[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 112 (Friday, July 13, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D975-D979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                      CONGRESSIONAL PROGRAM AHEAD

                 Week of July 16 through July 21, 2007

                             Senate Chamber

  On Monday, at 3 p.m., Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 1585, 
National Defense Authorization Act.
  During the balance of the week, Senate may consider any cleared 
legislative and executive business.


                           Senate Committees

        (Committee meetings are open unless otherwise indicated)
  Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: July 18, to hold 
hearings to examine modernization of Federal Housing Administration 
programs, 9:30 a.m., SD-538.
  July 19, Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine the 
semiannual monetary policy report to the Congress, 9:30 a.m., SD-
538.
  Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: July 17, 
Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security, to hold 
hearings to examine improving air services to small and rural 
communities, 10 a.m., SR-253.
  July 18, Full Committee, to hold an oversight hearing to examine 
the federal response to ensuring the safety of Chinese imports, 10 
a.m., SR-253.
  July 19, Full Committee, business meeting to consider S. 1769, to 
amend the Communications Act of 1934 to facilitate number 
portability in order to increase consumer choice of voice service 
provider, S. 1780, to require the FCC, in enforcing its regulations 
concerning the broadcast of indecent programming, to maintain a 
policy that a single word or image may be considered indecent, S. 
1582, to reauthorize and amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement 
Act, S. 1771, to increase the safety of swimming pools and spas by 
requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and pool 
and spa drainage systems, to educate the public about pool and spa 
safety, S. 1778, to authorize certain activities of the Maritime 
Administration, S. 1492, to improve the quality of federal and state 
data regarding the availability and quality of broadband services 
and to promote the deployment of affordable broadband services to 
all parts of the Nation, and the nominations of Jonathan W. Bailey, 
and Philip M. Kenul, both to be Rear Admiral, for the National

[[Page D976]]

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2:30 p.m., SR-253.
  Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: July 19, to hold 
hearings to examine S. 1634, to implement further the Act approving 
the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, 9:30 
a.m., SD-366.
  Committee on Environment and Public Works: July 17, to hold 
hearings to examine the nominations of Robert Boldrey, of Michigan, 
to be a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Morris K. Udall 
Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy 
Foundation, Kristine L. Svinicki, of Virginia, to be a Member of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and R. Lyle Laverty, of Colorado, to 
be Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife, 10 
a.m., SD-406.
  Committee on Finance: July 18, business meeting to consider the 
nominations of David H. McCormick, of Pennsylvania, to be an Under 
Secretary, and Peter B. McCarthy, of Wisconsin, to be an Assistant 
Secretary, both of the Department of the Treasury, Kerry N. Weems, 
of New Mexico, to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services, Tevi David Troy, of New York, to be Deputy 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Charles E. F. Millard, 
of New York, to be Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation, 10 a.m., SD-215.
  July 19, Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine aviation 
financing, focusing on industry perspectives, 2:15 p.m., SD-215.
  Committee on Foreign Relations: July 17, Subcommittee on African 
Affairs, to hold hearings to examine the efficacy of democratic 
developments in Sub-Saharan Africa, 10 a.m., SD-419.
  July 17, Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine protocol 
Amending the Convention Between the Government of the United States 
of America and the Government of the Republic of Finland for the 
Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion 
with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, signed at Helsinki 
May 31, 2006 (the ``Protocol'') (Treaty Doc. 109-18), protocol 
Amending the Convention Between the Government of the United States 
of America and the Government of the Kingdom of Denmark for the 
Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion 
with Respect to Taxes on Income signed at Copenhagen May 2, 2006 
(the ``Protocol'') (Treaty Doc. 109-19), protocol Amending the 
Convention Between the United States of America and the Federal 
Republic of Germany for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the 
Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and 
Capital and to Certain Other Taxes, Signed on August 29, 1989, 
signed at Berlin June 1, 2006 (the ``Protocol''), along with a 
related Joint Declaration (Treaty Doc. 109-20), patent Law Treaty 
and Regulations Under the Patent Law Treaty (the ``Treaty''), done 
at Geneva on June 1, 2000, between the Governments of 53 countries 
including the United States of America (Treaty Doc. 109-12), and the 
Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International 
Registration of Industrial Designs (the ``Agreement''), adopted in 
Geneva on July 2, 1999, and signed by the United States on July 6, 
1999 (Treaty Doc. 109-21), and the Singapore Treaty on the Law of 
Trademarks (Treaty Doc. 110-2), 2:30 p.m., SD-419.
  July 19, Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine the war in 
Iraq, focusing on an update from the field, 9:30 a.m., SD-419.
  Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: July 17, 
Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging, to hold hearings to examine 
the federal response to the Alzheimer's epidemic, 2:30 p.m., SD-628.
  July 18, Full Committee, business meeting to consider S. 625, to 
protect the public health by providing the Food and Drug 
Administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products, 
S. 1183, to enhance and further research into paralysis and to 
improve rehabilitation and the quality of life for persons living 
with paralysis and other physical disabilities, S. 1551, to amend 
the Public Health Service Act with respect to making progress toward 
the goal of eliminating tuberculosis, and S. 579, to amend the 
Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the National 
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the 
development and operation of research centers regarding 
environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast 
cancer, and other pending calendar business, 10 a.m., SD-106.
  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: July 17, 
to hold hearings to examine federal acquisition, focusing on ways to 
strengthen competition and accountability, 10 a.m., SD-342.
  July 17, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government 
Information, Federal Services, and International Security, to 
continue hearings to examine the readiness of the Census Bureau for 
the 2010 census, 2:30 p.m., SD-342.
  July 19, Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine the 
military's role in disaster response, focusing on progress since 
Hurricane Katrina, 9:30 a.m., SD-342.
  July 19, Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the 
Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia, to hold hearings to 
examine the mayoral proposal to reform the District of Columbia's 
public school system, focusing on assessments, assurances, and 
accountability, 2:30 p.m., SD-342.
  Committee on Indian Affairs: July 19, business meeting to consider 
pending calendar business, to be immediately followed by a hearing 
to examine draft legislation to amend and reauthorize the Native 
American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act, 9:30 a.m., 
SR-485.
  Committee on the Judiciary: July 17, to hold hearings to examine 
the prosecution of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, 10 a.m., SD-226.
  July 18, Full Committee, business meeting to consider S. 1145, to 
amend title 35, United States Code, to provide for patent reform, S. 
Res. 248, honoring the life and achievements of Dame Lois Browne 
Evans, Bermuda's first female barrister and Attorney General, and 
the first female Opposition Leader in the British Commonwealth,

[[Page D977]]

S. Res. 236, supporting the goals and ideals of the National Anthem 
Project, which has worked to restore America's voice by re-teaching 
Americans to sing the national anthem, S. 1060, to reauthorize the 
grant program for reentry of offenders into the community in the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, to improve 
reentry planning and implementation, S. Res. 261, expressing 
appreciation for the profound public service and educational 
contributions of Donald Jeffry Herbert, fondly known as ``Mr. 
Wizard'', a bill entitled, ``School Safety and Law Enforcement 
Improvements Act'', and the nominations of Roslynn Renee Mauskopf, 
of New York, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern 
District of New York, William Lindsay Osteen, Jr., of North 
Carolina, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District 
of North Carolina, Martin Karl Reidinger, of North Carolina, to be 
United States District Judge for the Western District of North 
Carolina, Timothy D. DeGiusti, of Oklahoma, to be United States 
District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma, Janis Lynn 
Sammartino, of California, to be United States District Judge for 
the Southern District of California, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, of 
Puerto Rico, to be United States Attorney for the District of Puerto 
Rico, and Joe W. Stecher, of Nebraska, to be United States Attorney 
for the District of Nebraska, 10 a.m., SD-226.
  July 19, Full Committee, business meeting to continue 
consideration of S. 1145, to amend title 35, United States Code, to 
provide for patent reform, S. Res. 248, honoring the life and 
achievements of Dame Lois Browne Evans, Bermuda's first female 
barrister and Attorney General, and the first female Opposition 
Leader in the British Commonwealth, S. Res. 236, supporting the 
goals and ideals of the National Anthem Project, which has worked to 
restore America's voice by re-teaching Americans to sing the 
national anthem, S. 1060, to reauthorize the grant program for 
reentry of offenders into the community in the Omnibus Crime Control 
and Safe Streets Act of 1968, to improve reentry planning and 
implementation, S. Res. 261, expressing appreciation for the 
profound public service and educational contributions of Donald 
Jeffry Herbert, fondly known as ``Mr. Wizard'', a bill entitled, 
``School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvements Act'', and the 
nominations of Roslynn Renee Mauskopf, of New York, to be United 
States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, William 
Lindsay Osteen, Jr., of North Carolina, to be United States District 
Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina, Martin Karl 
Reidinger, of North Carolina, to be United States District Judge for 
the Western District of North Carolina, Timothy D. DeGiusti, of 
Oklahoma, to be United States District Judge for the Western 
District of Oklahoma, Janis Lynn Sammartino, of California, to be 
United States District Judge for the Southern District of 
California, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, of Puerto Rico, to be 
United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico, and Joe W. 
Stecher, of Nebraska, to be United States Attorney for the District 
of Nebraska, 10 a.m., SD-226.
  July 19, Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine the 
nominations of Sharion Aycock, to be United States District Judge 
for the Northern District of Mississippi, Jennifer Walker Elrod, of 
Texas, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit, and 
Richard A. Jones, to be United States District Judge for the Western 
District of Washington, 2:45 p.m., SD-226.
  Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: July 18, to hold 
hearings to examine increasing government accountability and 
ensuring fairness in small business contracting, 2 p.m., SR-428A.
  Committee on Veterans' Affairs: July 17, business meeting to mark 
up the nomination of Charles L. Hopkins, of Massachusetts, to be an 
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Operations, Preparedness, 
Security and Law Enforcement), Time to be announced, Room to be 
announced.
  July 17, Full Committee, to hold hearings to examine Department of 
Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense collaboration and 
cooperation and the education needs for the returning service 
members, 2:30 p.m., SD-562.
  Select Committee on Intelligence: July 19, to hold closed hearings 
to examine certain intelligence matters, 2:30 p.m., SH-219.
  Special Committee on Aging: July 18, to hold hearings to examine 
abuse of elderly citizens, focusing on prevention methods, 10:30 
a.m., SD-628.


                                 House

  Committee on Agriculture, July 17, 18 and 19, to consider H.R. 
2419, Farm Bill Extension Act of 2007, 10 a.m., 1300 Longworth.
  Committee on Appropriations. July 18, to consider the Agriculture, 
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 
Agencies Bill, Fiscal Year 2008, 9 a.m., 2359 Rayburn.
  Committee on Armed Services, July 18, hearing on Iraq: Trends and 
Recent Security Developments, 10 a.m., 2118 Rayburn.
  July 18, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, to continue 
hearings on A Third Way: Alternatives for Iraq's Future, Part 2, 3 
p.m., 2118 Rayburn.
  July 18, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, hearing on U.S. nuclear 
weapons policy, 2 p.m., 2212 Rayburn.
  July 19, Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces and the 
Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces, joint hearing on the Mine 
Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Program, 10 a.m., 2118 
Rayburn.
  Committee on the Budget, July 17, hearing on Budgeting to Fight 
Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, 10 a.m., 210 Cannon.
  Committee on Education and Labor, July 18, to mark up H.R. 1424, 
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007, 10 
a.m., 2175 Rayburn.
  Committee on Energy and Commerce, July 17, Subcommittee on 
Oversight and Investigations, hearing entitled ``Diminished 
Capacity: Can the FDA Assure the Safety and Security of the Nation's 
Food Supply?--Part 2,'' 9:30 a.m., 2123 Rayburn.
  Committee on Financial Services, July 17 and 18, hearings on 
Monetary Policy and State of the Economy, 10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn.

[[Page D978]]


  July 17, Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, 
hearing on H.R. 920, Multiple Peril Insurance Act of 2007, 2 p.m., 
2128 Rayburn.
  July 19, full Committee, hearing on H.R. 2895, National Affordable 
Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007, 10 a.m., 2128 Rayburn.
  Committee on Foreign Affairs, July 17, hearing on U.S. Policy 
Options in the Iraq Crisis, 10:30 a.m., 2172 Rayburn.
  July 17, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global 
Environment, hearing on the Conservation and Management of Highly 
Migrating Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Oceans, and 
Other International Fisheries Agreements of U.S. Interest in Asia 
and the Pacific, 2 p.m., 2172 Rayburn.
  July 18, Subcommittee on Africa, and Global Health, to mark up 
H.R. 2003, Ethiopia Democracy and Accountability Act of 2007, 10:15 
a.m., followed by a hearing on Food Security in Africa: The Impact 
of Agricultural Development, 10:30 a.m., 2172 Rayburn.
  July 18, Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global 
Environment, hearing on the Impact of Coup-Related Sanctions on 
Thailand and Fiji: Helpful or Harmful to U.S. Relations? 3 p.m., 
2200 Rayburn.
  July 18, Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia and the 
Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and 
Oversight, joint hearing on Reconstruction in Iraq's Oil Sector: 
Running on Empty? 2 p.m., 2172 Rayburn.
  July 19, full Committee, hearing on Beyond Iraq: Envisioning a New 
U.S. Policy in the Middle East, 10 a.m., 2172 Rayburn.
  Committee on Homeland Security, July 17, Subcommittee on 
Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, to 
mark up H.R. 1955, Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, 2 
p.m., 311 Cannon.
  Committee on House Administration, July 19, hearing on H.R. 2534, 
To permit statues honoring citizens of the District of Columbia to 
be placed in Statuary Hall in the same manner as statues honoring 
citizens of the States are placed in Statuary Hall, 1 p.m., 1310 
Longworth.
  Committee on the Judiciary, July 17, Subcommittee on Commercial 
and Administrative Law, hearing on Working Families in Financial 
Crisis: Medical Debt and Bankruptcy, 1 p.m., 2141 Rayburn.
  July 19, Antitrust Task Force, hearing on Credit Card Interchange 
Fees, 2 p.m., 2141 Rayburn.
  July 19, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security 
and the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil 
Liberties, joint oversight hearing on Law Enforcement Confidential 
Informant Practices, 10 a.m., 2141 Rayburn.
  Committee on Natural Resources, July 18, to mark up the following 
bills: H.R. 673, Cocopah Lands Act; H.R. 1696, To amend the Ysleta 
del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas 
Restoration Act to allow the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe to 
determine blood quantum requirements for membership in that Tribe; 
H.R. 2120, To direct the Secretary of the Interior to proclaim as 
reservation for the benefit of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of 
Chippewa Indians a parcel of land now held in trust by the United 
States for that Indian Tribe; H.R. 2863, To authorize the Coquille 
Indian Tribe of the State of Oregon to convey land and interests in 
land owned by the Tribe; H.R. 2952, To authorize the Saginaw 
Chippewa Tribe of Indians of the State of Michigan to convey land 
and interests owned by the Tribe; S. 375, A bill to waive 
application of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act to a specific parcel of real property transferred by 
the United States to 2 Indian tribes in the State of Oregon, 11 
a.m., 1324 Longworth.
  July 19, Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, 
hearing on the following bills: H.R. 783, Mesa Verdi National Park 
Boundary Expansion Act of 2007; H.R. 1266, Butterfield Overland 
Trail Study Act; and H.R. 1674, Battle of Camden Study Act, 10 a.m., 
1334 Longworth.
  Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, July 18, 
Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and 
Procurement, hearing on Federal Contracting: Do Poor Performers Keep 
Winning? 2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn.
  July 19, full Committee, hearing on FEMA Trailers; followed by a 
markup of pending business, 10 a.m., 2154 Rayburn.
  July 19, Subcommittee on Federal Work Force, Postal Service, and 
the District of Columbia, hearing on Inquiring Minds Want to Know: 
What is the Postal Service Contracting Out? 2 p.m., 2154 Rayburn.
  Committee on Rules, July 16, to consider the following: H.R. 3043, 
Making appropriations for the Department of Labor, Health and Human 
Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2008; and a resolution providing for the 
consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 1) to 
provide for the implementation of the recommendations of the 
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 5 
p.m., H-313 Capitol.
  Committee on Science and Technology, July 17, Subcommittee on 
Investigations and Oversight and the Subcommittee on Energy and 
Environment, joint hearing on the Department of Energy's Support for 
the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL), Part I, 10 a.m., 2318 
Rayburn.
  July 17, Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation, hearing on 
Amendments to the Patent and Trade Act of 1980--the Next 25 Years, 1 
p.m., 2318 Rayburn.
  July 19, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment and the 
Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, joint hearing on 
Tracking the Storm at the National Hurricane Center, 10 a.m., 2318 
Rayburn.
  Committee on Small Business, July 18, hearing entitled ``Medicaid 
Drug Reimbursements: Are CMS Cuts Bad Medicine for Small Businesses 
and Beneficiaries?'' 10 a.m., 2360 Rayburn.
  Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, July 17 and 19, 
hearings on the Status of the Nation's Waters, including Wetlands, 
Under the Jurisdiction of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 2 
p.m., 2167 Rayburn.
  July 17, Subcommittee on Aviation, hearing on FAA's Oversight of 
Falsified Airman Medical Certificate Applications, 10 a.m., 2167 
Rayburn.

[[Page D979]]


  July 19, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, 
and Emergency Management, hearing on Federal Leadership by Example 
on Energy Conservation: No Cost Quick and East Steps for Immediate 
Results, 10 a.m., 2167 Rayburn.
  Committee on Veterans' Affairs, July 17, to mark up the following 
bills: H.R. 2623, To amend title 38, United States Code, to prohibit 
the collection of copayments for all hospice care furnished by the 
Department of Veterans Affairs; H.R. 2874, Veterans' Health Care 
Improvement Act of 2007; H.R. 1315, To amend title 38, United States 
Code, to provide specially adaptive housing assistance to certain 
disabled members of the Armed Forces residing temporarily in housing 
owned by a family member; H.R. 760, Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 
2007; H.R. 513, National Heroes Credit Protection Act; and H.R. 23, 
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 
2007, 2 p.m., 334 Cannon.
  July 19, Subcommittee on Health, hearing on Vet Centers, 2 p.m., 
334 Cannon.
  Committee on Ways and Means, July 19, Subcommittee on Income 
Security and Family Support, hearing on Health Care for Children in 
Foster Care, 10 a.m., B-318 Rayburn.
  Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, July 
18, hearing entitled ``Voluntary Carbon Offsets--Getting What You 
Pay For,'' 9:30 a.m., room to be announced.