[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D257-D258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
INCOME AND WEALTH INEQUALITY
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
income and wealth inequality crisis in America, after receiving 
testimony from Robert B. Reich, University of California Goldman School 
of Public Policy, Berkeley; Sarah Anderson, Institute for Policy 
Studies, John W. Lettieri, Economic Innovation Group, and Scott 
Winship, American Enterprise Institute, all of Washington, D.C.; and 
Jennifer Bates, Amazon BHM1, Bessemer, Alabama.
EXPANDING BROADBAND
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine recent Federal actions to expand broadband, after 
receiving testimony from Christopher Ali, University of Virginia 
Department of Media Studies, Charlottesville; Michael P. O'Rielly, 
former Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, 
Arlington, Virginia; Jon Wilkins, Quadra Partners, Washington, D.C.; 
and Justin Forde, Midcontinent Communications, West Fargo, North 
Dakota.
DRINKING WATER AND WASTE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a joint 
hearing with the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water to 
examine the challenges facing drinking water and waste water 
infrastructure projects, after receiving testimony from Shellie R. 
Chard, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, Oklahoma City, on 
behalf of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators; 
Kishia L. Powell, DC Water, Washington, D.C., on behalf of the National 
Association of Clean Water Agencies; Michael McNulty, Morgantown 
Utility Board, Morgantown, West Virginia; and Nathan Ohle, Rural 
Community Assistance Partnership, Falls Church, Virginia.
COVID-19 IN NURSING HOMES
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine COVID-19 
in the Nation's nursing homes, including steps taken by the Department 
of Health and Human Services in response to pandemic, after receiving 
testimony from John E. Dicken, Director, Health Care, Government 
Accountability Office; Adelina Ramos, SEIU District 1199 New England, 
Greenville, Rhode Island; Denise Bottcher, AARP Louisiana, Baton Rouge; 
R. Tamara Konetzka, University of Chicago Department of Public Health 
Sciences, Chicago, Illinois; Quiteka Moten, State of Tennessee Long 
Term Care Ombudsman, Nashville; and David R. Gifford, American Health 
Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, Washington, D.C.
STRATEGIC COMPETITION WITH CHINA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine advancing effective U.S. policy for strategic competition with 
China in the twenty-first century, after receiving testimony from 
Elizabeth Economy, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, New York; 
and Thomas H. Shugart III, Center for New American Security, and Saif 
M. Khan, Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging 
Technology, both of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
ordered favorably reported the following bills:
   S. 231, to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency to develop guidance for firefighters and other 
emergency response personnel on best practices to protect them from 
exposure to PFAS and to limit and prevent the release of PFAS into the 
environment, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 272, to amend the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency 
Act of 2006, to require the budget justifications and appropriation 
requests of agencies be made publicly available, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  S. 583, to promote innovative acquisition techniques and procurement 
strategies;
  S. 517, to provide for joint reports by relevant Federal agencies to 
Congress regarding incidents of terrorism;
  S. 671, to require the collection of voluntary feedback on services 
provided by agencies;
  S. 693, to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for the halt 
in pension payments for Members of Congress sentenced for certain 
offenses;
  S. 658, to authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security to work with 
cybersecurity consortia for training;
  S. 636, to require the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget to submit to Congress an annual report on projects that are over 
budget and behind schedule, with an amendment;
  S. 688, to prohibit contracting with persons that have business 
operations with the Maduro regime;

[[Page D258]]


  S. 522, to require each agency, in providing notice of a rule making, 
to include a link to a 100 word plain language summary of the proposed 
rule;
  S. 111, to establish the Federal Clearinghouse on School Safety Best 
Practices;
  S. 664, to require the Comptroller General of the United States to 
review certain legislation in order to identify potential risks of 
duplication of and overlap with existing Federal programs, offices, and 
initiatives;
   S. 566, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 42 Main Street in Slatersville, Rhode Island, as the 
``Specialist Matthew R. Turcotte Post Office'';
  H.R. 208, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 500 West Main Street, Suite 102 in Tupelo, 
Mississippi, as the ``Colonel Carlyle 'Smitty' Harris Post Office''; 
and
  H.R. 264, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 1101 Charlotte Street in Georgetown, South Carolina, 
as the ``Joseph Hayne Rainey Memorial Post Office Building''.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Vivek Hallegere Murthy, of 
Florida, to be Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public 
Health Service, and to be Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, 
and Rachel Leland Levine, of Pennsylvania, to be an Assistant 
Secretary, both of the Department of Health and Human Services.
EQUALITY ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the Equality Act, focusing on LGBTQ rights, after receiving testimony 
from Senators Merkley, Baldwin, Blackburn, Hyde-Smith, and Lankford; 
Representatives Cicilline, Newman, and Hartzler; Alphonso David, Human 
Rights Campaign, New York, New York; Edith Guffey, PFLAG National, 
Lawrence, Kansas; Mary Hasson, Ethics and Public Policy Center, 
Washington, D.C.; Stella Keating, Tacoma, Washington; and Abigail 
Shrier, Los Angeles, California.
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the Paycheck Protection Program, focusing on 
performance, impact, and next steps, including S. 723, to amend the 
Small Business Act and the CARES Act to extend the covered period for 
the paycheck protection program, after receiving testimony from Lisa 
Mensah, Opportunity Finance Network, and Joel Griffith, The Heritage 
Foundation, both of Washington, D.C.; John K. Hoey, The Y in Central 
Maryland, Baltimore; and Brad Polumbo, Foundation for Economic 
Education, Arlington, Virginia.