[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 122 (Thursday, July 30, 2015)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D913-D915]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                            Thursday, July 30, 2015

[[Page D913]]

                              Daily Digest


HIGHLIGHTS

      Senate passed H.R. 22, Developing a Reliable and Innovative 
      Vision for the Economy Act, as amended.
      Senate passed H.R. 3236, Surface Transportation and Veterans 
      Health Care Choice Improvement Act.


                                 Senate


Chamber Action
Routine Proceedings, pages S6147-S6210.
Measures Introduced: Sixteen bills and five resolutions were 
introduced, as follows: S. 1899-1914, S.J. Res. 21, and S. Res. 236-
239.                                                     
  Pages S6186-87
Measures Reported:
  S. 1910, making appropriations for financial services and general 
government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016. (S. Rept. No. 
114-97)
  S. 313, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to add 
physical therapists to the list of providers allowed to utilize locum 
tenens arrangements under Medicare, with an amendment in the nature of 
a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 114-98)
  S. 349, to amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to empower 
individuals with disabilities to establish their own supplemental needs 
trusts. (S. Rept. No. 114-99)
  S. 466, to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to improve the 
quality, health outcomes, and value of maternity care under the 
Medicaid and CHIP programs by developing maternity care quality 
measures and supporting maternity care quality collaboratives, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 114-100)
  S. 599, to extend and expand the Medicaid emergency psychiatric 
demonstration project, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 
(S. Rept. No. 114-101)
  S. 607, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
for a five-year extension of the rural community hospital demonstration 
program, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 
114-102)
  S. 704, to establish a Community-Based Institutional Special Needs 
Plan demonstration program to target home and community-based care to 
eligible Medicare beneficiaries, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. (S. Rept. No. 114-103)
  S. 861, to amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to 
curb waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 114-104)
  S. 1253, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide 
coverage of certain disposable medical technologies under the Medicare 
program, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 
114-105)
  S. 1347, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act with respect 
to the treatment of patient encounters in ambulatory surgical centers 
in determining meaningful EHR use, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. (S. Rept. No. 114-106)
  S. 1349, to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require 
hospitals to provide certain notifications to individuals classified by 
such hospitals under observation status rather than admitted as 
inpatients of such hospitals. (S. Rept. No. 114-107)
  S. 1362, to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to clarify 
waiver authority regarding programs of all-inclusive care for the 
elderly (PACE programs), with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute. (S. Rept. No. 114-108)
  S. 1461, to provide for the extension of the enforcement instruction 
on supervision requirements for outpatient therapeutic services in 
critical access and small rural hospitals through 2015, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute. (S. Rept. No. 114-109)
  S. 1875, to support enhanced accountability for United States 
assistance to Afghanistan, with an amendment.                
Page S6186

[[Page D914]]

Measures Passed:
  National Whistleblower Appreciation Day: Senate agreed to S. Res. 
236, designating July 30, 2015, as ``National Whistleblower 
Appreciation Day''.                                          
  Page S6147
  Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act: By 
65 yeas to 34 nays (Vote No. 260), Senate passed H.R. 22, to authorize 
funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit 
programs, and after taking action on the following amendment proposed 
thereto:                                               
  Pages S6149-6161
Adopted:
  McConnell Amendment No. 2542, to amend the title.          
Page S6205
  Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement 
Act: By 91 yeas to 4 nays (Vote No. 261), Senate passed H.R. 3236, to 
provide an extension of Federal-aid highway, highway safety, motor 
carrier safety, transit, and other programs funded out of the Highway 
Trust Fund, to provide resource flexibility to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs for health care services, by the order of the Senate 
of Wednesday, July 29, 2015, 60 Senators having voted in the 
affirmative.                                             
  Pages S6165-66
  Presidential Transitions Improvements Act of 2015: Senate passed S. 
1172, to improve the process of presidential transition, after agreeing 
to the committee amendments, and the following amendment proposed 
thereto:                                                 
  Pages S6205-09
  McConnell (for Carper/Johnson) Amendment No. 2543, relative to 
presidential transitions.                                
Pages S6207-09
Measures Considered:
Prohibit Federal Funding of Planned Parenthood--Cloture: Senate began 
consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of S. 1881, to 
prohibit Federal funding of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 
                                               Pages S6161-64, S6166-80
   A motion was entered to close further debate on the motion to 
proceed to consideration of the bill, and, in accordance with the 
provisions of Rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate and 
pursuant to the unanimous-consent agreement of Thursday, July 30, 2015, 
a vote on cloture will occur at 5:30 p.m., on Monday, August 3, 2015. 
                                                             Page S6209
  A unanimous-consent agreement was reached providing that at 
approximately 2 p.m., on Monday, August 3, 2015, Senate resume 
consideration of the motion to proceed to consideration of the bill. 
                                                             Page S6209
Pro Forma Session--Agreement: A unanimous-consent agreement was reached 
providing that the Senate adjourn until 10:00 a.m., on Friday, July 31, 
2015, for a pro forma session only, with no business conducted; and 
that following the pro forma session, Senate adjourn until 2 p.m., on 
Monday, August 3, 2015.                                      
  Page S6209
Nominations Received: Senate received the following nominations:
  Eric Drake Eberhard, of Washington, to be a Member of the Board of 
Trustees of the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation for a 
term expiring October 6, 2018.
  Michael F. Suarez, of Virginia, to be a Member of the National 
Council on the Humanities for a term expiring January 26, 2020.
  Elissa Slotkin, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of Defense.
  John E. Sparks, of Virginia, to be a Judge of the United States Court 
of Appeals for the Armed Forces for the term of fifteen years to expire 
on the date prescribed by law.
  Derek Tai-Ching Kan, of California, to be a Director of the Amtrak 
Board of Directors for a term of five years.
  Beverly Angela Scott, of Ohio, to be a Member of the National 
Transportation Safety Board for a term expiring December 31, 2019.
  John D. Feeley, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador to the 
Republic of Panama.
  Robert Porter Jackson, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic 
of Ghana.
  Victoria A. Lipnic, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission for a term expiring July 1, 2020.
  Michael Herman Michaud, of Maine, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor 
for Veterans' Employment and Training.
  Susan Paradise Baxter, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District 
Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
  Inga S. Bernstein, of Massachusetts, to be United States District 
Judge for the District of Massachusetts.
  Gary Richard Brown, of New York, to be United States District Judge 
for the Eastern District of New York.
  Robert John Colville, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District 
Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
  Elizabeth J. Drake, of Maryland, to be a Judge of the United States 
Court of International Trade.
  Jennifer Choe Groves, of Virginia, to be a Judge of the United States 
Court of International Trade.
  Marilyn Jean Horan, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District 
Judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

[[Page D915]]


  Gary Stephen Katzmann, of Massachusetts, to be a Judge of the United 
States Court of International Trade.
  Dax Eric Lopez, of Georgia, to be United States District Judge for 
the Northern District of Georgia.
  John Milton Younge, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District 
Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
  Darryl L. DePriest, of Illinois, to be Chief Counsel for Advocacy, 
Small Business Administration.                           
Pages S6209-10
Nominations Withdrawn: Senate received notification of withdrawal of 
the following nominations:
  Derek Tai-Ching Kan, of California, to be a Director of the Amtrak 
Board of Directors for a term of five years, which was sent to the 
Senate on July 13, 2015.
  Earl L. Gay, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Director of 
the Office of Personnel Management, which was sent to the Senate on 
January 8, 2015.                                              
Page 6210
Messages from the House:                                 
  Pages S6185-86
Measures Referred:                                           
  Page S6186
Executive Communications:                                    
  Page S6186
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages S6187-89
Statements on Introduced Bills/Resolutions:              
  Pages S6189-94
Additional Statements:                                   
  Pages S6184-85
Amendments Submitted:                                        
  Page S6194
Notices of Hearings/Meetings:                                
  Page S6194
Authorities for Committees to Meet:                          
  Page S6194
Privileges of the Floor:                                     
  Page S6195
Record Votes: Two record votes were taken today. (Total--261) 
                                               Pages S6160-61, S6165-66
Adjournment: Senate convened at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 5:51 p.m., 
until 10 a.m. on Friday, July 31, 2015. (For Senate's program, see the 
remarks of the Majority Leader in today's Record on page S6209.)