[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 77 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D513-D515] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings REVIEWING THE STATE OF THE FARM ECONOMY Committee on Agriculture: Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing entitled ``Reviewing the State of the Farm Economy''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES Committee on Appropriations: Full Committee held a markup on the Legislative Branch Appropriation Bill, FY 2020; and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 2020. The Legislative Branch Appropriation Bill, FY 2020, and the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 2020 were ordered reported, as amended. FISCAL YEAR 2020 BUDGET REQUEST FOR MILITARY READINESS Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Readiness held a hearing entitled ``Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request for Military Readiness''. Testimony was heard from Admiral Bill Moran, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, U.S. Navy; General Stephen W. Wilson, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, U.S. Air Force; General James C. McConville, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, U.S. Army; and General Gary L. Thomas, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, U.S. Marine Corps. THE COST OF NON-COMPLETION: IMPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES IN HIGHER EDUCATION Committee on Education and Labor: Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment held a hearing entitled ``The Cost of Non- Completion: Improving Student Outcomes in Higher Education''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. LOWERING PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES: DECONSTRUCTING THE DRUG SUPPLY CHAIN Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled ``Lowering Prescription Drug Prices: Deconstructing the Drug Supply Chain''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. THE FISCAL YEAR 2020 DOE BUDGET Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing entitled ``The Fiscal Year 2020 DOE Budget''. Testimony was heard from Rick Perry, Secretary, Department of Energy. MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES Committee on Financial Services: Full Committee concluded markup on H.R. 1988, the ``Protect Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act of 2019''; H.R. 2409, the ``Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act''; H.R. 2514, the ``Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology, and Examiner Reform Act of 2019''; H.R. 2515, to amend the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to amend the definition of whistleblower; H.R. 2534, the ``Insider Trading Prohibition Act of 2019''; legislation on the Task Force on Financial Technology Resolution of 2019; and legislation on the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Resolution of 2019. H.R. 2409, legislation on the Task Force on Financial Technology Resolution of 2019, and legislation on the Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Resolution of 2019 were ordered reported, without amendment. H.R. 1988, H.R. 2534, H.R. 2515, and H.R. 2514 were ordered reported, as amended. DOLLAR DIPLOMACY OR DEBT TRAP? EXAMINING CHINA'S ROLE IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade held a hearing entitled ``Dollar Diplomacy or Debt Trap? Examining China's Role in the Western Hemisphere''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. [[Page D514]] CHINA'S EXPANDING INFLUENCE IN EUROPE AND EURASIA Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment held a hearing entitled ``China's Expanding Influence in Europe and Eurasia''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. CHINESE AND RUSSIAN INFLUENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Committee on Foreign Affairs: Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism held a hearing entitled ``Chinese and Russian Influence in the Middle East''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. FEMA CONTRACTING: REVIEWING LESSONS LEARNED FROM PAST DISASTERS TO IMPROVE PREPAREDNESS Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery; and Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability held a joint hearing entitled ``FEMA Contracting: Reviewing Lessons Learned from Past Disasters to Improve Preparedness''. Testimony was heard from Brian Kamoie, Associate Administrator for Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management Agency; Marie Mak, Director, Contracting and National Security Acquisitions, Government Accountability Office; and Katherine Trimble, Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audits, Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security. A REVIEW OF THE FY 2020 BUDGET REQUEST FOR U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION, U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, AND U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES Committee on Homeland Security: Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations held a hearing entitled ``A Review of the FY 2020 Budget Request for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services''. Testimony was heard from Robert E. Perez, Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Matthew T. Albence, Acting Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and Tracy Renaud, Acting Deputy Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. OVERSIGHT OF THE U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet held a hearing entitled ``Oversight of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office''. Testimony was heard from Andrei Ianci, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, and Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. THE LONG OVERDUE NEED TO REFORM THE MINING LAW OF 1872 Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing entitled ``The Long Overdue Need to Reform the Mining Law of 1872''. Testimony was heard from Gwen Lachelt, County Commissioner, La Plata County, Colorado; and public witnesses. WILDFIRE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands held a hearing entitled ``Wildfire Resilient Communities''. Testimony was heard from Patti Hirami, Acting Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry, U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture; Brian Veerkamp, District 3 Supervisor, El Dorado County, California; and public witnesses. THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S RESPONSE TO THE DRUG CRISIS, PART II Committee on Oversight and Reform: Full Committee held a hearing entitled ``The Trump Administration's Response to the Drug Crisis, Part II''. Testimony was heard from James W. Carroll, Jr., Director, Office of National Drug Control Policy; Triana McNeil, Acting Director, Homeland Security and Justice, Government Accountability Office; Karyl Thomas Rattay, M.D., Director and State Health Official, Delaware Division of Public Health; and Wayne Ivey, Sheriff, Brevard County, Florida. ACHIEVING THE PROMISE OF A DIVERSE STEM WORKFORCE Committee on Science, Space, and Technology: Full Committee held a hearing entitled ``Achieving the Promise of a Diverse STEM Workforce''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. THE DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM: NEW PATHS TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP Committee on Small Business: Subcommittee on Innovation and Workforce Development held a hearing entitled ``The Digital Ecosystem: New Paths to Entrepreneurship''. Testimony was heard from public witnesses. [[Page D515]] EXAMINING ONGOING FOREVER GI BILL IMPLEMENTATION EFFORTS Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity; and Subcommittee on Technology and Modernization held a joint hearing entitled ``Examining Ongoing Forever GI Bill Implementation Efforts''. Testimony was heard from Paul R. Lawrence, Under Secretary for Benefits, Department of Veterans Affairs; Michael J. Missal, Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs; and a public witness. UNDERSTANDING THE TAX GAP AND TAXPAYER NONCOMPLIANCE Committee on Ways and Means: Full Committee held a hearing entitled ``Understanding the Tax Gap and Taxpayer Noncompliance''. Testimony was heard from J. Russell George, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Department of the Treasury; James R. McTigue, Director, Tax Issues, Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office; Benjamin Herndon, Chief Research and Analytics Officer, Internal Revenue Service; and a public witness. FISCAL YEAR 2020 DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY AND MILITARY SERVICES BUDGET REQUEST HEARING Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Subcommittee on Defense Intelligence and Warfighter Support held a hearing entitled ``Fiscal Year 2020 Defense Intelligence Agency and Military Services Budget Request Hearing''. Testimony was heard from Joseph Kernan, Undersecretary of Defense (Intelligence), Department of Defense; Lieutenant General Robert Ashley, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency; Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Army; Lieutenant General Lori Reynolds, Deputy Commandant for Information, U.S. Marine Corps; Vice Admiral Matthew Kohler, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, U.S. Navy; Brigadier General Michelle Schmidt, Director of Intelligence, U.S. Special Operations Command; and Mr. Kenneth Bray, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Effects Operations, U.S. Air Force. This hearing was closed. Joint Meetings HUNGARY AND RUSSIA Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission received a closed briefing on issues related to Hungary and Russia from Christopher Robinson, and Matthew G. Boyse, both a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. UKRAINE Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission received a briefing on the state of institutional resilience and political context for the election of Volodymyr Zelenskiy as Ukraine's next president from Michael Carpenter, Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, and Natalie Sedletska, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Ukrainian Service.