[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 187 (Wednesday, December 7, 2011)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1328-D1330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations held a business meeting for the purpose of authorizing 
and issuing a subpoena ad testificandum for the appearance of Jon 
Corzine in conjunction with the hearing scheduled for Thursday, 
December 15, 2011. The subpoena was authorized.
LEGISLATIVE MEASURES
Committee on Financial Services: Subcommittee on Capital Markets and 
Government Sponsored Enterprises held a, hearing entitled ``H.R.      , 
the Private Mortgage Market Investment Act, Part 2.'' Testimony was 
heard from public witnesses.

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CAMP ASHRAF
Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and 
Investigations; and Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia held a 
joint hearing entitled ``Camp Ashraf: Iraqi Obligations and State 
Department Accountability.'' Testimony was heard from Daniel Fried, 
Special Advisor on Ashraf, Department of State; Barbara Leaf, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary for Iraq, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 
Department of State; Colonel Wes Martin, USA, (retired), former Base 
Commander of Camp Ashraf; and public witnesses.
ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, 
Competition and the Internet held a hearing entitled ``Oversight of the 
Antitrust Enforcement Agencies.'' Testimony was heard from Jon 
Leibowitz, Chairman, Federal Trade Commission; and Sharis Pozen, Acting 
Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice Antitrust Division.
VISA WAIVER PROGRAM OVERSIGHT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and 
Enforcement, hearing entitled ``Visa Waiver Program Oversight: Risks 
and Benefits of the Program.'' Testimony was heard from Rep. Quigley; 
David Heyman, Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland 
Security; Richard M. Stana, Director of Homeland Security and Justice 
Issues, Government Accountability Office; and public witnesses.
MEDICAID FRAUD VICTIM SPEAKS OUT
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on 
Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management; and 
Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the 
National Archives held a joint hearing entitled ``A Medicaid Fraud 
Victim Speaks Out: What's Going Wrong and Why?'' Testimony was heard 
from Angela Brice-Smith, Director, Medicaid Integrity Group, Centers 
for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Gary Cantrell, Assistant Inspector 
General for Investigations, Office of the Inspector General, Health and 
Human Services; Carolyn Yocom, Director, Health Care, Government 
Accountability Office; Valerie Melvin, Director, Information Management 
and Human Capital Issues, Government Accountability Office; and public 
witnesses.
OVERSIGHT IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on National 
Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations held a hearing 
entitled ``Oversight in Iraq and Afghanistan: Challenges and 
Solutions.'' Testimony was heard from Gordon S. Heddell, Inspector 
General, Department of Defense; Harold W. Geisel, Deputy Inspector 
General, Department of State, Michael G. Carroll, Acting Inspector 
General, Agency for International Development, Stuart W. Bowen, 
Inspector General, Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction; 
and Steven J. Trent, Acting Inspector General, Special Inspector 
General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.
FARM DUST REGULATION PREVENTION ACT OF 2011
Committee on Rules: Full Committee held a hearing on H.R. 1633, the 
``Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011.'' The Committee granted, 
by record vote of 7 to 4, a structured rule providing one hour of 
general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking 
minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The rule 
waives all points of order against consideration of the bill. The rule 
provides that the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended 
by the Committee on Energy and Commerce now printed in the bill shall 
be considered as original text for the purpose of amendment and shall 
be considered as read. The rule waives all points of order against the 
committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. The rule makes in 
order only those amendments printed in the Rules Committee report. Each 
such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, 
may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be 
considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the 
report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, 
shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand 
for division of the question. The rule waives all points of order 
against the amendments printed in the report. Finally, the rule 
provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Testimony 
was heard from Rep. Whitfield and Rep. Rush.
ENERGY CRITICAL ELEMENTS
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology: Subcommittee on Energy and 
Environment held a hearing entitled ``Energy Critical Elements: 
Identifying Research Needs and Strategic Priorities.'' Testimony was 
heard from David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and 
International Affairs, Department of Energy; and public witnesses.
LEGISLATIVE MEASURES
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Full Committee held a 
hearing entitled ``Restoring Jobs, Coastal Viability and Economic 
Resilience in the Gulf of Mexico: H.R. 3096, the Resources and 
Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies 
of the Gulf Coast States Act of

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2011.'' Testimony was heard from Rep. Olson; Rep. Miller of Florida; 
Rep. Palazzo; Rep. Bonner; Rep. Scalise; Craig Bennett, Director, 
National Pollution Funds Center, United States Coast Guard; Tony Penn, 
Deputy Chief, Assessment and Restoration Division, Office of Response 
and Restoration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 
Garret Graves, Chair, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of 
Louisiana; Robert Craft, Mayor, City of Gulf Shores, Alabama; Bill 
Williams, Commissioner, Gulf County, Florida; and public witnesses.

Joint Meetings
CAUCASUS
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission received a 
briefing on conflicts in the Caucasus, focusing on prospects for 
resolution, where these conflicts stand today, what factors impede a 
settlement, whether the resumption of armed hostilities is a serious 
threat, whether changes in the negotiating format might yield a better 
outcome, and what, if anything, could the United States do to 
facilitate a resolution, from Tom de Waal, Carnegie Endowment for 
International Peace, Nottingham, United Kingdom; and Fiona Hill, 
Brookings Institution, and Wayne Merry, American Foreign Policy 
Council, both of Washington, D.C.