[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 28, 2018)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1213-D1215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the nominations of Mindy Brashears, of Texas, to 
be Under Secretary for Food Safety, Naomi C. Earp, of Maryland, to be 
an Assistant Secretary, and Scott Hutchins, of Indiana, to be Under 
Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, all of the Department 
of Agriculture, after the nominees testified and answered questions in 
their own behalf.
CYBER COMMAND AND NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Cybersecurity concluded a 
closed hearing to examine Cyber Command's relationship with the 
National Security Agency, after receiving testimony from Sherri Ramsay, 
former Director, NSA/CSS Threat Operations Center, National Security 
Agency; and Lieutenant General James K. McLaughlin, USAF (Ret.), former 
Deputy Commander, Cyber Command, and Major General Brett T. Williams, 
USAF (Ret.), former Director of Operations, Cyber Command, both of the 
Department of Defense.
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine addressing America's surface transportation 
infrastructure needs, after receiving testimony from Carlos M. 
Braceras, Utah Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., on 
behalf of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation 
Officials; Robert Lanham, Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc., 
Houston, Texas, on behalf of the Associated General Contractors of 
America; and James Corless, Sacramento Area Council of Governments, 
Sacramento, California.
ENDING MODERN SLAVERY
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the global fight to end modern slavery, after receiving 
testimony from John Cotton Richmond, Ambassdor-at-Large, Office to 
Monitor and Combat Trafficking, Department of State; Natalie Grant, 
Hope For Justice, Nashville, Tennessee; and Shawna Bader-Blau, 
Solidarity Center, Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following business items:
  S. 3247, to improve programs and activities relating to women's 
entrepreneurship and economic empowerment that are carried out by the 
United States Agency for International Development, with an amendment 
in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 3654, to amend the United States International Broadcasting Act of 
1994, to avoid the duplication

[[Page D1214]]

of public diplomacy programs and efforts, to improve the research and 
evaluation of public diplomacy, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. Res. 562, expressing the sense of the Senate that the Treaty on 
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) continues to make an 
invaluable contribution to United States and international security, 50 
years after it opened for signature on July 1, 1968, with amendments;
  H.R. 1872, to promote access for United States diplomats and other 
officials, journalists, and other citizens to Tibetan areas of the 
People's Republic of China;
  H.R. 4819, to promote inclusive economic growth through conservation 
and biodiversity programs that facilitate transboundary cooperation, 
improve natural resource management, and build local capacity to 
protect and preserve threatened wildlife species in the greater 
Okavango River Basin of southern Africa;
  H.R. 2646, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense 
Cooperation Act of 2015, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  H.R. 4989, to require the Department of State to establish a policy 
regarding the use of location-tracking consumer devices by employees at 
diplomatic and consular facilities; and
  The nominations of Michael T. Harvey, of Texas, to be an Assistant 
Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, and Donald Armin Blome, of Illinois, to be Ambassador to 
the Republic of Tunisia, Craig Lewis Cloud, of Florida, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Botswana, Judith Gail Garber, of 
Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus, Jeffrey Ross 
Gunter, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland, 
Dennis B. Hankins, of Minnesota, to be Ambassador to the Republic of 
Mali, Dennis Walter Hearne, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the 
Republic of Mozambique, Simon Henshaw, of Massachusetts, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea, Eric George Nelson, of Texas, to 
be Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Michael Peter Pelletier, of 
Maine, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Madagascar, and to serve 
concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the 
Union of the Comoros, John Mark Pommersheim, of Florida, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan, Robert K. Scott, of Maryland, 
to be Ambassador to the Republic of Malawi, Eric Williams Stromayer, of 
Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Togolese Republic, Lucy Tamlyn, of 
New York, to be Ambassador to Central African Republic, Patricia 
Mahoney, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, 
William H. Moser, of North Carolina, to be Ambassador to the Republic 
of Kazakhstan, Richard Carlton Paschall III, of North Carolina, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of The Gambia, Susan N. Stevenson, of 
Washington, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and 
routine lists in the Foreign Service, all of the Department of State.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
ordered favorably reported the nomination of Richard S. Tischner, of 
Virginia, to be Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision 
Agency for the District of Columbia.
REDUCING HEALTH CARE COSTS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine reducing health care costs, focusing on 
improving affordability through innovation, after receiving testimony 
from Lee S. Gross, Docs 4 Patient Care Foundation, North Port, Florida; 
Cheryl DeMars, The Alliance, Madison, Wisconsin; Dow Constantine, King 
County, Seattle, Washington; and Jonathan B. Perlin, HCA Healthcare, 
Nashville, Tennessee.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 2788, to repeal the Act entitled ``An Act to confer jurisdiction 
on the State of North Dakota over offenses committed by or against 
Indians on the Devils Lake Indian Reservation'';
  S. Res. 444, recognizing the heritage, culture, and contributions of 
American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian women in the United 
States;
  S. Res. 596, recognizing the 29th anniversary of the Tribal Canoe 
Journey of the Tribal Nations of the Pacific Northwest and 
congratulating the Puyallup Tribe of Indians for hosting the 2018 Power 
Paddle to Puyallup;
  H.R. 2606, to amend the Act of August 4, 1947 (commonly known as the 
Stigler Act), with respect to restrictions applicable to Indians of the 
Five Civilized Tribes of Oklahoma; and
  H.R. 4032, to confirm undocumented Federal rights-of-way or easements 
on the Gila River Indian Reservation, clarify the northern boundary of 
the Gila River Indian Community's Reservation, to take certain land 
located in Maricopa County and Pinal County, Arizona, into trust for 
the benefit of the Gila River Indian Community.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Brian C. Buescher, to be United States District 
Judge for the District of Nebraska, who was introduced by Senator

[[Page D1215]]

Fischer, Clifton L. Corker, to be United States District Judge for the 
Eastern District of Tennessee, who was introduced by Senator Alexander, 
M. Miller Baker, of Virginia, and Timothy M. Reif, of the District of 
Columbia, both to be a Judge of the United States Court of 
International Trade, and Donald W. Washington, of Texas, to be Director 
of the United States Marshals Service, Department of Justice, who was 
introduced by Senator Cassidy, after the nominees testified and 
answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of Donald L. Palmer, of Florida, who was 
introduced by Senator Blunt, and Benjamin Hovland, of Maryland, who was 
introduced by Senator Klobuchar, both to be a Member of the Election 
Assistance Commission, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
GUARDIANSHIP PROCESS
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
strengthening state efforts to overhaul the guardianship process and 
protect older Americans, after receiving testimony from Bethany Hamm, 
Maine Department of Health and Human Services Acting Commissioner, 
Augusta; Cathy G. Boyko, National Center for State Courts, 
Williamsburg, Virginia; Karen C. Buck, SeniorLAW Center, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania; and Barbara E. Buckley, Legal Aid Center of Southern 
Nevada, Las Vegas.