from Calvin Jenkins 
Deputy Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business 
Development, Small Business Administration; Jon S. Wainwright, National 
Economic Research Associates, Inc., Austin, Texas; Anthony W. Robinson, 
Minority Business Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Largo, Maryland; 
Bill M. Miera, Fiore Industries, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico; and 
Fernando V. Galaviz, Small Businesses Association in Technology, 
Alexandria, Virginia.
NOMINATION
Committee on Veteran's Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the nomination of Michael K. Kussman, of Massachusetts, to be Under 
Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs.