[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 114 (Wednesday, July 27, 2011)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D853-D855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, 
Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies 
concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal

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year 2012 for the Department of Education, after receiving testimony 
from Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education.
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION AT THE DEPARTMENT OF 
DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Readiness and Management 
Support concluded a hearing to examine financial management and 
business transformation at the Department of Defense, focusing on the 
numerous challenges that must be addressed to improve reliability of 
financial information, after receiving testimony from Robert F. Hale, 
Under Secretary, Comptroller, Elizabeth A. McGrath, Deputy Chief 
Management Officer, Mary Sally Matiella, Assistant Secretary of the 
Army for Financial Management and Comptroller, Gladys J. Commons, 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and 
Comptroller, and Jamie M. Morin, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force 
for Financial Management and Comptroller, all of the Department of 
Defense; and Asif A. Khan, Director, Financial Management and 
Assurance, Government Accountability Office.
ECONOMIC INTERESTS IN THE CHANGING ARCTIC
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard concluded a hearing to 
examine defending United States economic interests in the changing 
arctic, focusing on if there is a strategy, after receiving testimony 
from Admiral Robert Papp, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, Department of 
Homeland Security; Rear Admiral David Titley, Oceanographer of the 
Navy, Director, Task Force Climate Change, Department of Defense; David 
A. Balton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and 
Fisheries; Peter E. Slaiby, Shell Alaska, Anchorage; Scott Borgerson, 
Institute for Global Maritime Studies, Gloucester, Massachusetts; and 
Andrew T. Metzger, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance concluded a hearing 
to examine improving highway and vehicle safety, focusing on 
reauthorization of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 
after receiving testimony from David L. Strickland, Administrator, and 
Nicole R. Nason, former Administrator, both of the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration, Department of Transportation; Susan 
Fleming, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government 
Accountability Office; and Jacqueline S. Gillan, Advocates for Highway 
and Auto Safety, Robert Strassburger, Alliance of Automobile 
Manufacturers, and Vernon Betkey, Governors Highway Safety Association, 
all of Washington, DC.
TAX CODE
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine chief 
executive officer (CEO) perspectives on how the tax code affects 
hiring, businesses and economic growth, after receiving testimony from 
Mike Duke, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas; Thomas J. 
Falk, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Irving, Texas; Gregory S. Lang, PMC-
Sierra, Sunnyvale, California; and Larry Merlo, CVS Caremark 
Corporation, Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
TEN YEARS AFTER 9/11
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine ten years after 9/11, focusing on 
emergency communications, after receiving testimony from Greg Schaffer, 
Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Homeland Security for National 
Protection and Programs Directorate; Michael D. Varney, Connecticut 
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Interoperability 
Coordinator, Middletown; Robert McAleer, Maine Emergency Management 
Agency Director, Augusta; and Charles H. Ramsey, Philadelphia Police 
Department Commissioner, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the 
Major Cities Chiefs Association and Police Executive Research Forum.
FULFILLING TREATY OBLIGATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
fulfilling our treaty obligations and protecting Americans abroad, 
including S. 1194, to facilitate compliance with Article 36 of the 
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, 
after receiving testimony from Patrick F. Kennedy, Under Secretary of 
State; Bruce C. Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Counselor 
for International Affairs, Department of Justice; John B. Bellinger 
III, Arnold and Porter LLP, on behalf of the Council on Foreign 
Relations, and David B. Rivkin, Jr., Baker Hostetler LLP, both of 
Washington, DC; and Clare Gillis, New Haven, Connecticut.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Edgardo Ramos, of Connecticut, Andrew L. Carter, 
Jr., and Jesse M. Furman, all to be a United States District Judge for 
the Southern District of New York, all introduced by Senator Schumer, 
James Rodney Gilstrap, to be United States District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Texas, who was introduced by

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Senators Cornyn and Hutchison, and Jennifer Guerin Zipps, to be United 
States District Judge for the District of Arizona, who was introduced 
by Senators McCain and Kyl, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
LIFETIME COSTS OF SUPPORTING THE NEWEST GENERATION OF VETERANS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the lifetime costs of supporting the newest generation of 
veterans, focusing on issues related to real property realignment and 
future health care costs, after receiving testimony from Heidi L. W. 
Golding, Principal Analyst for Military and Veterans' Compensation, 
Congressional Budget Office; Lorelei St. James, Director, Physical 
Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office; Paul 
Rieckhoff, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), Washington, 
DC; James Hosek, The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California; and 
Crystal Nicely, Silver Spring, Maryland.