[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 75 (Tuesday, May 2, 2017)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D478-D479]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
U.S. EUROPEAN COMMAND
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Military Construction and 
Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies concluded open and closed 
hearings to examine United States European Command, focusing on theater 
assessment and European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) progress, after 
receiving testimony from General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, USA, Commander, 
United States European Command, Department of Defense.
U.S. TRANSPORTATION COMMAND
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
United States Transportation Command, after receiving testimony from 
General Darren W. McDew, USAF, Commander, United

[[Page D479]]

States Transportation Command, Department of Defense.
U.S.-EU COVERED AGREEMENT
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the United States-European Union covered agreement, 
after receiving testimony from Michael T. McRaith, former Director, 
Federal Insurance Office, Department of Treasury, Chicago, Illinois; 
Julie Mix McPeak, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance 
Commissioner, Nashville, on behalf of the National Association of 
Insurance Commissioners; Michael C. Sapnar, Transatlantic Reinsurance 
Company, New York, New York; Stuart Henderson, Western National Mutual 
Insurance Company, Excelsior, Minnesota, on behalf of the National 
Association of Mutual Insurance Companies; and David Zaring, The 
Wharton School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY SELF DETERMINATION ACT AND THE 
PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES PROGRAM
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine federal payments to local governments provided 
through the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act 
and the Payment in Lieu of Taxes program and the need to provide 
greater fiscal certainty for resource-dependent communities with tax-
exempt federal lands, after receiving testimony from Olivia Barton 
Ferriter, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Budget, 
Finance, Performance and Acquisition; Glenn Casamassa, Associate Deputy 
Chief, National Forest System, Forest Service, Department of 
Agriculture; Mayor David Landis, Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska; 
Gordon Cruickshank, Valley County, McCall, Idaho, and Mark Whitney, 
Beaver County, Milford, Utah, both on behalf of the National 
Association of Counties; Mike Manus, Pend Oreille County, Newport, 
Washington; and Mark Haggerty, Headwaters Economics, Bozeman, Montana.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nomination of Terry Branstad, of Iowa, to be Ambassador to 
the People's Republic of China, Department of State, after the nominee, 
who was introduced by Senators Grassley and Ernst, testified and 
answered questions in his own behalf.
RELIGIOUS HATE CRIMES
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
responses to the increase in religious hate crimes, including S. 662, 
to provide incentives for hate crime reporting, grants for State-run 
hate crime hotlines, a Federal private right of action for victims of 
hate crimes, and additional penalties for individuals convicted under 
the Matthew Shephard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 
after receiving testimony from Eric Treene, Special Counsel for 
Religious Discrimination, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice; 
Jonathan A. Greenblatt, Anti-Defamation League, and Prabhjot Singh, 
Mount Sinai Health System, both of New York, New York; Vanita Gupta, 
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Washington, D.C.; 
and Will D. Johnson, International Association of Chiefs of Police, 
Arlington, Texas.