[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 91 (Tuesday, June 9, 2015)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D666-D667]
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 Appropriations: Subcommittee on Department of Defense 
approved for full committee consideration an original bill entitled, 
``Fiscal Year 2016 Department of Defense Appropriations''.
ENERGY ACCOUNTABILITY AND REFORM LEGISLATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine S. 15, to amend the Mineral Leasing Act to recognize 
the authority of States to regulate oil and gas operations and promote 
American energy security, development, and job creation, S. 454, to 
amend the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 
2004 to improve the high-end computing research and development program 
of the Department of Energy, S. 784, to direct the Secretary of Energy 
to establish microlabs to improve regional engagement with national 
laboratories, S. 1033, to amend the Department of Energy Organization 
Act to replace the current requirement for a biennial energy policy 
plan with a Quadrennial Energy Review, S. 1054, to improve the 
productivity and energy efficiency of the manufacturing sector by 
directing the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the National 
Academies and other appropriate Federal agencies, to develop a national 
smart manufacturing plan and to provide assistance to small- and 
medium-sized manufacturers in implementing smart manufacturing 
programs, S. 1068, to amend the Federal Power Act to protect the bulk-
power system from cyber security threats, S. 1181, to expand the 
Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program to include commercial 
trucks and United States flagged vessels, to return unspent funds and 
loan proceeds to the United States Treasury to reduce the national 
debt, S. 1187, to improve management of the National Laboratories, 
enhance technology commercialization, facilitate public-private 
partnerships, S. 1216, to amend the Natural Gas Act to modify a 
provision relating to civil penalties, S. 1218, to establish an 
interagency coordination committee or subcommittee with the leadership 
of the Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior, focused 
on the nexus between energy and water production, use, and efficiency, 
S. 1221, to amend the Federal Power Act to require periodic reports on 
electricity reliability and reliability impact statements for rules 
affecting the reliable operation of the bulk-power system, S. 1223, to 
amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to improve the loan guarantee 
program for innovative technologies, S. 1229, to require the Secretary 
of Energy to submit a plan to implement recommendations to improve 
interactions between the Department of Energy and National 
Laboratories, S. 1230, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
establish a program under which the Director of the Bureau of Land 
Management shall enter into memoranda of understanding with States 
providing for State oversight of oil and gas productions activities, S. 
1241, to provide for the modernization, security, and resiliency of the 
electric grid, to require the Secretary of Energy to carry out programs 
for research, development, demonstration, and information-sharing for 
cybersecurity for the energy sector, S. 1256, to require the Secretary 
of Energy to establish an energy storage research program, loan 
program, and technical assistance and grant program, S. 1258, to 
require the Secretary of Energy to establish a distributed energy loan 
program and technical assistance and grant program, S. 1259, to 
establish a grant program to allow National Laboratories to provide 
vouchers to small business concerns to improve commercialization of 
technologies developed at National Laboratories and the technology-
driven economic impact of commercialization in the regions in which 
National Laboratories are located, S. 1263, to provide for the 
establishment of a Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export 
Assistance Fund to assist United States businesses with exporting clean 
energy technology products and services, S. 1274, to amend the National 
Energy Conservation Policy Act to reauthorize Federal agencies to enter 
into long-term contracts for the acquisition of energy, S. 1275, to 
establish a Financing Energy Efficient Manufacturing Program in the 
Department of Energy to provide financial assistance to promote energy 
efficiency and onsite renewable technologies in manufacturing and 
industrial facilities, S. 1277, to improve energy savings by the 
Department of Defense, S. 1293, to establish the Department of Energy 
as the lead agency for coordinating all requirements under Federal law 
with respect to eligible clean coal and advanced coal technology 
generating projects, S. 1306, to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to 
use existing funding available to further projects that would improve 
energy efficiency and reduce emissions, S. 1310, to prohibit the 
Secretary of the Interior from issuing new oil or natural gas 
production leases in the Gulf of Mexico under the Outer Continental 
Shelf Lands Act to a person that does not renegotiate its existing 
leases in order to require royalty payments if oil and natural gas 
prices are greater than or equal to specified price thresholds, S. 
1311, to amend the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 
and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to modify

[[Page D667]]

certain penalties to deter oil spills, S. 1312, to modernize Federal 
policies regarding the supply and distribution of energy in the United 
States, S. 1338, to amend the Federal Power Act to provide licensing 
procedures for certain types of projects, S. 1340, to amend the Mineral 
Leasing Act to improve coal leasing, S. 1346, to require the Secretary 
of Energy to establish an e-prize competition pilot program to provide 
up to 4 financial awards to eligible entities that develop and 
verifiably demonstrate technology that reduces the cost of electricity 
or space heat in a high-cost region, S. 1363, to require the Secretary 
of Energy to submit to Congress a report assessing the capability of 
the Department of Energy to authorize, host, and oversee privately 
funded fusion and fission reactor prototypes and related demonstration 
facilities at sites owned by the Department of Energy, S. 1398, to 
extend, improve, and consolidate energy research and development 
programs, S. 1405, to require a coordinated response to coal fuel 
supply emergencies that could impact electric power system adequacy or 
reliability, S. 1407, to promote the development of renewable energy on 
public land, S. 1408, to provide for a program of research, 
development, demonstration, and commercial application in vehicle 
technologies at the Department of Energy, S. 1420, to amend the 
Department of Energy Organization Act to provide for the collection of 
information on critical energy supplies, to establish a Working Group 
on Energy Markets, S. 1422, to require the Secretary of Energy to 
establish a comprehensive program to improve education and training for 
energy- and manufacturing-related jobs to increase the number of 
skilled workers trained to work in energy and manufacturing-related 
fields, S. 1428, to amend the USEC Privatization Act to require the 
Secretary of Energy to issue a long-term Federal excess uranium 
inventory management plan, S. 1432, to require the Secretary of Energy 
to conduct a study on the technology, potential lifecycle energy 
savings, and economic impact of recycled carbon fiber, S. 1434, to 
amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish 
an energy storage portfolio standard, S. 1449, to amend the Energy 
Independence and Security Act of 2007 to add certain medium-duty and 
heavy-duty vehicles to the advanced technology vehicles manufacturing 
incentive program, and H.R. 35, to increase the understanding of the 
health effects of low doses of ionizing radiation, after receiving 
testimony from Lynn Orr, Under Secretary of Energy for Science and 
Energy; Colleen McAleer, Port of Port Angeles, Port Angeles, 
Washington; Norman R. Augustine, Bipartisan Policy Center, Bethesda, 
Maryland, on behalf of the American Energy Innovation Council; Karen 
Harbert, Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century Energy, 
Washington, D.C.; Duane D. Highley, Arkansas Electric Cooperative, 
Little Rock, on behalf of the National Rural Electric Cooperative 
Association; and Mark P. Mills, Manhattan Institute, Chevy Chase, 
Maryland.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following business items:
  S.756, to require a report on accountability for war crimes and 
crimes against humanity in Syria;
  An original bill entitled, ``Department of State Operations 
Authorization and Embassy Security Act, Fiscal Year 2016''; and
  The nominations of Azita Raji, of California, to be Ambassador to the 
Kingdom of Sweden, Nancy Bikoff Pettit, of Virginia, to be Ambassador 
to the Republic of Latvia, Gregory T. Delawie, of Virginia, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Kosovo, Ian C. Kelly, of Illinois, to be 
Ambassador to Georgia, Julieta Valls Noyes, of Virginia, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, and routine lists in the Foreign 
Service, all of the Department of State, and Sunil Sabharwal, of 
California, to be United States Alternate Executive Director of the 
International Monetary Fund for a term of two years.
OVERSIGHT OF THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded an oversight hearing to examine the Transportation Security 
Administration, focusing on first-hand and government watchdog accounts 
of agency challenges, after receiving testimony from Becky Roering, 
Assistant Federal Security Director--Inspections, and Robert J. 
MacLean, Federal Air Marshall, Office of Law Enforcement, Federal Air 
Marshall Service, both of the Transportation Security Administration, 
and John Roth, Inspector General, all of the Department of Homeland 
Security; and Jennifer Grover, Director, Homeland Security and Justice, 
Government Accountability Office.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the nominations of David J. Shulkin, of Pennsylvania, to be Under 
Secretary for Health, and LaVerne Horton Council, of New Jersey, to be 
an Assistant Secretary (Information and Technology), both of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of 
the intelligence community.