[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 23, 2008)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1144-D1147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FOOD MARKETING
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education, and Related Agencies concluded a joint hearing 
with the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government to 
examine childhood obesity and the impact of food marketing to children, 
after receiving testimony from Julie L. Gerberding, Director, Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, and Administrator, Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry, Department of Health and Human 
Services; Jon Leibowitz, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission; Kevin 
J. Martin, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission; J. Michael 
McGinnis, National Academies, Washington, D.C.; Marc S. Firestone, 
Kraft Foods, Inc., Northfield, Illinois; Marva Smalls, Nickelodeon/MTV 
Networks Kids and Family Group, New York, New York; and Patti Miller, 
Children Now, Oakland, California.
IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, after receiving testimony from 
Robert M. Gates, Secretary, and General James E. Cartwright, USMC, Vice 
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, both of the Department of Defense.
CURRENT CREDIT MARKETS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine turmoil in United States credit markets, focusing on 
recent actions regarding government sponsored entities, investment 
banks and other financial institutions, after receiving testimony from 
Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury; Ben S. Bernanke, 
Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; former 
Representative Christopher Cox, Chairman, U.S. Securities and Exchange 
Commission; and James B. Lockhart III, Director, Federal Housing 
Finance Agency.
DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
an oversight hearing to examine the transition to digital television, 
focusing on the February 2009 deadline, after receiving testimony from 
Kevin J. Martin, Chairman, Federal Communications Commission; Meredith 
Attwell Baker, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for 
Communications and Information, National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration; Mark L. Goldstein, Director, Physical 
Infrastructure, Government Accountability Office; Josefina Carbonell, 
Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging; and Mayor 
Bill Saffo, Wilmington, North Carolina.
DIESEL PRICES
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine reasons that diesel fuel prices have been so high 
and action that can be taken to address this situation, after receiving 
testimony from Howard Gruenspecht, Acting Administrator, Energy 
Information Administration, Department of Energy; former Representative 
Dave McCurdy, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and Gregory M. 
Scott, National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, both of 
Washington, D.C.; and Barbara Windsor, American Trucking Associations, 
Inc., New Market, Maryland.
CLEAN AIR ACT
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air 
Act (Public Law 101-549), after receiving testimony from Robert J. 
Meyers, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and 
Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency; Mary D. Nichols, California 
Air Resources Board, Sacramento; and David Bookbinder, Sierra Club, 
William L. Kovacs, United States Chamber of Commerce, Marlo Lewis, 
Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Jason Burnett, all of Washington, 
D.C.
HEALTH INSURANCE
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine covering 
the uninsured and reforming the healthcare system, focusing on the 
rating practices of the private health insurance market, after 
receiving testimony from Kim Holland, Commissioner of Insurance, 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; John Bertko, RAND Corporation, Flagstaff, 
Arizona; Andrew Dreyfus, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, 
Boston; and Pam MacEwan, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following:
  Protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty of 1949 on the Accession of 
the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Croatia adopted at Brussels 
on July 9,

[[Page D1145]]

2008, and signed that day on behalf of the United States and the other 
Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty (Treaty Doc. 110-20);
  Amendments to the Constitution and Convention of the International 
Telecommunication Union (ITU) (Geneva 1992), as amended by the 
Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto 1994), together with declarations and 
reservations by the United States as contained in the Final Acts of the 
Plenipotentiary Conference (Minneapolis 1998) (Treaty Doc. 108-05), 
Amendments to the Constitution and Convention of the International 
Telecommunication Union (Geneva, 1992), as amended by the 
Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994) and the Plenipotentiary 
Conference (Minneapolis, 1998), together with the declarations and 
reservations by the United States, all as contained in the Final Acts 
of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Marrakesh, 2002) (Treaty Doc. 109-
11), Amendments to the Constitution and Convention of the International 
Telecommunication Union (Geneva, 1992), as Amended by the 
Plenipotentiary Conference (Kyoto, 1994) and the Plenipotentiary 
Conference (Marrakesh, 2002), Together with the Declarations and 
Reservations by the United States, all as Contained in the Final Acts 
of the Plenipotentiary Conference (Antalya, 2006) (Treaty Doc. 110-16);
  S. 2609, to establish a Global Service Fellowship Program, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 3103, to amend the Iran, North Korea, and Syria nonproliferation 
Act to allow certain extraordinary payments in connection with the 
International Space Station;
  S. 1007, to direct the Secretary of State to work with the Government 
of Brazil and other foreign governments to develop partnerships that 
will strengthen diplomatic relations and energy security by 
accelerating the development of biofuels production, research, and 
infrastructure to alleviate poverty, create jobs, and increase income, 
while improving energy security and protecting the environment, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 3426, to amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to extend 
comparability pay adjustments to members of the Foreign Service 
assigned to posts abroad, and to amend the provision relating to the 
death gratuity payable to surviving dependents on Foreign Service 
employees who die as a result of injuries sustained in the performance 
of duty abroad;
  S. Res. 598, expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the need 
for the United States to lead renewed international efforts to assist 
developing nations in conserving natural resources and preventing the 
impending extinction of a large portion of the world's plant and animal 
species;
  An original bill to authorize appropriations under the Arms Export 
Control Act and the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for security 
assistance for fiscal years 2009 and 2010;
  S. 3548. An original bill to approve the United States-India 
Agreement for Cooperation on Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy; and
  The nominations of Brian H. Hook, of Iowa, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Sung Y. Kim, 
of California, a Foreign Service Officer of Class One, for the rank of 
Ambassador during his tenure of service as Special Envoy for the Six 
Party Talks, Gregori Lebedev, of Virginia, to be Representative of the 
United States of America to the United Nations for U.N. Management and 
Reform, with the rank of Ambassador and to be Alternate Representative 
of the United States to the United Nations, during his tenure of 
service as Representative of the United States to the United Nations 
for U.N. Management and Reform, Clifford D. May, of Maryland, to be a 
Member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, C. Steven McGann, of New 
York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of the Fiji Islands, and to 
serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to 
the Republic of Nauru, the Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, and the Republic 
of Kiribati, Dennis M. Mulhaupt, of California, to be a Member of the 
Broadcasting Board of Governors, Matthew A. Reynolds, of Massachusetts, 
to be an Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, Carol 
Ann Rodley, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia.
HURRICANES GUSTAV AND IKE
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Ad Hoc 
Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery concluded a hearing to examine the 
actions of federal, state, and local activities to respond and recover 
from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, after receiving testimony from Harvey 
E. Johnson, Jr., Deputy Administrator, Chief Operating Officer, Federal 
Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security; Edward J. 
Hecker, Chief, Office of Homeland Security, Provost Marshal, 
Directorate of Civil Works, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; 
Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitchell J. Landrieu, Baton Rouge; Texas 
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Austin; Louisiana State Senator 
Reggie P. Dupre, Jr., Houma; Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, Galveston, Texas; 
Mayor Cedric B. Glover, Shreveport, Louisiana; and Mayor Bill White, 
Houston, Texas.
2010 CENSUS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal 
Services,

[[Page D1146]]

and International Security concluded a hearing to examine reducing the 
undercount in the 2010 census, including key activities the Census 
Bureau plans to use to help reduce the differential undercount and 
improve participation, the various challenges and opportunities that 
might affect the Bureau's ability to improve coverage in 2010, and how 
different population estimates can impact the allocation of federal 
grant funds, after receiving testimony from Steve H. Murdock, Director, 
United States Census Bureau, Department of Commerce; Robert Goldenkoff, 
Director, Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office; Joseph J. 
Salvo, New York City Department of City Planning Population Division, 
and Kenneth Prewitt, former Census Bureau Director, Columbia 
University, both of New York, New York; and Roderick Harrison, Joint 
Center for Political and Economic Studies, Karen K. Narasaki, Asian 
American Justice Center, and Arturo Vargas, National Association of 
Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, all of 
Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
ordered favorably reported the following:
  S. 3474, to amend title 44, United States Code, to enhance 
information security of the Federal Government, with an amendment;
  S. 3384, to amend section 11317 of title 40, United States Code, to 
require greater accountability for cost overruns on Federal IT 
investment projects, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  H.R. 2631, to strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland 
Security to develop nuclear forensics capabilities to permit 
attribution of the source of nuclear material, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  H.R. 6098, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to improve the 
financial assistance provided to State, local, and tribal governments 
for information sharing activities, with an amendment in the nature of 
a substitute;
  H.R. 3815, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the 
Secretary of Homeland Security to make full and efficient use of open 
source information to develop and disseminate open source homeland 
security information products, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  An original bill to establish a controlled unclassified information 
framework;
  H.R. 6073, to provide that Federal employees receiving their pay by 
electronic funds transfer shall be given the option of receiving their 
pay stubs electronically, to amend title 5, United States Code, to 
provide for 8 weeks of paid leave for Federal employees giving birth;
  S. 3350, to provide that claims of the United States to certain 
documents relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt shall be treated as 
waived and relinquished in certain circumstances;
  S. 3477, to amend title 44, United States Code, to authorize grants 
for Presidential Centers of Historical Excellence, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  H.R. 5975 and S. 3317, bills to designate the facility of the United 
States Postal Service located at 101 West Main Street in Waterville, 
New York, as the ``Cpl. John P. Sigsbee Post Office'';
  H.R. 6092, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 101 Tallapoosa Street in Bremen, Georgia, as the 
``Sergeant Paul Saylor Post Office Building'';
  S. 3309, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 2523 7th Avenue East in North Saint Paul, Minnesota, 
as the Mayor William ``Bill'' Sandberg Post Office Building; and
  H.R. 6437, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 200 North Texas Avenue in Odessa, Texas, as the 
``Corporal Alfred Mac Wilson Post Office''; and
  The nominations of Ruth Y. Goldway, of California, to be a 
Commissioner of the Postal Regulatory Commission, and Carol Waller 
Pope, of the District of Columbia, and Thomas M. Beck, of Virginia, 
both to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
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 the elements of the 
Federal Government responsible for coordinating our public diplomacy, 
including their respective missions, organizational structures, 
workforce, and management, after receiving testimony from Christopher 
Midura, Acting Director, Office of Policy, Planning and Resources, 
Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Scott H. 
DeLisi, Director, Career Development and Assignments, Bureau of Human 
Resources, Rick Ruth, Director, Office of Policy and Evaluation, Bureau 
of Educational and Cultural Affairs, and Peter Kovach, Director, Global 
Strategic Engagement Center, all of the Department of State; Elizabeth 
Frawley Bagley, Vice Chairman, United States Advisory Commission on 
Public Diplomacy; Douglas Bereuter, Asia Foundation, San Francisco, 
California; and Stephen M. Chaplin, American Academy of Diplomacy, 
Ronna

[[Page D1147]]

A. Freiberg, Legislative Strategies, and Jill A. Schuker, all of 
Washington, D.C.
SKILLED WORKFORCE
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on 
Employment and Workplace Safety concluded a hearing to examine 
investing in a skilled workforce, focusing on making the best use of 
tax payer dollars to maximize results, including the intent of the 
grant initiatives and the extent to which the Department of Labor will 
be able to assess their effects, the extent to which the process used 
competition, was adequately documented, and included key players, and 
what the Department is doing to monitor individual grantee compliance 
with grant requirements, after receiving testimony from George A. 
Scott, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, 
Government Accountability Office; and Elliot P. Lewis, Assistant 
Inspector General, Office of Audit, and Brent R. Orrell, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration, 
both of the Department of Labor.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following:
  H.R. 5680, to amend certain laws relating to Native Americans, with 
an amendment;
  H.R. 2963, to transfer certain land in Riverside County, California, 
and San Diego County, California, from the Bureau of Land Management to 
the United States to be held in trust for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno 
Mission Indians, with an amendment;
  S. 3194, to transfer surplus Federal land administered by the Coast 
Guard in the State of Oregon;
  S. 3128, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide a loan to 
the White Mountain Apache Tribe for use in planning, engineering, and 
designing a certain water system project, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 3381, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 
the Commissioner of Reclamation, to develop water infrastructure in the 
Rio Grande Basin, and to approve the settlement of the water rights 
claims of the Pueblos of Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, Tesuque, and 
Taos.
EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL WORK
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
equal pay for equal work, including S. 1843 and H.R. 2831, bills to 
amend title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination 
in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 
and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to clarify that a discriminatory 
compensation decision or other practice that is unlawful under such 
Acts occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to the 
discriminatory compensation decision or other practice, after receiving 
testimony from Lawrence Z. Lorber, Proskauer Rose, LLP, and Cyrus 
Mehri, Mehri and Skalet, PLLC, both of Washington, D.C.; and Lilly 
Ledbetter, Jacksonville, Alabama.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Anthony John Trenga, to be United States District 
Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, who was introduced by 
Senators Warner and Webb, C. Darnell Jones II, Mitchell S. Goldberg, 
and Joel H. Slomsky, each to be a United States District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who were introduced by Senators 
Specter and Casey, and Eric F. Melgren, to be United States District 
Judge for the District of Kansas, who was introduced by Senators 
Brownback and Roberts, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the nomination of Patrick W. Dunne, of New York, to be Under Secretary 
for Benefits of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE COLLECTION
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the new Attorney General guidelines for domestic intelligence 
collection, after receiving testimony from Elisebeth Collins Cook, 
Assistant Attorney General, and Valerie Caproni, General Counsel, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, both of the Department of Justice.