[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 25, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1048-D1050]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
U.S. TRADE RELATIONS WITH CHINA
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism concluded a hearing to examine 
United States trade relations with China, after receiving testimony 
from David Spooner, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Import 
Administration; James P. Hoffa, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 
Scott N. Paul, Alliance for American Manufacturing, and Robert S. 
Nichols, Financial Services Forum, all of Washington, D.C.; and M. 
Brian O'Shaughnessy, Revere Copper Products, Inc., Rome, New York.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably 
reported:
  S. 169, to amend the National Trails System Act to clarify Federal 
authority relating to land acquisition from willing sellers for the 
majority of the trails in the System, with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute;
  S. 278, to establish a program and criteria for National Heritage 
Areas in the United States, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 289, to establish the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National 
Heritage Area, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 443, to establish the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area in 
the State of Colorado, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 444, to establish the South Park National Heritage Area in the 
State of Colorado, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 471, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey to The 
Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitor 
Center Foundation, Inc. certain Federal land associated with the Lewis 
and Clark National Historic Trail in Nebraska, to be used as an 
historical interpretive site along the trail, with amendments;
  S. 637, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the 
suitability and feasibility of establishing the Chattahoochee Trace 
National Heritage Corridor in Alabama and Georgia, with an amendment;
  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. 647, to designate certain land in the State of Oregon as 
wilderness, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 722, to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
Agriculture to jointly conduct a study of certain land adjacent to the 
Walnut Canyon National Monument in the State of Arizona, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 800, to establish the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area in the 
State of New York, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 817, to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 
1996 to provide additional authorizations for certain National Heritage 
Areas, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  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, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 955, to establish the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, with 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  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, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 1148, to establish the Champlain Quadricentennial Commemoration 
Commission and the Hudson-Fulton 400th Commemoration Commission, with 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1182, to amend the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National 
Heritage Corridor Act of 1994 to increase the authorization of 
appropriations and modify the date on which the authority of the 
Secretary of the Interior terminates under the Act, with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1203, to enhance the management of electricity programs at the 
Department of Energy;
  S. 1728, to amend the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 to 
reauthorize the Na Hoa Pili O Kaloko-Honokohau Advisory Commission;
  H.R. 85, to provide for the establishment of centers to encourage 
demonstration and commercial application of advanced energy methods and 
technologies;
  H.R. 247, to designate a Forest Service trail at Waldo Lake in the 
Willamette National Forest in the State of Oregon as a national 
recreation trail in

[[Page D1049]]

honor of Jim Weaver, a former Member of the House of Representatives;
  H.R. 407, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study 
to determine the feasibility of establishing the Columbia-Pacific 
National Heritage Area in the States of Washington and Oregon;
  H.R. 995, to amend Public Law 106-348 to extend the authorization for 
establishing a memorial in the District of Columbia or its environs to 
honor veterans who became disabled while serving in the Armed Forces of 
the United States;
  H.R. 1100, to revise the boundary of the Carl Sandburg Home National 
Historic Site in the State of North Carolina;
  H.R. 1126, to reauthorize the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation 
and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988;
  H. Con. Res. 116, expressing the sense of Congress that the National 
Museum of Wildlife Art, located in Jackson, Wyoming, shall be 
designated as the ``National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United 
States''; and
  The nominations of Kevin M. Kolevar, of Michigan, to be Assistant 
Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Lisa E. 
Epifani, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Congressional and 
Intergovernmental Affairs, and Clarence H. Albright, of South Carolina, 
to be Under Secretary, all of the Department of Energy, and James L. 
Caswell, of Idaho, to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and 
Brent T. Wahlquist, of Pennsylvania, to be Director of the Office of 
Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, both of the Department of 
the Interior.
  Also, committee announced the following subcommittee assignments:
  Subcommittee on Energy: Senators Murkowski, Craig, Burr, DeMint, 
Corker, Sessions, Bunning and Martinez.
  Subcommittee on National Parks: Senators Burr, Murkowski, Corker, 
Barrasso, Sessions, Smith and Martinez.
  Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests: Senators Craig, Murkowski, 
Burr, DeMint, Barrasso, Sessions, Smith and Bunning.
  Subcommittee on Water and Power: Senators Corker, Craig, DeMint, 
Barrasso, Smith and Bunning.
EPA'S ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE PROGRAMS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Superfund 
and Environmental Health concluded an oversight hearing to examine the 
Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice programs, after 
receiving testimony from Representative Solis; Granta Y. Nakayama, 
Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement and Compliance 
Assurance, and Wade T. Najjum, Assistant Inspector General for Program 
Evaluation, Office of the Inspector General, both of the Environmental 
Protection Agency; John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and 
Environment, Government Accountability Office; South Carolina State 
Representative Harold Mitchell, Spartanburg; Robert D. Bullard, Clark 
Atlanta University Environmental Justice Resource Center, Atlanta, 
Georgia; Michael W. Steinberg, Business Network for Environmental 
Justice, Washington, D.C.; Peggy M. Shepard, WE ACT for Environmental 
Justice, New York, New York; and Beverly Wright, Dillard University 
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
nominations of Peter B. McCarthy, of Wisconsin, to be an Assistant 
Secretary, and David H. McCormick, of Pennsylvania, to be an Under 
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, and Tevi David Troy, of New York, to be Deputy 
Secretary, both of the Department of Health and Human Services, and 
Charles E. F. Millard, of New York, to be Director of the Pension 
Benefit Guaranty Corporation, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
ENHANCING THE PEACE CORPS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, 
Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs concluded a hearing to examine S. 
732, to empower Peace Corps volunteers, after receiving testimony from 
Ronald A. Tschetter, Director, H. David Kotz, Inspector General, Kate 
Raftery, County Director, Eastern Caribbean, and Chuck Ludlam, and 
Paula Hirschoff, both Volunteers, all of the Peace Corps; Kevin F.F. 
Quigley, National Peace Corps Association, and Mark L. Schneider, 
International Crisis Group, both of Washington, D.C.; and Nicole Fiol, 
Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
PAKISTAN'S FUTURE
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine Pakistan's future, focusing on the challenges of building a 
democracy, after receiving testimony from R. Nicholas Burns, Under 
Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Teresita C. Schaffer, Center 
for Strategic and International Studies South Asia Program, and Stephen 
P. Cohen, Brookings Institution, both of Washington, D.C.; and Samina 
Ahmed, International Crisis Group, Islamabad, Pakistan.

[[Page D1050]]


NOMINATION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine the nomination of Dennis R. Schrader, of 
Maryland, to be Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security, after the 
nominee, who was introduced by Senator Cardin, testified and answered 
questions on his own behalf.
POSTAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND ENHANCEMENT ACT
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal 
Services, and International Security concluded a hearing to examine the 
implementation of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (Public 
Law 109-435), after receiving testimony from William Burrus, American 
Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, John F. Hegarty, National Postal Mail 
Handlers Union, William H. Young, National Association of Letter 
Carriers, Louis Atkins, National Association of Postal Supervisors, and 
Dale Goff, Jr., National Association of Postmasters of the United 
States, all of Washington, D.C.; and Donnie Pitts, National Rural 
Letter Carriers Association, Alexandria, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the following:
  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, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 898, to amend the Public Health Service Act to fund breakthroughs 
in Alzheimer's disease research while providing more help to caregivers 
and increasing public education about prevention, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute; and
  The nominations of Diane Auer Jones, of Maryland, to be Assistant 
Secretary for Postsecondary Education, Department of Education, David 
C. Geary, of Missouri, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the 
National Board for Education Sciences, and Miguel Campaneria, of Puerto 
Rico, to be a Member of the National Council on the Arts.
BALLOT INTEGRITY ACT
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine S. 1487, to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require 
an individual, durable, voter-verified paper record under title III of 
such Act, after receiving testimony from Senator Clinton; Deborah L. 
Markowitz, Vermont Secretary of State, Montpelier, on behalf of the 
National Association of Secretaries of State; George N. Gilbert, 
Guilford County Board of Elections, Greensboro, North Carolina; Wendy 
Noren, Boone County, Columbia, Missouri, on behalf of the National 
Association of Counties; Michael I. Shamos, Carnegie Mellon University 
School of Computer Science, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Ray Martinez, Pew 
Center on the States, Austin, Texas; Doug Lewis, Election Center, 
Houston, Texas; and Mary Wilson, League of Women Voters, and Tanya Clay 
House, People for the American Way, both of Washington, D.C.
GULF COAST DISASTER LOANS
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded 
an oversight hearing to examine Gulf Coast disaster loans, focusing on 
the future of the disaster assistance program, challenges the Small 
Business Administration (SBA) experienced in providing victims of the 
Gulf Coast hurricanes with timely assistance, factors that contributed 
to these challenges, and steps the SBA has taken since the Gulf Coast 
hurricanes to enhance its disaster preparedness, after receiving 
testimony from Eric M. Thorson, Inspector General, Gale B. Martin, 
former Loan Officer, and Steven C. Preston, Administrator, all of the 
Small Business Administration; and William B. Shear, Director, 
Financial Markets and Community Investment, Government Accountability 
Office.
VA HEALTH CARE FUNDING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine Department of Veterans Affairs health care funding, after 
receiving testimony from Representative Chris Smith; Michael J. 
Kussman, Under Secretary for Health, Veterans Health Administration, 
Department of Veterans Affairs; Kenneth W. Kizer, Medsphere Systems 
Corporation, Aliso Viejo, California; Uwe E. Reinhardt, Princeton 
University Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, 
Princeton, New Jersey; and Joseph A. Violante, Disabled American 
Veterans, on behalf of the Partnership for Veterans Health Care Budget 
Reform, and J. David Cox, American Federation of Government Employees, 
AFL-CIO, both of Washington, D.C.