[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 5, 2020)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D715-D717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee ordered 
favorably reported nominations of Hester Maria Peirce, of Ohio, and 
Caroline A. Crenshaw, of the District of Columbia, both to be a Member 
of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Kyle Hauptman, of Maine, 
to be a Member of the National Credit Union Administration Board.
FTC OVERSIGHT
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
an oversight hearing to examine the Federal Trade Commission, after 
receiving testimony from Joseph J. Simons, Chairman, and Noah Joshua 
Phillips, Rohit Chopra, Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, and Christine S. 
Wilson, each a Commissioner, all of the Federal Trade Commission.
CYBERSECURITY FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine Federal and industry efforts to improve 
cybersecurity for the energy sector, focusing on how to improve 
collaboration on various cybersecurity and critical infrastructure 
protection initiatives, after receiving testimony from Alexander Gates, 
Senior Advisor, Office of Policy for Cybersecurity, Energy Security, 
and Emergency Response, Department of Energy; Joseph McClelland, 
Director, Office of Energy Infrastructure Security, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission; Steven C. Conner, Siemens Energy, Inc., Orlando, 
Florida; and Thomas O'Brien, PJM Interconnection, L.L.C., Southeastern, 
Pennsylvania.

[[Page D716]]


AMERICAN NUCLEAR INFRASTRUCTURE ACT
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine an original bill entitled, ``American Nuclear 
Infrastructure Act of 2020'', after receiving testimony from Amy C. 
Roma, Atlantic Council Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition, 
Washington, D.C.; William Paul Goranson, Uranium Producers of America, 
Lakewood, Colorado; and Armond Cohen, Clean Air Task Force, Boston, 
Massachusetts.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of Jennifer Yue Barber, of Kentucky, to be the 
Representative of the United States of America on the Economic and 
Social Council of the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador, and 
to be an Alternate Representative of the United States of America to 
the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, during her 
tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America on 
the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Keith W. Dayton, 
of Washington, to be Ambassador to Ukraine, Julie D. Fisher, of 
Tennessee, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Belarus, and Alex Nelson 
Wong, of New Jersey, to be Alternate Representative of the United 
States of America for Special Political Affairs in the United Nations, 
with the rank of Ambassador, and to be an Alternate Representative of 
the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of 
the United Nations during his tenure of service as Alternate 
Representative of the United States of America for Special Political 
Affairs in the United Nations, who was introduced by Senators Cotton 
and Romney, all of the Department of State, and Edward A. Burrier, of 
the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the 
United States International Development Finance Corporation, who was 
introduced by former Representative Ed Royce, after the nominees 
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of Erik Paul Bethel, of Florida, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Panama, Jonathan Pratt, of California, to 
be Ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti, Barbera Hale Thornhill, of 
California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore, Thomas 
Laszlo Vajda, of Arizona, to be Ambassador to the Union of Burma, and 
Kenneth R. Weinstein, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador to 
Japan, who was introduced by former Senator Joe Lieberman, all of the 
Department of State, after the nominees testified and answered 
questions in their own behalf.
CROSSFIRE HURRICANE INVESTIGATION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to 
examine the Crossfire Hurricane investigation, after receiving 
testimony from Sally Quillian Yates, former Deputy Attorney General of 
the United States, Atlanta, Georgia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported 
the following business items:
  S. 3282, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
oversight of contracts awarded by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans;
  S. 2558, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make certain grants to assist nursing 
homes for veterans located on tribal lands;
  S. 3643, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize certain 
postgraduate health care employees and health professions trainees of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide treatment via 
telemedicine;
  S. 2950, to amend title 38, United States Code, to concede exposure 
to airborne hazards and toxins from burn pits under certain 
circumstances, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 4384, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to address 
exposure by members of the Armed Forces to toxic substances at Karshi-
Khanabad Air Base, Uzbekistan;
  S. 711, to amend title 38, United States Code, to expand eligibility 
for mental health services from the Department of Veterans Affairs to 
include members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces;
  S. 332, to amend title 38, United States Code, to remove the 
manifestation period required for the presumptions of service 
connection for chloracne, porphyria cutanea tarda, and acute and 
subacute peripheral neuropathy associated with exposure to certain 
herbicide agents, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 805, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
processing of veterans benefits by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
to limit the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recover 
overpayments made by the Department and other amounts owed by veterans 
to the United States, to improve the due process accorded veterans with 
respect to such recovery, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 514, to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
benefits and services provided by the

[[Page D717]]

Department of Veterans Affairs to women veterans, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  S. 629, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to review the 
processes and requirements of the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
scheduling appointments for health care and conducting consultations 
under the laws administered by the Secretary, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 2216, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to formally 
recognize caregivers of veterans, notify veterans and caregivers of 
clinical determinations relating to eligibility for caregiver programs, 
and temporarily extend benefits for veterans who are determined 
ineligible for the family caregiver program, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute; and
  S. 3235, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a 
pilot program on posttraumatic growth, with an amendment in the nature 
of a substitute.