[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 129 (Thursday, July 31, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1004-D1007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
SUPREME COURT--GUANTANAMO DECISION
Committee on Armed Services: Continued hearings on Implications of the 
Supreme Court's Boumediene Decision for Detainees at Guantanamo Bay, 
Cuba: Administration Perspectives. Testimony was heard from the 
following officials of the Department of Defense: Daniel Dell'Orto, 
Acting General Counsel; COL Steve David, USA, Chef Defense Counsel, 
Office of Military Commissions, Department of the Army; and Sandra 
Hodgkinson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Detainee Affairs; and Greg 
Katsas, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice.
U.S. GRAND STRATEGY
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations continued hearings on A New U.S. Grand Strategy (Part 
2). Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
NAVY DESTROYER ACQUISITION PROGRAMS
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary 
Forces held a hearing on Navy Destroyer Acquisition Programs. Testimony 
was heard from the following officials of the Department of the Navy: 
Allison Stiller, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Ship Programs; and VADM 
Barry McCullough, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Integration 
of Resources and Capabilities; Eric Labs, Senior Analyst, CBO; Paul 
Francis, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, GAO; and Ron 
O'Rourke, Specialist in National Security, CRS, Library of Congress.
MIDDLE CLASS INCOME GAP
Committee on Education and Labor: Subcommittee on Workforce Projects 
held a hearing on The Growing Income Gap in the American Middle Class. 
Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
9/11 HEALTH AND COMPENSATION ACT
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing 
on H.R. 6594, James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2008. 
Testimony was heard from Representatives Maloney of New York; Nadler, 
and King of New York; Julie L. Gerberding, M.D., Director for Disease 
Control and Prevention, Departrment of Health and Human Services; 
Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor, City of New York; and public witnesses.
RECENT SALMONELLA OUTBREAK
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing entitled ``The Recent Salmonella 
Outbreak: Lessons Learned and Consequences to Industry and Public 
Health.'' Testimony was heard from the following officials of the 
Department of Health and Human Services: Lonnie J. King, D.V.M., 
Director, National Center for Zoonotic, Bector-Borne, and Enteric 
Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and David

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W. K. Acheson, M.D., Assistant Commissioner, Food Protection, FDA; A. 
G. Kawamura, Secretary, Department of Food and Agriculture, State of 
California; Charles H. Bronson, Commissioner of Agriculture, Department 
of Agriculture and Consumer Services, State of Florida; Timothy Jones, 
M.D., State Epidemiologist, Communicable and Environmental Disease 
Services, Department of Health, State of Tennessee; Kirk Smith, D.V.M., 
Supervisor, Foodborne, Vectorborne, and Zoonotic Disease Unit, Acute 
Disease Investigation and Control Section, Department of Health, State 
of Minnesota; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Financial Services: Ordered reported, as amended, the 
following bills: H.R. 6078, Green Resources for Energy Efficient 
Neighborhoods Act of 2008; H.R. 840,. Homeless Emergency Assistance and 
Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2007; and H.R. 5244, Credit 
Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2008.
LEVERAGING FOREIGN AID FOR POLICY GOALS
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Terrorism, 
Nonproliferation and Trade held a hearing on Foreign Aid and the Fight 
Against Terrorism and Proliferation: Leveraging Foreign Aid to Achieve 
U.S. Policy Goals. Testimony was heard from the following officials of 
the Department of State: Dell L. Dailey, Ambassador-at-Large, 
Coordinator for Counterterrorism; and Patrica McNerney, Principal 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Security and 
Nonproliferation; and public witnesses.
ENERGY IN THE AMERICAS
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere held a 
hearing on Energy in the Americas. Testimony was heard from Daniel S. 
Sullivan, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business 
Affairs, Department of State; and public witnesses.
SUNSHINE IN LITIGATION ACT OF 2008
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Commercial and 
Administrative Law held a hearing on H.R. 5884, Sunshine in Litigation 
Act of 2008. Testimony was heard from Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., U.S. 
District Court for the District of South Carolina; Mark R. Kravitz, 
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; and public witnesses.
SUBPOENA--FOR TESTIMONY OF CHRISTOPHER COATES; STATE SECRET PROTECTION 
ACT OF 2008
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil 
Rights, and Civil Liberties approved a resolution authorizing the 
Chairman to issue a subpoena to compel the testimony of Christopher 
Coates, Chief, Voting Section, Civil Rights Division, Department of 
Justice.
  The Subcommittee also held a hearing on H.R. 5607, State Secret 
Protection Act of 2008. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
ANIMAL CRUELTY PREVENTION MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and 
Homeland Security held a hearing on the following bills: H.R. 6598, 
Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008; and H.R. 6597, Animal Cruelty 
Statistics Act of 2008. Testimony was heard from former Representative 
Charlie H. Stenholm of Texas; and public witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, 
Refugees, Border Security, and International Law approved for full 
Committee action H.R. 6020, amended, To amend the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to protect the well-being of soldiers and their 
families, and for other purposes.
  The Subcommittee also began consideration of the following bills: 
H.R. 5882, To recapture employment-based immigrant visas lost to 
bureaucratic delays and to prevent losses of family- and employment-
based immigrant visas in the future; and H.R. 5924, Emergency Nursing 
Supply Relief Act.
OVERSIGHT--SEXUAL ASSAULT IN THE MILITARY
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on National 
Security and Foreign Affairs held an oversight hearing on Sexual 
Assault in the Military. Testimony was heard from the following 
officials of the Department of Defense: Michael Dominguez, Principal 
Deputy Under Secretary (Personnel and Readiness); Kaye Whitley, 
Director, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office; LTG Michael D. 
Rochelle, USA, Deputy Chief of Staff G-1, Department of the Army; 
Brenda S. Farrell, Director, Defense Capabilities and Management, GAO; 
and public witnesses.
PROVIDING FOR PROCEEDINGS DURING PERIOD FROM AUGUST 1-SEPTEMBER 4
Committee on Rules: Granted, by a vote of 8 to 4, a rule providing that 
when the House adjourns on any

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legislative day from August 1, 2008, through September 4, 2008, it 
shall stand adjourned until 11 a.m. on the third day thereafter. The 
rule provides that the Speaker may appoint Members to perform the 
duties of the Chair for that time period as though under clause 8(a) of 
rule I. It provides that the Speaker may dispense with legislative 
business on each legislative day during that time period (other than 
proceedings under clause 6 of rule XV). It provides that on each 
legislative day during that time period the Journal of the proceedings 
of each previous legislative day shall be considered as approved. It 
provides that on each legislative day of that period, unless the 
Speaker determines otherwise under section 3 of this rule, after the 
third daily order of business under clause 1 of rule XIV, the House 
shall stand adjourned pursuant to the first section of this rule.
OVERSIGHT--FEDERAL IT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Committee on Science and Technology: Held a hearing on Oversight of the 
Federal Networking and Information Technology Research and Development 
(NITRD) Program. Testimony was heard from public witnesses.
ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD CONFIDENTIALITY
Committee on Small Business: Held a hearing entitled ``Cost and 
Confidentiality: The Unforeseen Challenges of Electronic Health Records 
in Small Specialty Practices''. Testimony was heard from public 
witnesses.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Ordered reported the 
following measures: H.R. 6658, Disaster Response, Recovery, and 
Mitigation Enhancement Act of 2008; H.R. 6460, amended, Great Lakes 
Legacy Reauthorization Act of 2008; H.R. 6630, To prohibit the 
Secretary of Transportation from granting authority to a motor carrier 
domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond United States municipalities and 
commercial zones on the United States-Mexico border unless expressly 
authorized by Congress; H.R. 5788, amended, Halting Airplane Noise to 
Give Us Peace Act of 2008; H.R. 6627, Smithsonian Institution 
Facilities Authorization Act of 2008; S.J. Res. 35, To amend Public Law 
108-331 to provide for the construction and related activities in 
support of the Very Energetic Radiation Imaging Telescope Array System 
(VERITAS) project in Arizona; H.R. 6524, To authorize the Administrator 
of General Services to take certain actions with respect to parcels of 
real property located in Eastlake, Ohio, and Koochiching County, 
Minnesota, and for other purposes; H.R. 6370, Oregon Surplus Federal 
Land Act of 2008; S. 2837, To designate the United States courthouse 
located at 225 Cadman Plaza East, Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Theodore 
Roosevelt United Sates Courthouse;'' S. 3009, To designate the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation building under construction in Omaha, Nebraska, 
as the ``J. James Exon Federal Bureau of Investigation Building;'' S. 
2403, amended, To designate the new Federal Courthouse, located in the 
700 block of East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia, as the ``Spottswood 
W. Robinson III and Robert R. Merhige, Jr., Federal Courthouse;'' H.R. 
4131, To designate a portion of California State Route 91 located in 
Los Angeles County, California, as the ``Juanita Millender-McDonald 
Highway''; H. Res. 1382, Honoring the heritage of the United States 
Coast Guard; H. Res. 1224, Commending the Tennessee Valley Authority on 
its 75th anniversary; and H. Res. 1376, amended, Commemorating the 80th 
anniversary of the Okeechobee Hurricane of September 1928 and its 
associated tragic loss of life.
VA'S MISCELLANEOUS EXPENDITURES
Committee on Veterans Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a hearing on Billions Spent on ``Miscellaneous'' 
Expenditures: Inadequate Controls at the VA. Testimony was heard from 
Kay L. Daly, Acting Director, Financial Management and Assurance, GAO; 
and Edward J. Murray, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Finance, Deputy Chief 
Financial Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs.
FOSTER CARE RACIAL DISPROPORTIONALITY
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Income Security and Family 
Support held a hearing on Racial Disproportionality in Foster Care. 
Testimony was heard from Kay E. Brown, Assistant Director of Education, 
Workforce, and Income Security, GAO; and public witnesses.
BRIEFING--REVISIONS TO EXECUTIVE ORDER 12333
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executive session to 
receive a briefing on Revisions to Executive Order 12333. The Committee 
was briefed by departmental witnesses.
BRIEFING--HOT SPOTS
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.

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RENEWING AMERICA's FUTURE: ENERGY'S VISIONS
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming: Held a 
hearing entitled ``Renewing America's Future: Energy Visions of 
Tomorrow, Today.'' Testimony was heard from public witnesses.