[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 171 (Wednesday, November 18, 2009)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1349-D1350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FINANCIAL MARKET REGULATION
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine reforming the United States financial market 
regulation, after receiving testimony from Gary Gensler, Chairman, 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Glenn English, National Rural 
Electric Cooperatives Association, Arlington, Virginia; Neil M. 
Schloss, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan; Mark K. Boling, 
Southwestern Energy Company, Houston, Texas; Jeff Billings, Municipal 
Gas Authority of Georgia, Kennesaw, on behalf of the American Public 
Gas Association; and Robert A. Johnson, Roosevelt Institute, New York, 
New York, on behalf of the Americans for Financial Reform.
NOMINATION
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the nomination of Jill Long Thompson, of Indiana, 
to be a Member of the Farm Credit Administration Board, Farm Credit 
Administration, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Lugar, 
testified and answered questions in her own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the nominations of Mark R. Rosekind, of 
California, to be a Member of the National Transportation Safety Board, 
Scott Boyer Quehl, of Pennsylvania, to be Assistant Secretary, and to 
be Chief Financial Officer, and Suresh Kumar, of New Jersey, to be 
Assistant Secretary and Director General of the United States and 
Foreign Commercial Service, who was introduced by Senator Lautenberg, 
both of the Department of Commerce, Philip E. Coyle, III, of 
California, to be an Associate Director of the Office of Science and 
Technology Policy, and Anthony R. Coscia, of New Jersey, who was 
introduced by Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, and Albert DiClemente, 
of Delaware, who was introduced by Senator Kaufman, both to be a 
Director of the Amtrak Board of Directors, after the nominees testified 
and answered questions in their own behalf.
MANAGING FEDERAL FORESTS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Public Lands 
and Forests concluded a hearing to examine managing Federal forests in 
response to climate change, focusing on natural resource adaptation and 
carbon sequestration, after receiving testimony from Kit Batten, 
Science Advisor, Office of the Deputy Secretary, Department of the 
Interior; Tom Tidwell, Chief, Forest Service, Department of 
Agriculture; Beverly Law, Oregon State University, Corvallis; Elaine 
Oneil, University of Washington School of Forestry, Seattle; and 
Christopher A. Wood, Trout Unlimited, Arlington, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably 
reported S. 2778, to amend the Public Works and Economic Development 
Act of 1965 to reauthorize that Act, with an amendment.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, of California, 
to be Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary, who was introduced by 
Senators Boxer, Snowe, and Feinstein and Representative Pelosi, Mary 
Burce Warlick, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Serbia, 
and James B. Warlick, Jr., of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the 
Republic of Bulgaria, all of the Department of State, after the 
nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL DOMINIC ``ROCKY'' BARAGONA JUSTICE FOR AMERICAN 
HEROES HARMED BY CONTRACTORS ACT
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Ad Hoc 
Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight concluded a hearing to examine S. 
526, to provide in personam jurisdiction in civil actions against 
contractors of the United States Government performing contracts abroad 
with respect to serious bodily injuries of members of the Armed Forces, 
civilian employees of the United States Government, and United States 
citizen employees of companies performing work for the United States 
Government in connection with contractor activities, after receiving 
testimony from Tony West, Assistant Attorney

[[Page D1350]]

General, Department of Justice; Richard Ginman, Deputy Director for 
Defense Procurement and Acquisition Policy, Office of the Under 
Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, and 
Uldric I. Fiore, Jr., Director, Soldier and Family Legal Services, 
Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army, both of the Department 
of Defense; Scott Horton, Columbia Law School, New York, New York; 
Ralph G. Steinhardt, The George Washington University Law School, 
Washington, D.C.; and Dominic Baragona, The Villages, Florida.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 510, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with 
respect to the safety of the food supply, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  The nominations of David Morris Michaels, of Maryland, to be 
Assistant Secretary of Labor, and Pamela S. Hyde, of New Mexico, to be 
Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.
  Also, committee announced the following subcommittee assignments:
  Subcommittee on Children and Families: Senators Dodd (Chair), 
Bingaman, Murray, Reed, Sanders, Brown, Casey, Hagan, Merkley, 
Alexander, Gregg, McCain, Hatch, Murkowski, Coburn, and Roberts.
  Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety: Senators Murray 
(Chair), Dodd, Mikulski, Brown, Hagan, Merkley, Franken, Bennet, 
Isakson, Gregg, Burr, McCain, Hatch, and Murkowski.
  Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging: Senators Mikulski (Chair), 
Bingaman, Reed, Sanders, Casey, Franken, Bennet, Burr, Gregg, 
Alexander, Isakson, and Coburn.
  Senators Harkin and Enzi are ex-officio members of each of the 
Subcommittees.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to 
examine the Department of Justice, after receiving testimony from Eric 
H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General, Department of Justice.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Denny Chin, of New York, to be United States Circuit 
Judge for the Second Circuit, who was introduced by Senator Schumer, 
Rosanna Malouf Peterson, to be United States District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Washington, who was introduced by Senators Murray 
and Cantwell, William M. Conley, to be United States District Judge for 
the Western District of Wisconsin, who was introduced by Senators Kohl 
and Feingold, and Susan B. Carbon, of New Hampshire, to be Director of 
the Violence Against Women Office, who was introduced by Senator 
Shaheen, and John H. Laub, of the District of Columbia, to be Director 
of the National Institute of Justice, who was introduced by Senator 
Schumer, both of the Department of Justice, after the nominees 
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
VETERANS' EMPLOYMENT
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine easing the burdens for veterans and transitioning Service 
Members through employment, after receiving testimony from Raymond 
Jefferson, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and 
Training; Lutz Ziob, Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, Washington; 
Captain Peter Wikul, USN, (Ret.), America Works of New York, Inc., and 
Helen Tymes, National Organization on Disability, both of New York, New 
York; Joshua Lawton-Belous, Oracle Corporation, Vienna Virginia; and 
Dexter Daniel, Baltimore, Maryland.