[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 92 (Tuesday, June 25, 2013)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D632-D634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development approved for full committee consideration an original bill 
making appropriations for Energy and Water Development for fiscal year 
2014.
APPROPRIATIONS: TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND 
RELATED AGENCIES
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing 
and Urban Development, and Related Agencies approved for full committee 
consideration an original bill making appropriations for 
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies for 
fiscal year 2014.
APPROPRIATIONS: COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION AND THE SECURITIES 
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Financial Service and 
General Government concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget 
estimates for fiscal year 2014 for the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, after receiving 
testimony from Gary Gensler, Chairman, Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission; and Mary Jo White, Chair, Securities and Exchange 
Commission.
PRIVATE STUDENT LOANS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine private student loans, focusing on regulatory 
perspectives, after receiving testimony from Rohit Chopra, Assistant 
Director and Student Loan Ombudsman, Consumer Financial Protection 
Bureau; John C. Lyons, Senior Deputy Comptroller, Bank Supervision 
Policy and Chief National Bank Examiner, Office of the Comptroller of 
the Currency, Department of the Treasury; Todd Vermilyea, Senior 
Associate Director, Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; and Doreen R. 
Eberley, Director, Division of Risk Management Supervision, Federal 
Deposit Insurance Corporation.

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FOREST MANAGEMENT ON FEDERAL LANDS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded an 
oversight hearing to examine the challenges and opportunities for 
improving forest management on Federal lands, after receiving testimony 
from Thomas Tidwell, Chief, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture; 
Ned Farquhar, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and 
Minerals Management; Chris Maisch, Alaska Department of Natural 
Resources Division of Forestry State Forester and Division Director, 
Fairbanks; K. Norman Johnson, Oregon State University, Corvallis; Bill 
Imbergamo, Federal Forest Resource Coalition, Washington, D.C.; and 
Aaron Miles, Clearwater Basin Collaborative, Lapwai, Idaho.
ENERGY BILLS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Energy 
concluded an oversight hearing to examine S. 717, to direct the 
Secretary of Energy to establish a pilot program to award grants to 
nonprofit organizations for the purpose of retrofitting nonprofit 
buildings with energy-efficiency improvements, S. 1084, to amend the 
Energy Policy and Conservation Act to establish the Office of Energy 
Efficiency and Renewable Energy as the lead Federal agency for 
coordinating Federal, State, and local assistance provided to promote 
the energy retrofitting of schools, S. 1191, to facilitate better 
alignment, cooperation, and best practices between commercial real 
estate landlords and tenants regarding energy efficiency in buildings, 
S. 1199, to improve energy performance in Federal buildings, S. 1200, 
to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to promote energy 
efficiency and energy savings in residential buildings, S. 1205, to 
reduce energy waste, strengthen energy system resiliency, increase 
industrial competitiveness, and promote local economic development by 
helping public and private entities to assess and implement energy 
systems that recover and use waste heat and local renewable energy 
resources, S. 1206, to encourage benchmarking and disclosure of energy 
information for commercial buildings, S. 1209, to establish a State 
Energy Race to the Top Initiative to assist energy policy innovation in 
the States to promote the goal of doubling electric and thermal energy 
productivity by January 1, 2030, and S. 1213, to reauthorize the 
weatherization and State energy programs, after receiving testimony 
from Senators Coons, Bennet, and Warner; Mark Sylvia, Massachusetts 
Department of Energy Resources Commissioner, Boston, on behalf of the 
National Association of State Energy Officials; Steven Nadel, American 
Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and Nathan J. Diament, Union 
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, both of Washington, D.C.; 
Alex Laskey, Opower, Arlington, Virginia, on behalf of the Alliance to 
Save Energy; Mark Spurr, International District Energy Association, 
Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Brad A. Molotsky, Brandywine Realty Trust, 
Randor, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Real Estate Roundtable.
RECOVERY AUDIT CONTRACTORS
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to 
examine recovery audit contractors, focusing on program integrity, 
after receiving testimony from Jennifer J. Carmody, Billings Clinic, 
Billings, Montana; Suzie Draper, Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake 
City, Utah; and Robert Rolf, CGI Federal Inc., Fairfax, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following business items:
  S. 718, to create jobs in the United States by increasing United 
States exports to Africa by at least 200 percent in real dollar value 
within 10 years, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 559, to establish a fund to make payments to the Americans held 
hostage in Iran, and to members of their families, who are identified 
as members of the proposed class in case number 1:08-CV-00487 (EGS) of 
the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. Res. 144, concerning the ongoing conflict in the Democratic 
Republic of the Congo and the need for international efforts supporting 
long-term peace, stability, and observance of human rights, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. Res. 167, reaffirming the strong support of the United States for 
the peaceful resolution of territorial, sovereignty, and jurisdictional 
disputes in the Asia-Pacific maritime domains;
  S. Res. 165, calling for the release from prison of former Prime 
Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko in light of the recent European 
Court of Human Rights ruling, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. Res. 166, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of 
the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and commending its successor, 
the African Union;
  S. Res. 151, urging the Government of Afghanistan to ensure 
transparent and credible presidential and provincial elections in April 
2014 by adhering to internationally accepted democratic standards, 
establishing a transparent electoral process, and ensuring security for 
voters and candidates, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; 
and

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  The nominations of Geoffrey R. Pyatt, of California, to be Ambassador 
to Ukraine, Tulinabo Salama Mushingi, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to 
Burkina Faso, and Daniel R. Russel, of New York, to be Assistant 
Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, all of the Department of 
State.
IMPACTS OF PREPAREDNESS GRANTS SINCE 9/11
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee 
on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and the District 
of Columbia concluded a hearing to examine measuring the impact of 
preparedness grants since 9/11, focusing on progress the Federal 
Emergency Management Agency has made, and what additional steps are 
needed to improve grant management and assess capabilities, after 
receiving testimony from Timothy Manning, Deputy Administrator, 
Protection and National Preparedness, Federal Emergency Management 
Agency, and Anne L. Richards, Assistant Inspector General for Audits, 
both of the Department of Homeland Security; David C. Maurer, Director, 
Homeland Security and Justice, Government Accountability Office; John 
W. Madden, Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency 
Management Director, Anchorage, on behalf of the Governors Homeland 
Security Advisors Council, and the National Emergency Management 
Association; Mayor William Euille, Alexandria, Virginia, on behalf of 
the United States Conference of Mayors; and Joshua D. Filler, Filler 
Security Strategies, Inc., and Matt A. Mayer, Heritage Foundation, both 
of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
announced the following subcommittee assignments for the 113th 
Congress:
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations: Senators Levin (Chair), 
Pryor, Landrieu, McCaskill, Tester, Baldwin, Heitkamp, McCain, Johnson 
(WI), Portman, Paul, Ayotte, and Chiesa.
Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight: Senators McCaskill 
(Chair), Levin, Pryor, Landrieu, Begich, Baldwin, Johnson (WI), McCain, 
Enzi, and Ayotte.
Subcommittee on the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Federal Programs 
and the Federal Workforce: Senators Tester (Chair), Pryor, McCaskill, 
Begich, Baldwin, Heitkamp, Portman, Johnson (WI), Paul, and Enzi.
Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Intergovernmental Relations, and 
the District of Columbia: Senators Begich (Chair), Levin, Pryor, 
Landrieu, Tester, Heitkamp, Paul, McCain, Portman, Enzi, and Chiesa.
  Senators Carper and Coburn are ex officio members of each 
subcommittee.
FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine 75 years of the Federal minimum wage, 
after receiving testimony from Seth D. Harris, Acting Secretary of 
Labor; Michael Reich, University of California Berkley Institute for 
Research on Labor and Employment; Bishop Stephen E. Blaire, United 
States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Stockton, California; and Hilary 
O. Shelton, NAACP, and James Sherk, Heritage Foundation, both of 
Washington, D.C.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
  Committee recessed subject to the call.