[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 102 (Thursday, June 19, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D773-D775]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following:
  An original bill making appropriations for the Department of Homeland 
Security for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009; and
  An original bill making appropriations for Commerce, Justice, 
Science, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
2009.
  Also, Committee approved its 302(b) subcommittee allocations of 
budget outlays and new budget authority allocated to the Committee in 
S. Con. Res. 70, setting forth the congressional budget for the United 
States Government for fiscal year 2009 and including the appropriate 
budgetary levels for fiscals years 2008 and 2010 through 2013.
RISK MANAGEMENT
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Securities, Insurance, and Investment concluded a hearing to examine 
risk management, focusing on its implications for systemic risk at 
large financial institutions, after receiving testimony from Donald L. 
Kohn, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Erik Sirri, 
Director, Division of Trading and Markets, U.S. Securities and Exchange 
Commission; Scott M. Polakoff, Senior Deputy Director and Chief 
Operating Officer, Office of Thrift Supervision; Richard Bookstaber, 
Bridgewater Associates, New York, New York; and Richard J. Herring, 
University of Pennsylvania Wharton School, and Kevin M. Blakely, Risk 
Management Association, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[[Page D774]]


CRUISE SHIP SAFETY
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and 
Security concluded a hearing to examine cruise ship safety, focusing on 
potential steps for keeping Americans safe at sea, after receiving 
testimony from Kendall Carver, International Cruise Victims 
Association, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona; Terry Dale, Cruise Lines 
International Association, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Evelyn 
Fortier, Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), Washington, 
D.C.; and Ross A. Klein, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. 
John's College, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of James Culbertson, of North Carolina, to be 
Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who was introduced by 
Senators Dole and Burr, David F. Girard-diCarlo, of Pennsylvania, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Austria, who was introduced by Senator 
Specter, Kristen Silverberg, of Texas, to be Representative of the 
United States of America to the European Union, with the rank and 
status of Ambassador, who was introduced by Senator Cornyn, John R. 
Beyrle, of Michigan, to be Ambassador to the Russian Federation, who 
was introduced by Senator Levin, Asif J. Chaudhry, of Washington, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova, Tina S. Kaidanow, of the 
District of Columbia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, 
Philip Thomas Reeker, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador to 
the Republic of Macedonia, and Marie L. Yovanovitch, of Connecticut, to 
be Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, who was introduced by former 
Senator Robert J. Dole, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE MANAGEMENT
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the 
District of Columbia concluded a hearing to examine management 
challenges facing the Federal Protective Service, focusing on a recent 
report from the Government Accountability Office, after receiving 
testimony from Gary W. Schenkel, Director, Federal Protective Service, 
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of 
Homeland Security; Mark L. Goldstein, Director, Physical Infrastructure 
Issues, Government Accountability Office; and David L. Wright, Federal 
Protective Service Union, AFGE, Excelsior Springs, Missouri.
MINER ACT
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on 
Employment and Workplace Safety concluded a hearing to examine the 
efficacy of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act 
(MINER)(Public Law 109-236), focusing on a two year review of mine 
safety, after receiving testimony from Senator Rockefeller; Richard E. 
Stickler, Acting Assistant Secretary of Labor, Mine Safety and Health 
Administration; Jeffery Kohler, Associate Director for Mine Safety and 
Health Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and 
Human Services; Dennis O'Dell, United Mine Workers of America, Fairfax, 
Virginia; and Bruce Watzman, National Mining Association, Washington, 
D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following:
  S. 1255, to protect Indian arts and crafts through the improvement of 
applicable criminal proceedings, with an amendment;
  S. 531, to repeal section 10(f) of Public Law 93-531, commonly known 
as the ``Bennett Freeze'';
  S. 1080, to develop a program to acquire interests in land from 
eligible individuals within the Crow Reservation in the State of 
Montana;
  S. 2489, to enhance and provide to the Oglala Sioux Tribe and 
Angostura Irrigation Project certain benefits of the Pick-Sloan 
Missouri River basin program;
  S. 160, to provide for compensation to the Lower Brule and Crow Creek 
Sioux Tribes of South Dakota for damage to tribal land caused by Pick-
Sloan projects along the Missouri River; and
  S. 2494, to provide for equitable compensation to the Spokane Tribe 
of Indians of the Spokane Reservation for the use of tribal land for 
the production of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, with an 
amendment.
LAW AND ORDER IN INDIAN COUNTRY
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
an original bill to amend the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act, the 
Indian Tribal Justice Act, the Indian Tribal Justice Technical and 
Legal Assistance Act of 2000, and the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 to improve the prosecution of, and response to, 
crimes in Indian country, after receiving testimony from Senator Thune; 
Gretchen C.F. Shappert, United States

[[Page D775]]

Attorney, Western District of North Carolina, Department of Justice; 
Pat Ragsdale, Director, Office of Justice Services, Indian Affairs, 
Department of the Interior; Ron His Horse Is Thunder, Standing Rock 
Sioux Tribe, Fort Yates, North Dakota; Joe A. Garcia, National Congress 
of American Indians, and Walter E. Lamar, Lamar Associates, both of 
Washington, D.C.; and Kelly Gaines Stoner, Oklahoma City University 
School of Law, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
   Committee recessed subject to the call.