[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 6, 2017)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1288-D1289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the nomination of R. D. James, of Missouri, to be an 
Assistant Secretary of the Army, Department of Defense, after the 
nominee testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
SUPERFUND AND WASTE CLEANUP FOLLOWING NATURAL DISASTERS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Superfund, 
Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight concluded a hearing to 
examine challenges facing Superfund and waste cleanup efforts following 
natural disasters, after receiving testimony from Bryan W. Shaw, Texas 
Commission on Environmental Quality Chairman, Austin; Matthew 
Rodriquez, California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary, 
Sacramento; and Tracy Hester, University of Houston Law Center, 
Houston, Texas.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, Committee 
ordered favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 1118, to reauthorize the North Korea Human Rights Act of 2004, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1901, to require global economic and political pressure to support 
diplomatic denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, including through 
the imposition of sanctions with respect to the Government of the 
Democratic People's Republic of Korea and any enablers of the 
activities of that Government, and to reauthorize the North Korean 
Human Rights Act of 2004, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 447, to require reporting on acts of certain foreign countries on 
Holocaust era assets and related issues, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. Res. 150, recognizing threats to freedom of the press and 
expression around the world and reaffirming freedom of the press as a 
priority in efforts of the United States Government to promote 
democracy and good governance;
  S. Res. 139, condemning the Government of Iran's state-sponsored 
persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the 
International Covenants on Human Rights, with amendments; and
  The nominations of Eric M. Ueland, of Oregon, to be an Under 
Secretary (Management), James Randolph Evans, of Georgia, to be 
Ambassador to Luxembourg, Kenneth J. Braithwaite, of Pennsylvania, to 
be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, M. Lee McClenny, of Washington, 
to be Ambassador to the Republic of Paraguay, Christopher Ashley Ford, 
of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary (International Security and 
Non-Proliferation), and Yleem D. S. Poblete, of Virginia, to be an 
Assistant Secretary (Verification and Compliance), all of the 
Department of State, and Brock D. Bierman, of Virginia, to be an 
Assistant Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development.
COUNTERING TERRORISM IN NORTH AFRICA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, 
Central Asia, and Counterterrorism concluded a hearing to examine 
beyond ISIS, focusing on countering terrorism, radicalization, and 
promoting stability in North Africa, after receiving testimony from 
Nathan A. Sales, Ambassador-At-Large and Coordinator for 
Counterterrorism, Bureau of Counterterrorism, and Joan Polaschik, 
Deputy Assistant Secretary, both of the Department of State.
DEFENDING THE HOMELAND AGAINST THE EVOLVING TERRORIST THREAT
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine adapting to defend the Homeland against 
the evolving international terrorist threat, after receiving testimony 
from Mark E. Mitchell, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict; Lora Shiao, Acting Director 
of Intelligence, National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence; Nikki Floris, Deputy Assistant 
Director of Counterterrorism, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 
Department of Justice; and Robin Taylor, Acting Deputy Under Secretary 
for Intelligence Operations, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, 
Department of Homeland Security.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 
1870, to amend the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to secure urgent 
resources vital to Indian victims of crime.

[[Page D1289]]


INDIAN AFFAIRS LEGISLATION
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
S. 664, to approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the 
Navajo in Utah, to authorize construction of projects in connection 
therewith, and S. 1770, to approve the settlement of water rights 
claims of the Hualapai Tribe and certain allottees in the State of 
Arizona, to authorize construction of a water project relating to those 
water rights claims, after receiving testimony from Alan Mikkelsen, 
Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, and Chair, Working Group on 
Indian Water Settlements, Department of the Interior; Utah Lieutenant 
Governor Spencer Cox, Salt Lake City; Thomas Buschatzke, Arizona 
Department of Water Resources Director, Phoenix; Russell Begaye, The 
Navajo Nation, Window Rock, Arizona; and Damon Clarke, Hualapai Tribe, 
Peach Springs, Arizona.
FIREARM ACCESSORY REGULATION AND ENFORCING REPORTING TO NICS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
firearm accessory regulation and enforcing Federal and state reporting 
to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), 
including S. 2135, to enforce current law regarding the National 
Instant Criminal Background Check System, and S. 1916, to prohibit the 
possession or transfer of certain firearm accessories, after receiving 
testimony from Senator Cortez Masto; Heather Wilson, Secretary of the 
Air Force, and Glenn A. Fine, Acting Inspector General, both of the 
Department of Defense; Thomas E. Brandon, Acting Director, Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Douglas E. Lindquist, 
Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, both of the Department of Justice; 
David W. Slayton, Texas Office of State Court Administration, Austin; 
J. Thomas Manger, Montgomery County Police Department, Gaithersburg, 
Maryland, on behalf of the Major Cities Chiefs Association; Stephen P. 
Halbrook, The Independent Institute, Fairfax, Virginia; David B. Kopel, 
Independence Institute, Denver, Colorado; and Heather Gooze, Las Vegas, 
Nevada.
AMERICA'S AGING WORKFORCE
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
America's aging workforce, focusing on opportunities and challenges, 
after receiving testimony from Laurie McCann, AARP, Washington, D.C.; 
Fernan R. Cepero, YMCA of Greater Rochester, Rochester, New York, on 
behalf of the Society for Human Resource Management; Ralph Jellison, 
Orland, Maine; and Lisa Motta, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.