[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 43 (Thursday, March 13, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D300-D304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FDA APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies held a 
hearing on FNCS Budget. Testimony was heard from Nancy Montanez Johner, 
Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, USDA.
DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense held a hearing on 
Navy Posture. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of the Navy: Donald C. Winter, Secretary; ADM Gary Roughead, 
USN, Chief of Naval Operations;

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and LTG James T. Conway, USMC, Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps.
  The Subcommittee also met in executive session to hold a hearing on 
Navy Acquisition. Testimony was heard from the following officials of 
the Department of the Navy: John S. Thackrah, Assistant Secretary; VADM 
Barry McCullough, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration 
of Capabilities and Resources (N8); and LTG James F. Amos, USMC, Deputy 
Commandant, Combat Development and Integration.
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development held a hearing on DOE--Science Research. Testimony was 
heard from Raymond L. Orbach, Under Secretary, Science, Department of 
Energy.
FINANCIAL SERVICES, GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Financial Services, and 
General Government held a hearing on Supreme Court. Testimony was heard 
from the following officials of the Supreme Court of the United States: 
Anthony Kennedy; and Clarence Thomas, both Associate Justices.
HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Homeland Security held a 
hearing on Federal Emergency Management Agency--Is the agency on the 
right track? Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Homeland Security: David R. Paulison, Administrator, 
FEMA; and Matt Jadacki, Deputy Inspector General; and public witnesses.
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and 
Related Agencies continued appropriation hearings. Testimony was heard 
from public witnesses.
LABOR, HHS, EDUCATION APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education and Related Agencies continued appropriation 
hearings. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch held a 
hearing U.S. House of Representatives Budget. Testimony was heard from 
the following officers of the House of Representatives: Daniel Beard, 
CAO; Lorraine Miller, Clerk; and Wilson Livingood, Sergeant-at-Arms.
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS' AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Military Construction, 
Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies on Air Force Budget. Testimony 
was heard from GEN T. Michael Moseley, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air 
Force.
  The Subcommittee also continued appropriation hearings. Testimony was 
heard from public witnesses.
EUROPEAN, SOUTHERN AND AFRICA COMMAND BUDGET
Committee on Armed Services: Held a hearing on Fiscal Year 2009 
National Defense Authorization Budget Request for the U.S. European 
Command, Southern Command and Africa Command. Testimony was heard from 
the following officials of the Department of Defense: GEN Bantz J. 
Craddock, USA, Commander, U.S. European Command; ADM James Stavridis, 
USN, Commander, U.S. Southern Command; and GEN William E. Ward, USA, 
Commander, U.S. Africa Command.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT ENERGY POSTURE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Readiness held a hearing 
on Department of Defense Energy Posture. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the Department of Defense: Wayne Arny, Deputy 
Under Secretary, Installations and Environment; Chris DiPetto, Deputy 
Director, Systems and Software Engineering (Development Test and 
Evaluation), Office of the Under Secretary (Acquisition and 
Technology); and GEN Michael P. C. Carns, USAF (Ret.), Chairman, 
Defense Science Board Task Force on Energy Strategy; and David M. 
Walker, Comptroller General, GAO.
IRREGULAR WARFARE THREAT ENVIRONMENT
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Terrorism,Unconventional 
Threats and Capabilities held a hearing on Fiscal Year 2009 National 
Defense Authorization Budget Request--Department of Defense Science and 
Technology: Responding to the 21st Century Irregular Warfare Threat 
Environment. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Defense: Allan Shaffer, Principle Deputy Director, 
Defense Research and Engineering; Thomas H. Killion, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Research and Technology, Department of the Army; RADM 
William Landay, III, USN, Chief of Naval

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Research, Assistant Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Science, 
Technology and Engineering, Director, Test, Evaluation and Technology 
Requirements; Terry Jaggers, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air 
Force for Science, Technology and Engineering, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Acquisition; and Anthony J. Tether, Director, Defense 
Advanced Research Projects Agency.
BLACK COLLEGES OUTLOOK
Committee on Education and Labor: Held a hearing on America's Black 
Colleges and Universities: Models of Excellence and Challenges for the 
Future. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
  Committee on Energy and Commerce: Ordered reported the following 
bills: H.R. 3754, To authorize the Administrator of the 
Environmental Protection Agency to accept, as part of a settlement, 
diesel emission reduction Supplemental Environmental Projects, and 
for other purposes; H.R. 1198, amended, Early Hearing Detection and 
Intervention Act of 2007; H.R. 2464, amended, Wakefield Act; H.R. 
1237, amended, Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act of 2007; H.R. 
3701, amended, Keeping Seniors Safe From Falls Act of 2007; H.R. 
2063, amended, Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis, Management Act of 2007; 
H.R. 3825, amended, Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007; and 
H.R. 1418, amended, Reauthorization of the Traumatic Brain Injury 
Act.
COMMERCE BUDGET
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Held a hearing entitled ``Department 
of Commerce Budget for Fiscal Year 2009.'' Testimony was heard from 
Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce.
CREDIT CARDHOLDERS' BILL OF RIGHTS
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Financial Institutions 
and Consumer Credit held a hearing on The Credit Cardholders' Bill of 
Rights: Providing New Protections for Consumers. Testimony was heard 
from public witnesses.
REDUCING GLOBAL CHILD MORTALITY
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health 
held a hearing on Child Survival: The Unfinished Agenda to Reduce 
Global Child Mortality. Testimony was heard from Kent R. Hill, 
Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, U.S. Agency for 
International Development, Department of State; former Senator William 
H. Frist of Tennessee; and public witnesses.
WAR POWERS--CONGRESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on International 
Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight held a hearing on War Powers 
for the 21st Century: The Congressional Perspective. Testimony was 
heard from Representatives Jones of North Carolina; and former 
Representatives Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma; and David E. Skaggs of 
Colorado.
THREAT ASSESSMENT AND COORDINATION GROUP
Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Intelligence, 
Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment held a hearing 
entitled ``Making Homeland Security Intelligence Work for State, Local, 
and Tribal Partners: An Interagency Threat Assessment Coordination 
Group (ITACG) Progress Report.'' Testimony was heard from Thomas E. 
McNamara, Program Manager, Information Sharing Environment, Office of 
the Director of National Intelligence; Michael E. Leiter, Acting 
Director, National Counterterrorism Center; Charles E. Allen, Under 
Secretary, Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security; 
and Wayne Murphy, Assistant Director, Directorate of Intelligence, FBI, 
Department of Justice.
ORPHAN WORKS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and 
Intellectual Property held a hearing on Promoting the Use of Orphan 
Works: Balancing the Interests of Copyright Owners and Users. Testimony 
was heard from Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright 
Office, Library of Congress; and public witnesses.
OVERSIGHT--OFF-ROAD VEHICLES ON FEDERAL LAND
Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests 
and Public Lands held an oversight hearing on the Impacts of Unmanaged 
Off-Road Vehicles on Federal Land. Testimony was heard from Henri 
Bisson, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the 
Interior; Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, Forest 
Service, USDA; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power held a 
hearing on the following bills: H.R. 317, Arkansas Valley Conduit Act; 
H.R. 4841, Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians Settlement Act; and H.R. 
5293, Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation Water 
Rights Settlement Act. Testimony was heard from the following officials 
of the Department of the Interior: Majel Russell, Principal Deputy 
Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs; the following officials of the 
Bureau of Reclamation: Karl Wirkus, Deputy Commissioner for Operations; 
and Robert Johnson, Commissioner; and public witnesses.

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MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Ordered reported the 
following measures: S. 550, To preserve existing judgeships on the 
Superior Court of the District of Columbia; H.R. 5551, To amend title 
11, District of Columbia Official Code, to implement the increase 
provided under the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2008, in 
the amount of funds made available for the compensation of attorneys 
representing indigent defendants in the District of Columbia courts; 
H.R. 4106, amended, Telework Improvements Act if 2007; H.R. 2780, to 
amend section 8339(p) of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the 
method for computing certain annuities under the Civil Service 
Retirement System which are based on part-time service; H.R. 4881, 
Contracting and Tax Accountability Act of 2007; H.R. 3033, amended, 
Contractors and Federal Spending Accountability Act of 2007; H.R. 3928, 
as amended, Government Contractor Accountability Act of 2007; H.R. 
3548, amended, Plain Language in Government Communications Act of 2007; 
H. Con. Res. 310, Expressing support for a national day of remembrance 
for Harriet Ross Tubman; H. Res. 578, Expressing the sense of the House 
of Representatives that there should be established a National 
Watermelon Month; H. Res. 886, amended, Expressing sympathy to the 
victims and families of the tragic acts of violence in Colorado 
Springs, Colorado and Arvada, Colorado; H. Res. 892, amended, 
Expressing support for designation of March 11, 2008, as ``National 
Funeral Directors and Mortician Recognition Day''; H. Res. 952, 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should 
be established a National Teacher Day to honor and celebrate teachers 
in the United States; H. Res. 994, amended, Expressing support for the 
designation of a National Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Awareness Day; H. 
Res. 1005, amended, Supporting the goals and ideals of Borderling 
Personality Awareness Month; H. Res. 1016, amended, Expressing the 
condolences of the House of Representatives on the death of William F. 
Buckley, Jr; H. Res. 1021, amended, Supporting the goals, ideals, and 
history of National Women's History Month; H.R. 4185, To designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 11151 Valley 
Boulevard in El Monte, California, as the ``Marisol Heredia Post Office 
Building;'' H.R. 5395, To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 11001 Dunklin Drive in St. Louis, Missouri, 
as the ``William ``Bill'' Clay Post Office Building;'' H.R. 5472, To 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
2650 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, as the 
``Julia M. Carson Post Office Building;'' H.R. 5479, To designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 117 North Kidd 
Street in Ionia, Michigan, as the ``Alonzo Woodruff Post Office 
Building;'' H.R. 5483, To designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 10449 White Granite Drive in Oakton, 
Virginia, as the ``Private First Class David H. Sharrett II Post Office 
Building;'' H.R. 5489, to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 6892 Main Street in Gloucestor, Virginia, as 
the ``Congresswoman Jo Ann S. Davis Post Office;'' H.R. 5517, to 
designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 
7231 FM 1960 in Humble, Texas, as the ``Texas Military Veterans Post 
Office;'' and H.R. 5528, to designate the facility of the United States 
Postal Service located at 120 Commercial Street in Brockton, 
Massachusetts, as the ``Rocky Marciano Post Office Building.''
GENETICALLY ENGINEERED PLANT CONTAMINATION COSTS
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on Domestic 
Policy held a hearing on Is USDA Accounting for Costs to Farmers Caused 
by Contamination from Genetically Engineered Plants? Testimony was 
heard from Cindy Smith, Administrator, Animal and Plant Inspection 
Service, USDA; and public witnesses.
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE ACT OF 2007
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on Federal 
Workforce, Postal Services and the District of Columbia held a hearing 
on H.R. 3268, Government Accountability Office Act of 2007. Testimony 
was heard from the following officials of the GAO: Gene Dodaro, Acting 
Comptroller General; Paul Coran, Chairman, and Anne Wagner, General 
Counsel, both with the Personnel Appeals Board; and Shirley Jones, 
Employee Advisory Counsel; Curtis Copeland, Specialist in American 
National Government, CRS, Library of Congress; and public witnesses.
EPA LIBRARY CLOSURES
Committee on Science and Technology: Subcommittee on Investigations and 
Oversight held a hearing on EPA Library Closures: Better Access for a 
Broader Audience? Testimony was heard from John Stephenson, Director, 
Natural Resources and Environment, GAO; and public witnesses.
NASA SCIENCE PROGRAMS BUDGET
Committee on Science and Technology: Subcommittee on Space and 
Aeronautics held a hearing on NASA's Science Programs: Fiscal Year 2009 
Budget Request and Issues. Testimony was heard from S. Alan Stern,

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Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA; and public 
witnesses.
SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH PROGRAM
Committee on Small Business: Held a hearing entitled ``Legislation to 
Reauthorize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program. 
Testimony was heard from Steven C. Preston, Administrator, SBA; and 
public witnesses.
U.S. PARALYMPIC MILITARY PROGRAM
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 
held a hearing on U.S. Paralympic Military Program. Testimony was heard 
from Danny D. Scott, M.D., Physical and Rehabilitation Service, Denver 
VA Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs; representatives of 
veterans organizations; and public witnesses.
VA POST IN-PATIENT CARE
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations, hearing on Care of Seriously Wounded After In-Patient 
Care. Testimony was heard from Madhulika Agarwal, M.D., Chief Patient 
Care Services Officer, Veterans Health Administration, Department of 
Veterans Affairs; and public witnesses.
IRS BUDGET/TAX SEASON
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing 
on 2008 tax return filing season, IRS operations the fiscal Year 2009 
budget proposals, and National Taxpayer Advocate's Annual Report. 
Testimony was heard from the following officials of the IRS, Department 
of the Treasury: Linda Stiff, Acting Commissioner; and Nina E. Olson, 
National Taxpayer Advocate.
OVERHEAD ARCHITECTURE
  Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive 
session to hold a hearing on Overhead Architecture. Testimony was 
heard from departmental witnesses.
BRIEFINGS--HOT SPOTS AND SOUTHWEST BORDER SECURITY
  Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Subcommittee on 
Terrorism, Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence, met 
in executive session to receive a briefing on Hot Spots. The 
Subcommittee was briefed by departmental witnesses.
  The Subcommittee also met in executive session to receive a briefing 
on Southwest Border Security. The Subcommittee was briefed by 
departmental witnesses.
EPA--IMPLICATIONS OF SUPREME COURT DECISION
  Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming: Held a 
hearing entitled ``Massachusetts v U.S. EPA Part II: Implications of 
the Supreme Court Decision.'' Testimony was heard from Stephen L. 
Johnson, Administrator, EPA; from the following officials of the 
State of Kansas: Josh Svaty, member of the House; and Roderick 
Bermby, Secretary, Department of Health and Environment; and public 
witnesses.

Joint Meetings
MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF POLISH JEWS
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission concluded 
a hearing to examine Poland's Museum of the History of Polish Jews, 
after receiving testimony from Sigmund Rolat, Museum of the History of 
Polish Jews North American Council, New York, New York; and Ewa 
Junczyk-Ziomecka, Chancellery of the President of the Republic of 
Poland, and Ewa Wierzycka, Museum of the History of Polish Jews, both 
of Warsaw, Poland.