[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 15, 2017)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D293-D294]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE PROGRAM
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Department of Defense 
received a closed briefing regarding a ballistic missile defense 
program update from Vice Admiral James D. Syring, USN, Director of the 
Missile Defense Agency, Department of Defense.
STEM EDUCATION
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, 
Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies 
concluded a hearing to examine STEM education, focusing on preparing 
students for the careers of today and the future, after receiving 
testimony from Sarah Tucker, West Virginia Council for Community and 
Technical College Education, Charleston; Larry Plank, Hillsborough 
County Public Schools, Tampa, Florida; Neil Lamb, HudsonAlpha Institute 
for Biotechnology, Huntsville, Alabama; and Caroline King, Washington 
STEM, Seattle.
WARFARE IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Airland concluded a 
hearing to examine all arms warfare in the 21st century, after 
receiving testimony from Lieutenant General David A. Deptula, USAF 
(Ret.), Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Power Studies; Colonel Douglas 
A. Macgregor, USA (Ret.), Burke-Macgregor Group; and Paul Scharre, 
Center for a New American Security 20YY Warfare Initiative.
ASSESSING U.S. SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine assessing U.S. sanctions on Russia, focusing on the 
next steps, after receiving testimony from Eric Lorber, Foundation for 
Defense of Democracies, and Elizabeth Rosenberg, Center for a New 
American Security, both of Washington, D.C.; and Rodney D. Ludema, 
Georgetown University Department of Economics, Rockville, Maryland.
UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine unmanned aircraft systems, focusing on innovation, 
integration, successes, and challenges, after receiving testimony from 
Earl Lawrence, Director, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Office, 
Federal Aviation Administration; Diana Marina Cooper, Precision Hawk 
USA Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, on behalf of the Small UAV 
Coalition; Ben Fowke, Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Brendan 
Schulman, DJI Technology, Inc., New York, New York; John Villasenor, 
University of California, Los Angeles; and Emilio T. Gonzalez, Miami-
Dade Aviation Department, Miami, Florida.
SOLUTIONS TO CONTROL INVASIVE SPECIES
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine innovative solutions to control invasive species and 
promote wildlife conservation, after receiving testimony from Jim 
Kurth, Acting Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Jamie K. Reaser, 
Executive Director, National Invasive Species Council, both of the 
Department of the Interior; Brian R. Nesvik, Wyoming Game and Fish 
Department Chief Game Warden and Chief of the Wildlife Division, 
Cheyenne; Carter Roberts, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.; and 
David Ullrich, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
SIX YEARS OF WAR IN SYRIA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine six years of war in Syria, focusing on the human toll, after 
receiving testimony from Neal Keny-Guyer, Mercy Corps, Portland, 
Oregon; David Miliband, International Rescue Committee, New York, New 
York; and Farida, Abdulkhalek, and Abu Rajab, all of the Syrian 
American Medical Society, Aleppo, Syria.

[[Page D294]]


BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
ordered favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 585, to provide greater whistleblower protections for Federal 
employees, increased awareness of Federal whistleblower protections, 
and increased accountability and required discipline for Federal 
supervisors who retaliate against whistleblowers;
  S. 582, to reauthorize the Office of Special Counsel, with an 
amendment;
  S. 576, to amend title 5, United States Code, to extend certain 
protections against prohibited personnel practices;
  S. 317, to provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the 
cost and performance of Government programs and areas of duplication 
among them, with an amendment;
  S. 500, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make the 
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for Health Affairs responsible 
for coordinating the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security 
related to food, agriculture, and veterinary defense against terrorism;
  S. 218, to restrict the inclusion of social security account numbers 
on documents sent by mail by the Federal Government, with an amendment;
  S. 188, to prohibit the use of Federal funds for the costs of 
painting portraits of officers and employees of the Federal Government;
  H.R. 274, to provide for reimbursement for the use of modern travel 
services by Federal employees traveling on official Government 
business;
  H.R. 366, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the 
Under Secretary for Management of the Department of Homeland Security 
to make certain improvements in managing the Department's vehicle 
fleet, with an amendment; and
  The nomination of Elaine C. Duke, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary 
of Homeland Security.
K-1 VISA FIANCE FRAUD
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
visas, focusing on investigating K-1 fiance fraud, after receiving 
testimony from Greg Nevano, Deputy Assistant Director for Illicit 
Trade, Travel, and Finance Division, Homeland Security Investigations, 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Daniel M. Renaud, Associate 
Director, Field Operations, Donald Neufeld, Associate Director, Service 
Center Operations, and Matthew Emrich, Associate Director, Fraud 
Detection and National Security, each of Citizenship and Immigration 
Services, all of the Department of Homeland Security; David T. Donahue, 
Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs; Grace 
Huang, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, Oakland, 
California; Jamal Hussain, Lakewood, California; and Elena Maria Lopez, 
Bordentown, New Jersey.
AUTOCRACIES TOOLS FOR UNDERMINING DEMOCRACIES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism 
concluded a hearing to examine the modus operandi and toolbox of Russia 
and other autocracies for undermining democracies throughout the world, 
after receiving testimony from former President of the Republic of 
Estonia Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Institute for International Studies 
Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford, 
California; Heather C. Conley, Center for Strategic and International 
Studies, and Kenneth L. Wainstein, Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft LLP, 
both of Washington, D.C.; and Ben Buchanan, Harvard University Belfer 
Center Cybersecurity Project, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
VETERANS HEALTH
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine Government Accountability Office's high risk list and the 
Veterans Health Administration, after receiving testimony from Debra A. 
Draper, Director, Health Care, Government Accountability Office; and 
Michael J. Missal, Inspector General, and Carolyn Clancy, Deputy Under 
Secretary for Health for Organizational Excellence, Veterans Health 
Administration, 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.