[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 82 (Thursday, May 27, 2010)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D621-D623]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and 
Related Agencies held a hearing on BP-Transocean Deepwater Horizon Oil 
Disaster: Ongoing Response and Environmental Impacts. Testimony was 
heard from the following officials of the Department of the Interior: 
Ken Salazar, Secretary; David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary; Tom 
Strickland, Assistant Secretary, Fish, Wildlife and Parks; and Marcia 
McNutt, Director, U.S. Geological Survey; and Bob Perciasepe, Deputy 
Administrator, EPA.
LOW-INCOME/MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS
Committee on Education and Labor: Subcommittee on Higher Education, 
Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness held a hearing Examining GAO's 
Findings on Efforts to Improve Oversight of Low-Income and

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Minority Serving Institutions. Testimony was heard from George A. 
Scott, Director, Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues, GAO; 
and Robert Shireman, Office of the Under Secretary, Deputy Under 
Secretary, Department of Education.
SYNTHETIC GENOMICS' HEALTH/ENERGY IMPLICATIONS
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Held a hearing on Developments in 
Synthetic Genomics and Implications for Health and Energy. Testimony 
was heard from Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., National Institute of Allergy 
and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Department of Health and Human Services; 
and public witnesses.
BP OIL SPILL
Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Energy and 
Environment held a hearing entitled ``Combating the BP Oil Spill.'' 
Testimony was heard from Lisa Jackson, Administrator, EPA; Larry 
Robinson, Assistant Secretary, Oceans and Atmosphere, NOAA, Department 
of Commerce; David J. Hayes, Deputy Secretary, Department of the 
Interior; RADM James Watson, USCG, Deputy, Unified Area Command, 
Department of Homeland Security; and Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant 
Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), Department of Defense.
HOUSING FAIRNESS ACT OF 2009
Committee on Financial Services, Subcommittee on Housing and Community 
Opportunity approved for full Committee action, as amended, H.R. 476, 
Housing Fairness Act of 2009.
U.S.-MEXICO SECURITY COOPERATION
Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and 
Global Counterterrorism and the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere of 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs held a joint hearing entitled ``U.S.-
Mexico Security Cooperation: Next Steps for the Merida Initiative.'' 
Testimony was heard from Roberta S. Jacobson, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere, Department of State; the 
following officials of the Department of Homeland Security: Mariko 
Silver, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Policy, Acting Assistant Secretary, 
International Affairs; Alonzo R. Pena, Deputy Assistant Secretary, 
Operations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Allen Gina, 
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Office of Intelligence and Operations 
Coordination, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and John D. 
Negroponte, former Director of National Intelligence, former Deputy 
Secretary of State; and former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras and to 
Mexico.
GULF COAST OIL SPILL LEGAL LIABILITY
Committee on the Judiciary: Held a hearing on the Legal Liability 
Issues Surrounding the Gulf Coast Oil Disaster. Testimony was heard 
from Jim Hood, Attorney General, State of Mississippi; Darryl Willis, 
Vice President, Resources, BP America; Rachael Clingman, Acting General 
Counsel, Transocean, Ltd., James W. Ferguson, Vice President and Deputy 
General Counsel, Halliburton; William C. Lemmer, General Counsel, 
Cameron International Corporation; and public witnesses.
DEEPWATER HORIZON EXPLOSION'S OIL STRATEGY IMPACT
Committee on Natural Resources: Continued oversight hearings entitled 
``Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Strategy and Implications of the 
Deepwater Horizon Rig Explosion.'' Testimony was heard from 
Representative Garamendi, Lamar McKay, Chairman and President, BP 
America, Inc., Steven L. Newman, President and CEO, Transocean Ltd., 
and public witnesses.
PEDIATRIC OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATION RECALLS
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Held a hearing regarding 
the circumstances surrounding the recall of popular children's 
medicines produced by Johnson & Johnson/McNeil Consumer Healthcare. 
Testimony was heard from following officials of the FDA, Department of 
Health and Human Services: Joshua Sharfstein, Principal Deputy 
Commissioner; Deborah M. Autor, Director, Office of Compliance, Center 
for Drug Evaluation and Research; and Michael A. Chappell, Acting 
Associate Commissioner, Regulatory Affairs; and Colleen Goggins, 
Worldwide Chairman, Consumer Group, Johnson & Johnson.
MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on Federal 
Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia approved for 
full Committee action the following bills: H.R. 3243, to amend section 
5542 of title 5, United States Code, to provide that any hours worked 
by Federal firefighters under a qualified trade-of-time arrangement 
shall be excluded for purposes of determination relating to overtime 
pay; H.R. 3264, as amended, Federal Internship Improvement Act; H.R. 
5367, as amended, D.C. Courts and Public Defender Service Act of 2010; 
and H.R. 5368, United States Postal Service Postal Inspectors Equity 
Act.

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PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT INTEROPERABILITY
Committee on Science and Technology: Subcommittee on Technology and 
Innovation held a hearing on Interoperability in Public Safety 
Communications Equipment. Testimony was heard from David Boyd, 
Director, Command, Control and Interoperability, Science and Technology 
Directorate, Department of Homeland Security; Dereck Orr, Program 
Manager, Public Safety Communications Systems, National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce; and public witnesses.
VETERANS' MEASURES
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing 
on the following measures: H.R. 4062, Veterans' Health and Radiation 
Safety Act; H.R. 4505, To enable State homes to furnish nursing home 
care to parents any of whose children died while serving in the Armed 
Forces; H.R. 4465, To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the 
Secretary of Veterans affairs to take into account each child a veteran 
has when determining the veteran's financial status when receiving 
hospital care or medical services; Draft legislation ``World War II 
Hearing Aid Treatment Act''; and Draft legislation on Outreach. 
Testimony was heard from Representatives Adler of New Jersey, 
Thornberry and Kissell; Robert Jesse, M.D., Acting Principal Under 
Secretary, Health, Veterans Health Administration, Department of 
Veterans Affairs; and representatives of veterans organizations.
TOBACCO SMUGGLING EXCISE TAX COMPLIANCE ISSUES
Committee on Ways and Means: Subcommittee on Oversight held a hearing 
on tobacco smuggling in the United States and other excise tax 
compliance issues. Testimony was heard from Representative Doggett; and 
John J. Manfreda, Administrator, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade 
Bureau, Department of the Treasury.

Joint Meetings
  No joint committee meetings were held.