[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D528-D529]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Department of the 
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to 
examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2016 for the Bureau 
of Land Management, after receiving testimony from Neil G. Kornze, 
Director, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee began consideration of the 
proposed National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2016, but 
did not complete action thereon, and will meet again on Thursday, May, 
14, 2015.
AMERICAN INTERESTS IN THE EAST AND SOUTH CHINA SEAS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine safeguarding American interests in the East and South China 
Seas, after receiving testimony from Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary 
of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and David Shear, 
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs.
SECURING THE BORDER
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine securing the border, focusing on 
fencing, infrastructure, and technology force multipliers, after 
receiving testimony from Randolph D. Alles, Assistant Commissioner, 
Office of Air and Marine, Mark Borkowski, Assistant Commissioner, 
Office of Technology Innovation and Acquisition, and Ronald Vitiello, 
Deputy Chief, Office of Border Patrol, all of Customs and Border 
Protection, and Anh Duong, Director, Borders and Maritime Security 
Division, Advanced Research Projects Agency, Science and Technology 
Directorate, all of the Department of Homeland Security; Rebecca 
Gambler, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, Government 
Accountability Office; and Michael John Garcia, Legislative Attorney, 
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 
986, to require the Secretary of the Interior to take into trust 4 
parcels of Federal land for the benefit of certain Indian Pueblos in 
the State of New Mexico.

[[Page D529]]


EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIAN CHILDREN
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing 
to examine the Bureau of Indian Education, focusing on organizational 
challenges in transforming educational opportunities for Indian 
children, after receiving testimony from Charles Roessel, Director, 
Bureau of Indian Education, Department of the Interior; Melissa Emrey-
Arras, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security, Government 
Accountability Office; Carri Jones, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Cass 
Lake, Minnesota; and Tommy Lewis, Navajo Nation Department of Dine 
Education, Window Rock, Arizona.
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO COUNSEL FOR INDIGENTS CHARGED WITH MISDEMEANORS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
protecting the constitutional right to counsel for indigents charged 
with misdemeanors, after receiving testimony from Neil Fulton, Chief 
Federal Public Defender for the Districts of North and South Dakota; 
Mark S. Cady, Supreme Court of Iowa Chief Justice, Des Moines, on 
behalf of the Conference of Chief Justices; David A. Singleton, Ohio 
Justice and Policy Center, Cincinnati; Robert C. Boruchowitz, Seattle 
University School of Law, Seattle, Washington; and Erica Hashimoto, 
University of Georgia School of Law, Athens.
BENEFITS LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine pending benefits legislation, including S. 270, to amend title 
38, United States Code, to revise the definition of spouse for purposes 
of veterans benefits in recognition of new State definitions of spouse, 
S. 602, to amend title 38, United States Code, to consider certain time 
spent by members of reserve components of the Armed Forces while 
receiving medical care from the Secretary of Defense as active duty for 
purposes of eligibility for Post-9/11 Educational Assistance, S. 627, 
to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to revoke bonuses paid to 
employees involved in electronic wait list manipulations, S. 681, to 
amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to 
the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the 
Republic of Vietnam, S. 1203, to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
improve the processing by the Department of Veterans Affairs of claims 
for benefits under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, and an original bill entitled ``Veterans' Compensation Cost-
of-Living-Adjustment Act of 2015'', after receiving testimony from 
Senators Ayotte and Gillibrand; David R. McLenachen, Acting Deputy 
Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Disability Assistance, Veterans 
Benefits Administration; Anthony M. Kurta, Deputy Assistant Secretary 
of Defense, Military Personnel Policy; Teresa W. Gerton, Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Policy, Veterans' Employment and 
Training Service; and Alphonso Maldon, Jr., Military Compensation and 
Retirement Modernization Commission, Jeffrey Phillips, Reserve Officers 
Association of the United States, and Aleks Morosky, Veterans of 
Foreign Wars of the United States, all of Washington, D.C.