[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 177 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1535-D1537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
SUBCOMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Committee on Appropriations: On November 2, 2007, Committee announced 
the following subcommittee assignments:
  Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 
Administration, and Related Agencies: Senators Kohl (Chairman), Harkin, 
Dorgan, Feinstein, Durbin, Johnson, Nelson (NE), Reed, Bennett, 
Cochran, Specter, Bond, McConnell, Craig, and Brownback.
  Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: 
Senators Mikulski (Chairman), Inouye, Leahy, Kohl, Harkin, Dorgan, 
Feinstein, Reed, Lautenberg, Shelby, Gregg, Stevens, Domenici, 
McConnell, Hutchison, Brownback, and Alexander.
  Subcommittee on Defense: Senators Inouye (Chairman), Byrd, Leahy, 
Harkin, Dorgan, Durbin, Feinstein, Mikulski, Kohl, Murray, Stevens, 
Cochran, Specter, Domenici, Bond, McConnell, Shelby, Gregg, and 
Hutchison.
  Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development: Senators Dorgan 
(Chairman), Byrd, Murray, Feinstein, Johnson, Landrieu, Inouye, Reed, 
Lautenberg, Domenici, Cochran, McConnell, Bennett, Craig, Bond, 
Hutchison, and Allard.
  Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government: Senators 
Durbin (Chairman), Murray, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Nelson (NE), 
Brownback, Bond, Shelby, and Allard.
  Subcommittee on Homeland Security: Senators Byrd (Chairman), Inouye, 
Leahy, Mikulski, Kohl, Murray, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Nelson (NE), 
Cochran, Gregg,

[[Page D1536]]

Stevens, Specter, Domenici, Shelby, Craig, and Alexander.
  Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: 
Senators Feinstein (Chairman), Byrd, Leahy, Dorgan, Mikulski, Kohl, 
Johnson, Reed, Nelson (NE), Allard, Craig, Stevens, Cochran, Domenici, 
Bennett, Gregg, and Alexander.
  Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and 
Related Agencies: Senators Harkin (Chairman), Inouye, Kohl, Murray, 
Landrieu, Durbin, Reed, Lautenberg, Specter, Cochran, Gregg, Craig, 
Hutchison, Stevens, and Shelby.
  Subcommittee on Legislative Branch: Senators Landrieu (Chairman), 
Durbin, Nelson (NE), Alexander, and Allard.
  Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veteran Affairs, and 
Related Agencies: Senators Johnson (Chairman), Inouye, Landrieu, Byrd, 
Murray, Reed, Nelson (NE), Hutchison, Craig, Brownback, Allard, 
McConnell, and Bennett.
  Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: 
Senators Leahy (Chairman), Inouye, Harkin, Mikulski, Durbin, Johnson, 
Landrieu, Reed, Gregg, McConnell, Specter, Bennett, Bond, Brownback, 
and Alexander.
  Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and 
Related Agencies: Senators Murray (Chairman), Byrd, Mikulski, Kohl, 
Durbin, Dorgan, Leahy, Harkin, Feinstein, Johnson, Lautenberg, Bond, 
Shelby, Specter, Bennett, Hutchison, Brownback, Stevens, Domenici, 
Alexander, and Allard.
  Senators Byrd and Cochran are ex officio members of each 
subcommittee.
STATE OF THE U.S. ARMY
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the state of the United States Army, focusing on the Army's strategic 
imperatives, after receiving testimony from Pete Geren, Secretary, and 
General George W. Casey Jr., Chief of Staff, both of the United States 
Army, Department of Defense.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee order favorably reported the 
nominations of John J. Young, Jr. of Virginia, to be Under Secretary 
for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, and Douglas A. Brook, of 
California, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial 
Management and Comptroller, both of the Department of Defense, Robert 
L. Smolen, of Pennsylvania, to be Deputy Administrator for Defense 
Programs, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of 
Energy, and 135 nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine 
Corps.
ISSUES FACING THE U.S. SPACE PROGRAM
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Space, Aeronautics, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine 
issues facing the United States space program after retirement of the 
space shuttles, after receiving testimony from Michael D. Griffin, 
Administrator, William H. Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for 
Space Operations, and Richard Gilbrech, Associate Administrator, 
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, all of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
URANIUM ENRICHMENT DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSIONING FUND 
REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine S. 2203, to reauthorize the Uranium Enrichment 
Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund, after receiving testimony 
from James A. Rispoli, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental 
Management; Robin M. Nazzaro, Director, Natural Resources and 
Environment, Government Accountability Office; Marvin S. Fertel, 
Nuclear Energy Institute, and Wesley P. Warren, Natural Resources 
Defense Council, both of Washington, DC; and John R. Longenecker, 
Longenecker and Associates, Inc., Las Vegas, Nevada.
AMERICA'S CLIMATE SECURITY ACT
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded hearings 
to examine S. 2191, to direct the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency to establish a program to decrease emissions of 
greenhouse gases, after receiving testimony from Ron Sims, King County, 
Seattle, Washington; Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense, New York, New 
York; Eileen Claussen, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, and Kevin 
Book, FBR Capital Markets Corporation, both of Arlington, Virginia; and 
Christopher Berendt, Pace, Fairfax, Virginia.
MERIDA INITIATIVE
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the anti-drug package for Mexico and Central America, known as 
the Merida Initiative, after receiving testimony from Thomas A. 
Shannon, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and 
David T. Johnson, Assistant Secretary, Bureau for International 
Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, both of the Department of State.

[[Page D1537]]


RADIOLOGICAL DISPERSION DEVICE RESPONSE
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the 
District of Columbia concluded a joint hearing with the Ad Hoc 
Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and 
Integration to examine the national level of preparedness of the United 
States to respond following an radiological dispersion device (RDD) or 
``dirty bomb'' attack, focusing on the coordination with and 
capabilities of federal, state, and local governments to work together, 
after receiving testimony from Gene Aloise, Director, Natural Resources 
and Environment, Government Accountability Office; Steven Aoki, Deputy 
Under Secretary of Energy for Counterterrorism; Thomas P. Dunne, 
Associate Administrator of Homeland Security, Environmental Protection 
Agency; Glenn M. Cannon, Assistant Administrator, Disaster Operations 
Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of 
Homeland Security; Kevin Yeskey, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Director, 
Office of Preparedness and Emergency Operations, Office of the 
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health 
and Human Services; Kenneth D. Murphy, Oregon Emergency Management, 
Salem; Thomas S. Tenforde, National Council on Radiation Protection and 
Measurements, Bethesda, Maryland; and Wayne J. Tripp, General Physics 
Corporation, Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine the Americans with Disabilities Act 
(Public Law 101-336), focusing on S. 1881, to amend the Americans with 
Disabilities Act of 1990 to restore the intent and protections of that 
Act, after receiving testimony from John D. Kemp, Powers, Pyles, 
Sutter, and Verville, P.C., Dick Thornburgh, Kirkpatrick and Lockhart 
Preston Gates Ellis, LLP, and Chai R. Feldblum, Georgetown University 
Law Center Federal Legislation Clinic, all of Washington, DC; Camille 
A. Olson, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, Chicago, Illinois; and Stephen C. Orr, 
Rapid City, South Dakota.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following:
  S. 2248, to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, 
to modernize and streamline the provisions of that Act, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. Res. 366, designating November 2007 as ``National Methamphetamine 
Awareness Month'', to increase awareness of methamphetamine abuse;
  S. Res. 367, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the mass movement 
for Soviet Jewish freedom and the 20th anniversary of the Freedom 
Sunday rally for Soviet Jewry on the National Mall; and
  The nominations of Joseph N. Laplante, to be United States District 
Judge for the District of New Hampshire, Reed Charles O'Connor, to be 
United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Thomas 
D. Schroeder, to be United States District Judge for the Middle 
District of North Carolina, and Amul R. Thapar, to be United States 
District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
NURSING HOME TRANSPARENCY
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
nursing home transparency and improvement, focusing on federal, state, 
and industry initiatives to improve nursing home transparency, 
enforcement, and the quality of services in the country's 16,000 
nursing homes, after receiving testimony from Senator Grassley; Kerry 
Weems, Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services, Department of Health and Human Services; Sarah Slocum, 
Michigan State Long Term Care, Lansing; David R. Zimmerman, University 
of Wisconsin Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Madison; 
Arvid Muller, Service Employees International Union, Steve Biondi, 
Extendicare Health Services, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on behalf of the 
American Health Care Association; and Bonnie Zabel, Marquardt Memorial 
Manor, Inc., Watertown, Wisconsin, on behalf of the American 
Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.