[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 86 (Thursday, May 24, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D749-D751]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
FARM BILL EXTENSION ACT OF 2007
Committee on Agriculture: Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry 
approved for full Committee action, as amended, H.R. 2419, Farm Bill 
Extension Act of 2007.
IRAQI POLICE TRAINING
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing on training and development of the Iraqi 
police service. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Defense: COL Richard Swengros, USA, Assistant Commandant, 
U.S. Army Military Police School; COL Robert J. Coates, USMC, Assistant 
Chief of Staff, Training and Experimentation Group, First Marine 
Expeditionary; and LTC Robert E. McCarthy, USMC, Executive Officer, 
Fifth Marine Regiment.
WORKPLACE SAFETY/OSHA COVERAGE
Committee on Education and Labor: Subcommittee on Workforce Protections 
held a hearing on Workplace Safety: Why Do Millions of Workers Remain 
Without OSHA Coverage? Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT ISSUES
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Energy and Air 
Quality held a hearing entitled ``Legislative Hearing on Discussion 
Drafts Concerning Energy Efficiency, Smart Electricity Grid, Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 Title XVII Loan Guarantees, and Standby Loans for 
Coal-to-Liquids Projects.'' Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the Department of Energy: David Rodgers, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Energy Efficiency; and Katherine A. Fredriksen, Principal 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy and International Affairs; and 
public witnesses.
SECTION 8 VOUCHER REFORM ACT OF 2007
Committee on Financial Services: Ordered reported, as amended, H.R. 
1851, Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2007.

[[Page D750]]


INTERNATIONAL FOOD AID PROGRAMS
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health 
held a hearing on International Food Aid Programs: Options To Enhance 
Effectiveness. Testimony was heard from William P. Hammink, Director, 
Office of Food for Peace, U.S. Agency for International Development, 
Department of State; Thomas Melito, Director, International Affairs and 
Trade, GAO; and public witnesses.
  The Subcommittee also held a briefing on this subject. The 
Subcommittee was briefed by Luis Eduardo Sitoe, Counselor Commercial, 
Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique.
VISA WAIVER PROGRAM
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Europe held a hearing on 
expanding the Visa Waiver Program, Enhancing Transatlantic Relations. 
Testimony was heard from Stephen A. Edson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, 
Visa Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State; and 
Nathan A. Sales, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy Development, Office 
of Policy, Department of Homeland Security.
OPIC REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Terrorism, 
Nonproliferation, and Trade held a hearing on the Reauthorization of 
OPIC. Testimony was heard from Robert Mosbacher, Jr., President and 
CEO, OPIC; and public witnesses.
NATIONAL GUARD'S DOMESTIC READINESS
Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Management, 
Investigations, and Oversight held a hearing entitled ``Examining the 
Impact of Equipment Shortages on the National Guard's Readiness for 
Homeland Security Missions.'' Testimony was heard from LTG H. Steven 
Blum, Chief, National Guard Bureau; Department of Defense; MG Roger P. 
Lempke, Adjutant General, Nebraska; MG C. Mark Bowen, Adjutant General, 
Alabama; and MG Robert P. French, Deputy Adjutant General, Army, Joint 
Forces Headquarters, National Guard, Pennsylvania.
IMMIGRATION REFORM
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, 
Refugees, Border Security, and International Law held a hearing on 
Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Labor Movement Perspectives. 
Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
KIDS AND THE OUTDOORS
Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and 
Oceans and the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands 
held a joint oversight hearing on No Child Left Inside: Reconnecting 
Kids with the Outdoors. Testimony was heard from James Cason, Associate 
Deputy Secretary, Department of the Interior; Gail Kimbell, Chief, 
Forest Service, USDA; Gina McCarthy, Commissioner, Department of 
Environmental Protection State of Connecticut; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power held a 
hearing on the following bills: H.R. 31, Elsinore Valley Municipal 
Water District Wastewater and Recycled Water Facilities Act of 2007; 
and H.R. 1526, Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Authorization 
Act of 2007. Testimony was heard from Robert Quint, Acting Deputy 
Commissioner, Operations, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the 
Interior; Nancy Parent, Councilmember, Pittsburg, California; and 
public witnesses.
U.S. MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Held a hearing on 
Invisible Casualties: The Incidence and Treatment of Mental Health 
Problems by the U.S. Military. Testimony was heard from Thomas Insel, 
Director, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Department of 
Health and Human Services; from the following officials of the 
Department of Defense: MG Galle Pollock, USA, Army Surgeon General; 
Michael E. Kilpatrick, Deputy Director, Deployment Health Support; and 
public witnesses.
NASA'S VIDEO RECORDS DESTRUCTION
Committee on Science and Technology: Subcommittee on Investigations and 
Oversight held a hearing on the NASA Administrator's Speech to Office 
of Inspector General Staff, the Subsequent Destruction of Video 
Records, and Associated Matters. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of NASA: Evelyn R. Klemstine, Assistant Inspector General, 
Auditing; Kevin Winters, Assistant Inspector general, Investigations; 
Paul Morrell, Chief of Staff, Office of the Administrator; and Michael 
Wholley, General Counsel.
SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH COVERAGE
Committee on Small Business: Held a hearing entitled ``Expanding Small 
Business Health Insurance Coverage Using the Private Reinsurance 
Market.'' Testimony was heard from Leonard D. Crouse, Deputy 
Commissioner, Captive Insurance Division, Department of Banking, 
Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration, State of Vermont; 
and public witnesses.

[[Page D751]]


PUBLIC-PRIVATE HIGHWAY/TRANSIT PARTNERSHIPS
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Subcommittee on 
Highways and Transit held a hearing on Public-Private Partnerships: 
State and User Perspectives. Testimony was heard from Edward G. 
Rendell, Governor, State of Pennsylvania; Alan Lowenthal, Chair, Senate 
Committee on Transportation and Housing, State of California; Terri J. 
Austin, Chair, House Committee on Roads and Transportation, State of 
Indiana; and public witnesses.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING TAX INCENTIVES
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures 
held a hearing on Tax Incentives for Affordable Housing. Testimony was 
heard from Michael J. Desmond, Tax Legislative Counsel, Department of 
the Treasury; Orlando J. Cabrera, Assistant Secretary, Office of Public 
and Indian Housing, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Shaun 
Donovan, Commissioner, Department of Housing Preservation and 
Development, City of New York; and public witnesses.
BRIEFING--SITUATION IN LEBANON
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
receive a briefing on the Situation in Lebanon. The Committee was 
briefed by departmental witnesses.
BRIEFING--DNI
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Subcommittee on 
Intelligence Community Management met in executive session to receive a 
briefing on DNI. The Subcommittee was briefed by departmental 
witnesses.

Joint Meetings
REEMERGENCE OF RUSSIA
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission concluded 
a hearing to examine Russia, focusing on the reemergence of Russia as a 
major political and economic power, after receiving testimony from 
Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European 
and Eurasian Affairs; Sarah E. Mendelson, Center for Strategic and 
International Studies, and E. Wayne Merry, American Foreign Policy 
Council, both of Washington, D.C.; Lilia Shevtsova, Carnegie Endowment 
for International Peace, and Igor Zevelev, Russian News and Information 
Agency, both of Moscow, Russia; Moscow; Jeffrey W. Hahn, Villanova 
University, Villanova, Pennsylvania; and Rajan Menon, Lehigh 
University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.