[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 203 (Wednesday, December 13, 2017)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D1319-D1321] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN AGRICULTURE Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a hearing to examine safeguarding American agriculture in a globalized world, after receiving testimony from former Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Chair, Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense; R. D. Meckes, North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services State Veterinarian, Raleigh; Richard B. Myers, Kansas State University, Manhattan; and Raymond Hammerschmidt, Michigan State University, East Lansing. [[Page D1320]] GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATIONS Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities received a closed briefing on Department of Defense global counterterrorism operations from Mark E. Mitchell, Acting Assistant Secretary for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict, Major General Albert M. Elton III, USAF, Deputy Director for Special Operations and Counterterrorism, Joint Staff, and Gary Reid, Director of Intelligence and Security, Office of the Undersecretary for Intelligence, all of the Department of Defense. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY/CONCUSSION IN SERVICEMEMBERS Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel concluded a hearing to examine an update on research, diagnosis, and treatment for traumatic brain injury/concussion in servicemembers, after receiving testimony from Joel D. Scholten, Associate Chief of Staff for Rehabilitation Services for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and David X. Cifu, Senior TBI Specialist, Principal Investigator, Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium, both of the Department of Veteran Affairs; Captain Michael J. Colston, USN, Director, Military Health Policy and Oversight for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs; David W. Dodick, Mayo Clinic; Steven D. Devick, King-Devick technologies, inc; and Christopher M. Miles, Wake Forest University. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items: S. 2202, to amend title 49, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the National Transportation Safety Board, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; S. 2200, to reauthorize the National Integrated Drought Information System, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; S. 1768, to reauthorize and amend the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and The nomination of Barry Lee Myers, of Pennsylvania, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and a routine list in the Coast Guard. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably reported the nomination of R. D. James, of Missouri, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, Department of Defense. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION OVERSIGHT Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to examine the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, after receiving testimony from Kristine L. Svinicki, Chairman, and Jeff Baran, and Stephen Burns, both a Commissioner, all of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. STRATEGIC, POLITICAL, AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS OF USING FORCE Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine using force, focusing on strategic, political, and legal considerations, after receiving testimony from Stephen J. Hadley, former National Security Advisor, Christine E. Wormuth, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and John B. Bellinger III, Council on Foreign Relation, all of Washington, D.C. TREATIES Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the extradition Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, signed at Pristina on March 29, 2016 (Treaty Doc. 115-2), the extradition Treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of Serbia, signed at Belgrade on August 15, 2016 (Treaty Doc. 115-1), the Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Kiribati on the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries, signed at Majuro on September 6, 2013, and the Treaty between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia on the Delimitation of a Maritime Boundary, signed at Koror on August 1, 2014 (Treaty Doc. 114-13), and the United Nations Convention on the Assignment of Receivables in International Trade, done at New York on December 12, 2001, and signed by the United States on December 30, 2003 (Treaty Doc. 114-7), after receiving testimony from Richard Visek, Acting Legal Adviser, Department of State; and Bruce Swartz, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice. 21ST CENTURY CURES ACT Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a hearing to examine implementation of the 21st Century Cures Act, focusing on responding to mental health needs, after receiving testimony from Elinore F. McCance-Katz, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Mental Health and Substance Use. [[Page D1321]] BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Johnny Collett, of Kentucky, to be Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Mitchell Zais, of South Carolina, to be Deputy Secretary, and James Blew, of California, to be Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, all of the Department of Education, William Beach, of Kansas, to be Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Kate S. O'Scannlain, of Maryland, to be Solicitor, and Scott A. Mugno, of Pennsylvania, and Preston Rutledge, of the District of Columbia, both to be an Assistant Secretary, all of the Department of Labor. NOMINATIONS Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Elizabeth L. Branch, of Georgia, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Eleventh Circuit, and R. Stan Baker, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of Georgia, who were introduced by Senators Isakson and Perdue, Charles Barnes Goodwin, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Oklahoma, who was introduced by Senator Lankford, Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas, Matthew Spencer Petersen, of Virginia, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, and Eli Jeremy Richardson, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee, who was introduced by Senators Alexander and Corker, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. CONSUMER WELFARE STANDARD IN ANTITRUST Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights concluded a hearing to examine the consumer welfare standard in antitrust, after receiving testimony from Abbott B. Lipsky, Jr., and Joshua D. Wright, both of the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Arlington, Virginia; Barry C. Lynn, Open Markets Institute, and Diana Moss, American Antitrust Institute, both of Washington, D.C.; and Carl Shapiro, University of California Haas School of Business, Berkeley.