[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1157-D1159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
PRIVATE EQUITY ABUSE
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Economic Policy concluded a hearing to examine protecting companies and 
communities from private equity abuse, after receiving testimony from 
Michael Frerichs, Illinois State Treasurer, Springfield; Shirley Smith, 
United for Respect, Eastpointe, Michigan; Peggy Malone, Crozer-Chester 
Nurses Association, Upland, Pennsylvania; and Eileen Appelbaum, Center 
for Economic and Policy Research, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action 
Forum, and David R. Burton, The Heritage Foundation, all of Washington, 
D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Victoria Marie Baecher Wassmer, 
of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Financial Officer, Mohsin Raza 
Syed, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary, Amitabha Bose, of New 
Jersey, to be Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, and 
Meera Joshi, of Pennsylvania, to be Administrator of the Federal Motor 
Carrier Safety Administration, all of the Department of Transportation, 
Rear Admiral Nancy A. Hann, of Maryland, to be Director, National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps and Director, Office of 
Marine and Aviation Operations, Department of Commerce, and routine 
lists in the Coast Guard.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the nominations of Max Vekich, of Washington, to 
be a Federal Maritime Commissioner, Christopher A. Coes, of Georgia, to 
be an Assistant Secretary of Transportation, and Laurie E. Locascio, of 
Maryland, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and 
Technology, who was introduced by Senator Cardin, after the nominees 
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
PFAS CHEMICALS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine evaluating the Federal response to the persistence 
and impacts of PFAS chemicals on our environment, after receiving 
testimony from Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator for Water, 
Environmental Protection Agency.
HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine health 
insurance coverage in America, focusing on the current and future role 
of Federal programs, after receiving testimony from Senators Warnock 
and Scott (FL); Linda J. Blumberg, Urban Institute, Douglas Holtz-
Eakin, American Action Forum, and Frederick Isasi, Families USA, all of 
Washington, D.C.; and Sara R. Collins, The Commonwealth Fund, New York, 
New York.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of R. Nicholas Burns, of Massachusetts, to be 
Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, who was introduced by 
Senator Markey, Rahm Emanuel, of Illinois, to be Ambassador to Japan, 
who was introduced by Senators Durbin and Hagerty, and Jonathan Eric 
Kaplan, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore, 
who was introduced by Senator Hickenlooper, all of the Department of 
State, 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 Patricia Mahoney, of Virginia, to be 
Ambassador to the Central African Republic, Peter Hendrick Vrooman, of 
New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique, Peter D. 
Haas, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the People's Republic of 
Bangladesh, Julie Chung, of California, to be Ambassador to the 
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Brian Wesley Shukan, of 
Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Elizabeth Anne 
Noseworthy Fitzsimmons, of Delaware, to be Ambassador to the Togolese 
Republic, and David R. Gilmour, of the District of Columbia, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, all of the Department 
of State, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their 
own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Ernest W. DuBester, 
of Virginia, and Susan Tsui Grundmann, of Virginia, both to be

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Member, and Kurt Thomas Rumsfeld, of Maryland, to be General Counsel, 
all of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, after the nominees 
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
DEVELOPMENT IN NATIVE COMMUNITIES
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
investing in economic sovereignty, focusing on leveraging Federal 
financing for new and sustained development in Native communities, 
after receiving testimony from Clint Hastings, Associate Program 
Manager for Native Initiatives, Community Development Financial 
Institutions Fund, and Fatima Abbas, Senior Advisor, Office of Recovery 
Programs, both of the Department of the Treasury; K. Denise Edwards, 
Acting Director, Office of Indian Economic Development and Chief of the 
Division of Economic Development, Department of the Interior; Casey 
Lozar, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota; 
Arlan Melendez, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Reno, Nevada; Kuhio Lewis, 
Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Kapolei, Hawaii; Richard 
Frias, Native American Financial Officers Association, and Pete Upton, 
Native CDFI Network, both of Washington, D.C.; and Carl Marrs, Old 
Harbor Native Corporation, Old Harbor, Alaska.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Holly A. Thomas, of California, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, to be 
United States District Judge for the Central District of California, 
Jennifer L. Thurston, to be United States District Judge for the 
Eastern District of California, and Hernan D. Vera, of California, to 
be United States District Judge for the Central District of California, 
who were all introduced by Senator Padilla, Mary Katherine Dimke, to be 
United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington, 
who was introduced by Senator Murray, and Charlotte N. Sweeney, to be 
United States District Judge for the District of Colorado, who was 
introduced by Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, after the nominees 
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
RESTORING THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution concluded 
a hearing to examine restoring the Voting Rights Act, focusing on 
protecting the Native American and Alaska Native vote, after receiving 
testimony from Edward Buchanan, Wyoming Secretary Of State, Cheyenne; 
Jonathan M. Nez, President of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, Arizona; 
Jacqueline De Leon, Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, Colorado; 
Nicole Borromeo, Alaska Federation of Natives, Anchorage; and Sara 
Frankenstein, Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson and Ashmore, LLP, Rapid City, 
South Dakota.
LOC MODERNIZATION OVERSIGHT
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded an oversight 
hearing to examine Library of Congress modernization efforts, after 
receiving testimony from Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, Shira 
Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director, Copyright Office, Mary 
B. Mazanec, Director, Congressional Research Service, and Jason 
Broughton, Director, National Library Service for the Blind and Print 
Disabled, all of the Library of Congress.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee order favorably reported the 
nominations of Guy T. Kiyokawa, of Hawaii, to be an Assistant Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs (Enterprise Integration), and James D. Rodriguez, 
of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment 
and Training.
VETERANS' AFFAIRS LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine S. 1342, to establish an interagency committee on the 
development of green alert systems that would be activated when a 
veteran goes missing, S. 1779, to amend title 38, United States Code, 
to eliminate copayments by the Department of Veterans Affairs for 
medicines relating to preventive health services, S. 1937, to require 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program to 
furnish doula services to veterans, S. 1944, to improve Vet Centers of 
the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 2283, to improve the Veterans 
Crisis Line of the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 2386, to amend 
the VA MISSION Act of 2018, to expand the peer specialist support 
program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to all medical centers of 
the Department, S. 2526, to authorize the Secretary of Defense and the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into agreements for the 
planning, design, and construction of facilities to be operated as 
shared medical facilities, S. 2533, to improve mammography services 
furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 2624, to authorize 
major medical facility projects for the Department of Veterans Affairs 
for fiscal year 2022, S. 2720, to direct the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs to establish a national clinical pathway for prostate cancer, 
S. 2787, to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the role of 
doctors of podiatric medicine in the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 
2852, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs to enter into

[[Page D1159]]

contracts and agreements for the payment of care in non-Department of 
Veterans Affairs medical foster homes for certain veterans who are 
unable to live independently, S. 2924, to amend title 38, United States 
Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to transmit certain 
information to personnel of Vet Centers of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs regarding members of the Armed Forces transitioning from 
service in the Armed Forces to civilian life, an original bill 
entitled, ``Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act'', 
an original bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish 
new requirements for State homes for veterans that receive per diem 
from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, an original bill entitled, 
``Veterans Dental Care Eligibility Expansion and Enhancement Act'', an 
original bill entitled, ``Veterans State Eligibility Standardization 
Act'', and an original bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
reorganize the Chaplain Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
after receiving testimony from Elizabeth Brill, Assistant Under 
Secretary for Health for Clinical Services and Deputy Chief Medical 
Officer, and David Carroll, Executive Director, Office of Mental Health 
and Suicide Prevention, both of the Veterans Health Administration, and 
Lawrencia Pierce, Assistant Director, Office of Outreach, Transition, 
and Economic Development, Veterans Benefits Administration, all of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs; and Marquis D. Barefield, Disabled 
American Veterans, and Tom Porter, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of 
America, both of Washington, D.C.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of 
the intelligence community.