[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 61 (Thursday, April 26, 2012)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D411-D413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee ordered 
favorably reported an original bill entitled, ``Agriculture Reform, 
Food, and Jobs Act of 2012''.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  An original bill (S. 2375) making appropriations for Agriculture, 
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013; and
  An original bill (S. 2465) making appropriations for Energy and Water 
Development and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 
30, 2013.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Kathleen H. Hicks, of Virginia, to be Principal 
Deputy Under Secretary for Policy, and Derek H. Chollet, of Nebraska, 
to be Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs, both of 
the Department of Defense, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST AND FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on SeaPower concluded a 
hearing to examine Marine Corps acquisition programs in review of the 
Defense Authorization request for fiscal year 2013 and the Future Years 
Defense Program, after receiving testimony from Sean J. Stackley, 
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and 
Acquisition, and Lieutenant General Richard P. Mills, Deputy 
Commandant, Combat Development and Integration and Commanding General, 
Marine Corps Combat Development Command, both of the Department of 
Defense.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported 2,894 
nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT BUDGET
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine legislative proposals in the Department of Housing 
and

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Urban Development's fiscal year 2013 budget, after receiving testimony 
from Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
WEATHER RELATED ELECTRICAL OUTAGES
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine weather related electrical outages, after receiving 
testimony from Senator Blumenthal; Patricia Hoffman, Assistant 
Secretary of Energy for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability; 
Norman C. Bay, Director, Office of Enforcement, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission; Thomas B. Getz, former New Hampshire Public 
Utilities Commission Chairman, Concord; and John Bilda, General Manager 
of Norwich Public Utilities, Norwich, Connecticut.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the nominations of Adam E. Sieminski, of Pennsylvania, to be 
Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, Department of 
Energy, Marcilynn A. Burke, of North Carolina, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of the Interior, and Anthony T. Clark, of North Dakota, and 
John Robert Norris, of Iowa, both to be a Member of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission.
IMPROVING TAXPAYER EXPERIENCE
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine tax 
filing season, focusing on improving the taxpayer experience, after 
receiving testimony from James R. White, Director, Strategic Issues, 
Government Accountability Office; Beth Tucker, Deputy Commissioner, 
Operations Support, and Teresa Thompson, Local Taxpayer Advocate for 
the State of Montana, Taxpayer Advocate Service, both of the Internal 
Revenue Service; and Troy K. Lewis, Lewis and Associates, CPAs, LLC, 
Draper, Utah.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following business items:
  S. Res. 435, calling for democratic change in Syria, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 2224, to require the President to report to Congress on issues 
related to Syria;
  H.R. 1016, to measure the progress of relief, recovery, 
reconstruction, and development efforts in Haiti following the 
earthquake of January 12, 2010;
  S. Res. 401, expressing appreciation for Foreign Service and Civil 
Service professionals who represent the United States around the globe, 
an original resolution calling for democratic change in Syria; and
  The nominations of Scott H. DeLisi, of Minnesota, to be Ambassador to 
the Republic of Uganda, Michael A. Raynor, of Maryland, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, and Makila James, of the District 
of Columbia, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Swaziland, all of the 
Department of State, and lists in the Foreign Service.
BURMA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific 
Affairs concluded a hearing to examine United States policy on Burma, 
after receiving testimony from Joseph Y. Yun, Principal Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; 
Nisha Biswal, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Asia, United States 
Agency for International Development; Adam J. Szubin, Office of Foreign 
Assets Control, Department of the Treasury; and David I. Steinberg, 
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Karl D. Jackson, Johns 
Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International 
Studies, and Peter M. Manikas, National Democratic Institute, all of 
Washington, D.C.
BIOLOGICAL SECURITY
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine biological security, focusing on the 
risk of dual-use research, after receiving testimony from Anthony S. 
Fauci, Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 
and Paul S. Keim, Acting Chair, National Science Advisory Board for 
Biosecurity, both of the National Institutes of Health, Department of 
Health and Human Services; Daniel M. Gerstein, Deputy Under Secretary 
for Science and Technology, Department of Homeland Security; and Tom 
Inglesby, Center for Biosecurity of University of Pittsburgh Medical 
Center, Baltimore, Maryland.
FINANCIAL LITERACY
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 financial literacy, 
focusing on empowering Americans to prevent the next financial crisis, 
after receiving testimony from Melissa Koide, Deputy Assistant 
Secretary of the Treasury, Office of Financial Access, Education, and 
Consumer Protection; Camille Busette, Assistant Director, Office of 
Financial Education, Division of Consumer Education and Engagement, 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Alicia Puente Cackley, Director, 
Financial Markets and Community Investment, Government Accountability 
Office; Sheila Bair, former Chairman, United States Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation, and Pew Charitable Trusts, and Mark A. Calabria, 
Cato Institute, both of Washington, D.C.; Brigitte Madrian,

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Harvard Kennedy School, Boston, Massachusetts; Sharra R. Jones, Laurel, 
Mississippi; and Michael Martin, and Evan K. Richards, both of 
Baltimore, Maryland.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
nominations of Michael P. Shea, to be United States District Judge for 
the District of Connecticut, Gonzalo P. Curiel, to be United States 
District Judge for the Southern District of California, and Robert J. 
Shelby, to be United States District Judge for the District of Utah.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the nominations of Coral Wong Pietsch, of Hawaii, and Margaret Bartley, 
of Maryland, both to be a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals 
for Veterans Claims.