[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 106 (Tuesday, July 23, 2013)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D744-D746]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the nominations of Krysta L. Harden, of Georgia, 
to be Deputy Secretary, who was introduced by Senator Chambliss and 
Representative Bishop, and Robert Bonnie, of Virginia, to be Under 
Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, both of the Department 
of Agriculture, after the nominees testified and answered questions in 
their own behalf.
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED 
PROGRAMS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, 
and Related Programs approved for full committee consideration an 
original bill making appropriations for the Department of State, 
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs for fiscal year 2014.
APPROPRIATIONS: FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Financial Service and 
General Government approved for full committee consideration an 
original bill making appropriations for Financial Services and General 
Government for fiscal year 2014.
FINANCIAL HOLDING COMPANIES
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection concluded a hearing to 
examine financial holding companies, focusing on if banks should 
control power plants, warehouses, and oil refineries, after receiving 
testimony from Saule T. Omarova, University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill; Joshua Rosner, Graham Fisher and Co., and Randall D. Guynn, Davis 
Polk and Wardwell LLP, both of New York, New York; and Tim Weiner, 
MillerCoors LLC, Brookfield, Wisconsin.
HOUSING FINANCE SYSTEM
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Securities, Insurance and Investment concluded a hearing to examine 
creating a housing finance system built to last, focusing on ensuring 
access for community institutions, including S. 1217, to provide 
secondary mortgage market reform, after receiving testimony from Sandra 
Thompson, Deputy Director, Division of Housing Mission and Goals, 
Federal Housing Finance Agency; Jack Hartings, The Peoples Bank Co., 
Coldwater, Ohio, on behalf of the Independent Community Bankers of 
America; Bill Hampel, Credit Union National Association, Lorton, 
Virginia; Andrew J. Jetter, Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka, Topeka, 
Kansas; and Michael Middleton, Community Bank of Tri-County, LaPlata, 
Maryland, on behalf of the American Bankers Association.
IMPACT OF SEQUESTRATION
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
impact of sequestration on national security and the economy, after 
receiving testimony from Mark N. Klett, Klett Consulting Group, Inc, 
Virginia Beach, Virginia; Robert O. Work, Center for a New American 
Security, Baker Spring, The Heritage Foundation, and Thomas M. 
Donnelly, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research 
Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies, all of Washington, D.C.; and 
Jennifer-Cari Green, Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Washington, 
on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO.
MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard concluded a hearing to 
examine New England and mid-Atlantic perspectives on ``Magnuson-Stevens 
Act'' reauthorization, after receiving testimony from John K. Bullard, 
Northeast Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service,

[[Page D745]]

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of 
Commerce; C. M. Cunningham Jr., New England Fishery Management Council, 
Newburyport, Massachusetts; Richard B. Robins, Jr., Mid-Atlantic 
Fishery Management Council, Dover, Delaware; Nick Muto, Cape Cod 
Commercial Fishermen's Alliance, Brewster, Massachusetts; John 
McMurray, ``One More Cast'' Charters, Oceanside, New York; John 
Boreman, North Carolina State University, Durham; Joshua B. Wiersma, 
Northeast Fishery Sectors XI and XII, Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and 
Patrick Paquette, Hyannis, Massachusetts.
FAIR ACT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine S. 1273, to establish a partnership between States 
that produce energy onshore and offshore for our country with the 
Federal Government, after receiving testimony from Pamela K. Haze, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Budget, Finance, 
Performance, and Acquisition; Cathie J. France, Virginia Department of 
Mines, Minerals and Energy Deputy Director for Energy Policy, Richmond; 
Mayor Charlotte Brower, North Slope Borough, Alaska; and Reggie Dupre, 
Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District, Houma, Louisiana; Ryan 
Alexander, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Randall Luthi, National Ocean 
Industries Association, and Athan Manuel, Sierra Club Lands Protection 
Program, all of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee announced the 
following subcommittee assignments:
Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Senators Baucus 
(Chair), Carper, Cardin, Sanders, Udall (NM), Gillibrand, Hirono, 
Barrasso, Inhofe, Sessions, Crapo, Wicker, and Fischer.
Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety: Senators Carper (Chair), 
Baucus, Cardin, Sanders, Whitehouse, Udall (NM), Sessions, Barrasso, 
Crapo, Wicker, and Boozman.
Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife: Senators Cardin (Chair), Carper, 
Whitehouse, Merkley, Gillibrand, Hirono, Boozman, Inhofe, Barrasso, 
Sessions, and Fischer.
Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health: Senators 
Udall (NM) (Chair), Baucus, Merkley, Gillibrand, Hirono, Crapo, Inhofe, 
Wicker, and Fischer.
Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy: Senators Merkley 
(Chair), Carper, Sanders, Wicker, and Sessions.
Subcommittee on Oversight: Senators Whitehouse (Chair), Baucus, Hirono, 
Inhofe, and Boozman.
  Senators Boxer and Vitter are ex officio members of each 
subcommittee.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the nominations of Kenneth J. Kopocis, of Virginia, 
to be an Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water, James J. 
Jones, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Administrator for 
Toxic Substances, and Avi Garbow, of Virginia, to be General Counsel, 
all of the Environmental Protection Agency, after the nominees 
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of Joseph Y. Yun, of Oregon, to be Ambassador 
to Malaysia, Daniel A. Clune, of Maryland, to be Ambassador to the Lao 
People's Democratic Republic, and Morrell John Berry, of Maryland, who 
was introduced by Representative Hoyer, to be Ambassador to Australia, 
all of the Department of State, after the nominees testified and 
answered questions in their own behalf.
NUCLEAR EMPLOYMENT
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee received a closed briefing on 
nuclear employment from Rose Gottemoeller, Acting Under Secretary of 
State for Arms Control and International Security; Madelyn Creedon, 
Assistant Secretary for Global Security Affairs, General Robert Kehler, 
Commander, United States Strategic Command, and Mike Elliott, Deputy 
Director for Strategic Stability, Strategic Plans and Policy 
Directorate, United States Strategic Command Joint Staff, all of the 
Department of Defense; and Kevin Greenaugh, National Nuclear Security 
Administration Defense Programs, Department of Energy.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following business items:
  S. Res. 156, expressing the sense of the Senate on the 10-year 
anniversary of NATO Allied Command Transformation, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute; and
  The nominations of Victoria Nuland, of Virginia, to be Assistant 
Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, Douglas Edward Lute, of 
Indiana, to be United States Permanent Representative on the Council of 
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the rank and status of 
Ambassador, Daniel

[[Page D746]]

Brooks Baer, of Colorado, to be U.S. Representative to the Organization 
for Security and Cooperation in Europe, with the rank of Ambassador, 
Catherine M. Russell, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador at 
Large for Global Women's Issues, and Samantha Power, of Massachusetts, 
to be the Representative to the United Nations, with the rank and 
status of Ambassador and the Representative in the Security Council of 
the United Nations, and to be Representative to the Sessions of the 
General Assembly of the United Nations during her tenure of service as 
Representative to the United Nations, all of the Department of State.
IMPROVING MILITARY AND VETERANS EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine the 90/10 rule, focusing on improving 
educational outcomes for our military and veterans, after receiving 
testimony from Curtis L. Coy, Deputy Under Secretary for Economic 
Opportunity, Veterans Benefits Administration, and Robert M. Worley II, 
Director, Education Service, both of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs; Hollister K. Petraeus, Assistant Director, Office of 
Servicemember Affairs, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Steve 
Gunderson, The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, 
and Tom Tarantino, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, both of 
Washington, D.C.; and Sergeant Christopher J. Pantzke, USA (Ret.), 
Prince George, Virginia.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Kent Yoshiho 
Hirozawa, of New York, and Nancy Jean Schiffer, of Maryland, both to be 
a Member of the National Labor Relations Board, after the nominees, who 
were both introduced by Senator Harkin, testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
PAY-FOR-DELAY DEALS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition 
Policy and Consumer Rights concluded a hearing to examine pay-for-delay 
deals, focusing on competition and consumers, including S. 214, to 
prohibit brand name drug companies from compensating generic drug 
companies to delay the entry of a generic drug into the market, after 
receiving testimony from Edith Ramirez, Chairwoman, Federal Trade 
Commission; Robert G. Romasco, AARP, Diane E. Bieri, Arnold and Porter 
LLP, and Mike Russo, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, all of 
Washington, D.C.; Michael A. Carrier, Rutgers Law School, Camden, New 
Jersey; Jonathan M. Orszag, Compass Lexecon, West Palm Beach, Florida; 
and Sumanth Addanki, NERA Economic Consulting, White Plains, New York.
SEQUESTRATION'S EFFECT ON THE COURTS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts 
concluded a hearing to examine how sequestration is affecting the 
courts, after receiving testimony from Julia S. Gibbons, Judge, Sixth 
Circuit Court of Appeals, and Chair, Committee on the Budget of the 
Judicial Conference of the United States; Michael S. Nachmanoff, 
Eastern District of Virginia Federal Public Defender, Alexandria, on 
behalf of the Federal Public and Community Defenders; and W. West 
Allen, Federal Bar Association, Las Vegas, Nevada.
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.