[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 29, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D57-D59]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
OUTSOURCING--DOD INSPECTOR GENERAL
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense met in executive 
session on DOD Inspector General on Outsourcing. Testimony was heard 
from Claude M. Kicklighter, Inspector General, Department of Defense.
INTERAGENCY REFORM
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing on Interagency Reform: Can the Provincial 
Reconstruction Team (PRT) Case Study Illuminate the Future of 
Reconstruction and Stabilization Operations? Testimony was heard from 
public witnesses.
BOLSTER U.S. ECONOMY--USING FISCAL POLICY
Committee on the Budget: Held a hearing on Using Fiscal Policy to 
Bolster the U.S. Economy. Testimony was heard from Lawrence H. Summers, 
former Secretary of the Treasury; and public witnesses.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT PROTECTIONS
Committee on Education and Labor: Held a hearing on H.R. 3195, ADA 
Restoration Act of 2007. Testimony was heard from Representative Hoyer; 
and public witnesses.
COVERING UNINSURED KIDS
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing 
entitled ``Covering Uninsured Kids: Missed Opportunities for Moving 
Forward.'' Testimony was heard from Dennis G. Smith, Director, Center 
for Medicaid and State Operations, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services, Department of Health and Human Services; Ann C. Kohler, 
Deputy Commissioner, Department of Human Services, State of New Jersey; 
Chris L. Peterson, Specialist in Health Care Financing, Domestic Social 
Policy Division, CRS, Library of Congress; and public witnesses.
ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS--FDA PRESCRIPTION DRUG SAFETY; FDA SCIENCE 
MISSION
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations agreed by a roll call vote of 12-0 a motion by Chairman 
Stupak to issue subpoenas relating to witnesses and documents in 
connection with the Subcommittee's ongoing investigation into the 
adequacy of the efforts of the FDA to protect the American public from 
excessive risks from prescription drugs and other matters.
  The Subcommittee also held a hearing entitled ``Science and Mission 
at Risk: FDA's Self-Assessment.'' Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the GAO: Marcia G. Crosse, Director, Health 
Care; and Lisa Shames, Director, Food and Agriculture Issues; Andrew C. 
von Esechenbach, M.D., Commissioner, FDA, Department of Health and 
Human Services; Donna V. Porter, Specialist in Life Sciences, Science 
Policy Research Division, CRS, Library of Congress; and public 
witnesses.
DIGITAL TV AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Telecommunications 
and Internet held a hearing entitled ``Public, Educational, and 
Governmental (PEG) Services in the Digital TV Age.'' Testimony was 
heard from John B. O'Reilly, Jr., Mayor, Dearborn, Michigan; and public 
witnesses.
WAKE OF DISASTERS--HOUSING PROGRAMS
Committee on Homeland Security: Held a hearing entitled ``Ensuring Safe 
and Effective Housing Programs in the Wake of Disasters.'' Testimony 
was heard from Carlos Castilllo, Assistant Administrator, Disaster 
Assistance Directorate, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security; Henry 
Falk, M.D., Director, Coordinating Center, Environmental Health and 
Injury Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 
Department of Health and Human Services; Nelson Bregon, General Deputy 
Assistant Secretary, Office of Community Planning and Development, 
Department of Housing and Urban Development; Michael Gerber, Executive 
Director, Department of Housing and Community Affairs, State of Texas; 
and a public witness.
MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE CRISIS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law held a hearing on the Growing Mortgage Foreclosure 
Crisis: Identifying Solutions and Dispelling Myths. Testimony was heard 
from Jack Kemp, former Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE REFORM
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil 
Rights, and Civil Liberties held an oversight hearing on Reform of the 
State Secrets Privilege. Testimony was heard from Patricia Wald, 
Retired Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and 
public witnesses.

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FEDERAL ESPIONAGE LAWS ENFORCEMENT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and 
Homeland Security held a hearing on Enforcement of Federal Espionage 
Laws. Testimony was heard from J. Patrick Rowan, Principal Deputy 
Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division, Department of 
Justice; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--CALIFORNIA WATER DELIVERIES
Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power held an 
oversight hearing on the Immediate Federal and State Role in Addressing 
Uncertain Water Deliveries for California and the Impacts on California 
Communities.'' Testimony was heard from Bob Johnson, Commissioner, 
Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior; Lester Snow, 
Director, Department of Water Resources, State of California; and 
public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES; BREAST-CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING GAP
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Ordered reported the 
following measures: H. Con. Res. 273, Recognizing the 50th Anniversary 
of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; H. Res. 867, 
Commending the Houston Dynamo soccer team for winning the 2007 Major 
League Soccer Cup; H. Res. 931, Expressing the support for designation 
of February 17, 2008, as ``Race Day in America'' and highlighting the 
50th running of the Daytona 500; H. Res 942, Recognizing the 
significance of Black History Month; H. Res. 943, Remembering the space 
shuttle Challenger disaster and honoring its crew members, who lost 
their lives on January 28, 1986; H.R. 3532, To designate the facility 
of the United States Postal Service located at 5815 McLeod Street in 
Lula, Georgia, as the ``Private Johnathon Millican Lula Post Office;'' 
H.R. 3936, To designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 116 Highway in Cleveland, Georgia as the ``Sgt. 
Jason Harkins Post Office Building;'' H.R. 4203, To designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3035 Stone 
Mountain Street in Lithonia, Georgia, as the ``Jamaal RaShard Addison 
Post Office Building;'' H.R. 4454, To designate the facility of the 
United States Postal Service located at 3050 Hunsinger Lane in 
Louisville, Kentucky, as the ``Iraq and Afghanistan Fallen Military 
Heroes of Louisville Memorial Post Office Building;'' in honor of the 
service men and women from Louisville, Kentucky, who died in service 
during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom; H.R. 
5135, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service 
located at 201 West Greenway Street in Derby, Kansas, as the ``Sergeant 
Jamie O. Maugans Post Office Building;'' S. 2272, To designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service known as the Southpark 
Station in Alexandria, Louisiana, as the John ``Marty'' Thiels 
Southpark Station, in honor and memory of Thiels, a Louisiana postal 
worker who was killed in the line of duty on October 4, 2007; and S. 
2478, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service 
located at 59 Colby in East Hampstead, New Hampshire, as the ``Captain 
Jonathan D. Grassbaugh Post Office.''
  The Committee also held a hearing on Addressing the Screening Gap: 
The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. 
Testimony was heard from Rosemarie Henson, Deputy Director, National 
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human 
Services; Pama Joyner, Director, Breast and Cervical Health Program, 
Department of Health, State of Washington; and public witnesses.
PLAIN LANGUAGE IN GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 2007
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on 
Information Policy, Census and National Archives approved for full 
Committee action H.R. 3548, Plain Language in Government Communications 
Act of 2007.
PAKISTANI ELECTIONS
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on National 
Security and Foreign Affairs continued hearings on Pakistani Elections: 
Will They Be Free and Fair or Fundamentally Flawed (Part II). Testimony 
was heard from Richard A. Boucher, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South 
and Central Asian Affairs, Department of State.
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATING RESEARCH
Committee on Small Business: Held a hearing entitled ``SBIR: America's 
National Technology Development Incubator.'' Testimony was heard from 
public witnesses.
VA'S CLAIMS PROCESSING IMPROVEMENTS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Disability Assistance 
and Memorial Affairs held a hearing on the Use of Artificial 
Intelligence to Improve the VA's Claims Processing System. Testimony 
was heard from the following officials of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs: Kim Graves, Director, Office of Business Process Integration, 
Veterans Benefits Administration; and Stephen W. Warren, Principal 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Information

[[Page D59]]

and Technology; Gary Christopherson, former Veterans Health 
Administration Chief Information Officer, Department of Veterans 
Affairs; representatives of veterans organizations; and public 
witnesses.
VA CREDENTIALING AND PATIENT SAFETY
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing on VA Credentialing and Privileging: A 
Patient Safety Issue. Testimony was heard from the following officials 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs: John D. Daigh, M.D., Assistant 
Inspector General, Healthcare Inspections, Office of the Inspector 
General; Gerald M. Cross, M.D., Principal Deputy Under Secretary for 
Health; and a public witness.
BRIEFING--PAKISTAN
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executives session 
to receive a briefing on Pakistan. The Committee was briefed by 
departmental witnesses.

Joint Meetings
COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission concluded 
a hearing to examine anti-Semitism in the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region, focusing on initiatives, lessons 
learned, and the way forward in monitoring and combating anti-Semitism, 
after receiving testimony from Gert Weisskirchen, Personal 
Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, and Kathrin Meyer, Office 
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, both of the Organization 
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Vienna, Austria.