[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 30, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D64-D67]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
economic stimulus options, focusing on budget policy for a strong 
economy over the short- and long-term future, after receiving testimony 
from Alan S. Blinder, Princeton University Department of Economics 
Center for Economic Policy Studies, Princeton, New Jersey; Mark Zandi, 
Moody's Economy.com, Inc., West Chester, Pennsylvania; and Daniel 
Mitchell, Cato Institute, Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the following:
  S. 86, to designate segments of Fossil Creek, a tributary to the 
Verde River in the State of Arizona, as wild and scenic rivers, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 127, to amend the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act 
of 2000 to explain the purpose and provide for the administration of 
the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, with an amendment;
  S. 128, to amend the Cache La Poudre River Corridor Act to designate 
a new management entity, make certain technical and conforming 
amendments, enhance private property protections, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  S. 189, to decrease the matching funds requirements and authorize 
additional appropriations for Keweenaw National Historical Park in the 
State of Michigan;
  S. 327, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resource study of sites associated with the life of Cesar 
Estrada Chavez and the farm labor movement;

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  S. 1039, to extend the authorization for the Coastal Heritage Trail 
in the State of New Jersey, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 1143, to designate the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and the 
surrounding Federal land in the State of Florida as an Outstanding 
Natural Area and as a unit of the National Landscape System, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1247, to amend the Weir Farm National Historic Site Establishment 
Act of 1990 to limit the development of any property acquired by the 
Secretary of the Interior for the development of visitor and 
administrative facilities for the Weir Farm National Historic Site, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1304, to amend the National Trails System Act to designate the 
Arizona National Scenic Trail, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 1329, to extend the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission, to 
provide improved visitor services at the park, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 1341, to provide for the exchange of certain Bureau of Land 
Management land in Pima County, Arizona, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 1365, to amend the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act 
of 1996 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into 
cooperative agreements with any of the management partners of the 
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1377, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the 
City of Henderson, Nevada, certain Federal land located in the City;
  S. 1433, to amend the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act 
to provide competitive status to certain Federal employees in the State 
of Alaska, with an amendment;
  S. 1476, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resources study of the Tule Lake Segregation Center in Modoc 
County, California, to determine suitability and feasibility of 
establishing a unit of the National Park System, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1522, to amend the Bonneville Power Administration portions of the 
Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2000 to 
authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2008 through 2014, with 
amendments;
  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;
  S. 1740, to amend the Act of February 22, 1889, and the Act of July 
2, 1862, to provide for the management of public land trust funds in 
the State of North Dakota;
  S. 1802, to adjust the boundaries of the Frank Church River of No 
Return Wilderness in the State of Idaho, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 1921, to amend the American Battlefield Protection Act of 1996 to 
extend the authorization for that Act, with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute;
  S. 1939, to provide for the conveyance of certain land in the Santa 
Fe National Forest, New Mexico, with amendments;
  S. 1940, to reauthorize the Rio Puerco Watershed Management Program, 
with an amendment;
  S. 1941, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the 
suitability and feasibility of designating the Wolf House, located in 
Norfolk, Arkansas, as a unit of the National Park System, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1961, to expand the boundaries of the Little River Canyon National 
Preserve in the State of Alabama, with an amendment;
  S. 1969, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of 
designating Estate Grange and other sites related to Alexander 
Hamilton's life on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin 
Islands as a unit of the National Park System, with amendments;
  S. 1991, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
study to determine the suitability and feasibility of extending the 
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to include additional sites 
associated with the preparation and return phases of the expedition, 
with amendments;
  S. 2034, to amend the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984 to designate the 
Copper Salmon Wilderness and to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to 
designate segments of the North and South Forks of the Elk River in the 
State of Oregon as wild or scenic rivers, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 2098, to establish the Northern Plains Heritage Area in the State 
of North Dakota, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 2220, to amend the Outdoor Recreation Act of 1963 to authorize 
certain appropriations, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  H.R. 30, to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study 
and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
participate in the Eastern Municipal Water District Recycled Water 
System Pressurization and Expansion Project;
  H.R. 299, to adjust the boundary of Lowell National Historical Park;

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  H.R. 759, to redesignate the Ellis Island Library on the third floor 
of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, located on Ellis Island in New 
York Harbor, as the ``Bob Hope Memorial Library'';
   H.R. 807, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resource study to determine the feasibility and suitability of 
establishing a memorial to the Space Shuttle Columbia in the State of 
Texas and for its inclusion as a unit of the National Park System;
   H.R. 815, to provide for the conveyance of certain land in Clark 
County, Nevada, for use by the Nevada National Guard, with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute;
   H.R. 830, to authorize the exchange of certain interests in land in 
Denali National Park in the State of Alaska;
   H.R. 1021, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
special resources study regarding the suitability and feasibility of 
designating certain historic buildings and areas in Taunton, 
Massachusetts, as a unit of the National Park System;
   H.R. 1025, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 
study to determine the feasibility of implementing a water supply and 
conservation project to improve water supply reliability, increase the 
capacity of water storage, and improve water management efficiency in 
the Republican River Basin between Harlan County Lake in Nebraska and 
Milford Lake in Kansas;
   H.R. 1191, to authorize the National Park Service to pay for 
services rendered by subcontractors under a General Services 
Administration Indefinite Deliver Indefinite Quantity Contract issued 
for work to be completed at the Grand Canyon National Park;
   H.R. 1239, to amend the National Underground Railroad Network to 
Freedom Act of 1998 to authorize additional funding to carry out the 
Act;
   H.R. 1462, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate 
in the implementation of the Platte River Recovery Implementation 
Program for Endangered Species in the Central and Lower Platte River 
Basin and to modify the Pathfinder Dam and Reservoir, with amendments;
   H.R. 1526, to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study 
and Facilities Act to authorize the Bay Area Regional Water Recycling 
Program; and
   H.R. 1662, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to seek 
limited reimbursement for site security activities.
POLAR BEAR THREATS AND PROTECTIONS
 Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the threats and protections for the polar bear, 
focusing on the status of and legal protections for the polar bear, 
including the Endangered Species Act, and the status of listing the 
species under that Act, after receiving testimony from H. Dale Hall, 
Director, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the 
Interior; Margaret Williams, World Wildlife Fund, Anchorage, Alaska; 
Andrew E. Wetzler, Natural Resources Defense Council, Worthington, 
Ohio; Brendan P. Kelly, University of Alaska, Juneau; J. Scott 
Armstrong, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, Philadelphia; and 
Richard Glenn, Barrow, Alaska.
MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PROGRAM
 Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine private 
fee-for-service plans in the Medicare Advantage program, after 
receiving testimony from Mark E. Miller, Executive Director, Medicare 
Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC); Elyse Politi, New River Valley 
Agency on Aging, Pulaski, Virginia; Albert Fisk, Everett Clinic, 
Everett, Washington; David R. Fillman, American Federation of State, 
County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and 
Daryl Weaver, National Rural Health Association, Yazoo City, 
Mississippi.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported an original 
bill entitled, ``The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008''.
   Also, committee rules of procedures for the 110th Congress were 
amended.
NOMINATIONS
 Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of James K. Glassman, of Connecticut, to be 
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy with the rank of Ambassador, Goli 
Ameri, of Oregon, to be Assistant Secretary for Educational and 
Cultural Affairs, and David J. Kramer, of Massachusetts, to be 
Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, all of the 
Department of State, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
AFGHANISTAN UPDATE
 Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing to examine the current conditions and circumstances 
in Afghanistan from members of the intelligence community.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OVERSIGHT
 Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded an oversight hearing 
to examine the Department of Justice, after receiving testimony from 
Michael B. Mukasey, Attorney General, Department of Justice.

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WOMEN'S CONTRACTING AND LENDER OVERSIGHT
 Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the Small Business Administration's 
accountability, focusing on the efficacy of women-owned small business 
contracting and lender oversight, after receiving testimony from Steven 
C. Preston, Administrator, Small Business Administration.