[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D98-D100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
U.S. POLICY ON AFGHANISTAN
Committee on Armed Services: Committee received a joint closed briefing 
with the Committee on Foreign Relations on United States policy on 
Afghanistan from Lloyd J. Austin III, Secretary of Defense; and Antony 
J. Blinken, Secretary of State.

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NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Jed David Kolko, of California, 
to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs, Ann Claire 
Phillips, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Maritime 
Administration, Steven Scott Cliff, of California, to be Administrator 
of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, John Edward 
Putnam, of Colorado, to be General Counsel, and Victoria Marie Baecher 
Wassmer, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Financial Officer, 
all of the Department of Transportation, Kathy K. Im, of Illinois, 
Thomas E. Rothman, of California, Elizabeth M. Sembler, of Florida, and 
Laura Gore Ross, of New York, each to be a Member of the Board of 
Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Max Vekich, of 
Washington, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner, and routine lists in 
the Coast Guard.
DOMESTIC RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING PROGRAMS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine legislative proposals to improve domestic recycling 
and composting programs, after receiving testimony from Rhodes Yepsen, 
Biodegradable Products Institute, New York, New York; Pashon Murray, 
Detroit Dirt Foundation, Detroit, Michigan; Benjamin A. Harvey, E.L. 
Harvey and Sons, Inc., Westborough, Massachusetts, on behalf of the 
National Waste and Recycling Association; and Charles Levell Hairston, 
International Paper, Memphis, Tennessee.
HOSPITAL INSURANCE TRUST FUND
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and 
Economic Growth concluded a hearing to examine the Hospital Insurance 
Trust Fund and the future of Medicare financing, after receiving 
testimony from Michael E. Chernew, Medicare Payment Advisory 
Commission, and James C. Capretta, American Enterprise Institute, both 
of Washington, D.C.; Susan Rogers, Physicians for a National Health 
Program, Chicago, Illinois; Amy Kapczynski, Yale Law School, New Haven, 
Connecticut; and Katherine Baicker, University of Chicago Harris School 
of Public Policy, Chicago, Illinois.
U.S. POLICY ON AFGHANISTAN
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee received a joint closed 
briefing with the Committee on Armed Services on United States policy 
on Afghanistan from Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State; and Lloyd J. 
Austin III, Secretary of Defense.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
ordered favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 2801, to amend title 5, United States Code, to improve the 
effectiveness of major rules in accomplishing their regulatory 
objectives by promoting retrospective review, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 3092, to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
Emergency Assistance Act to improve the provision of certain disaster 
assistance, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 3502, to establish an Office of Civil Rights, Equity, and 
Community Inclusion at the Federal Emergency Management Agency;
  S. 3499, to amend the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 
2006 to repeal certain obsolete requirements;
  S. 3487, to amend title 5, United States Code, to increase death 
gratuities and funeral allowances for Federal employees;
  S. 407, to provide redress to the employees of Air America, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 3423, to implement merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring 
system that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and competency-
based hiring, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 3510, to require the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget to issue guidance with respect to natural disaster resilience, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 3470, to provide for the implementation of certain trafficking in 
contracting provisions;
  S. 521, to require the United States Postal Service to continue 
selling the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp 
until all remaining stamps are sold;
  S. 3512, to establish an advisory group to encourage and foster 
collaborative efforts among individuals and entities engaged in 
disaster recovery relating to debris removal, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 2135, to amend title 31, United States Code, to require the Chief 
Operating Officer of each agency to compile a list of unnecessary 
programs, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 2483, to require the Director of the Cybersecurity and 
Infrastructure Security Agency to establish cybersecurity guidance for 
small organizations, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  H.R. 960, to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 3493 Burnet Avenue in Cincinnati, Ohio, as the 
``John H. Leahr and Herbert M. Heilbrun Post Office''; and

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  The nominations of Margaret A. Burnham, of Massachusetts, Gabrielle 
M. Dudley, of Georgia, Henry Klibanoff, of Georgia, and Brenda E. 
Stevenson, of California, all to be a Member of the Civil Rights Cold 
Case Records Review Board, Ed Gonzalez, of Texas, to be an Assistant 
Secretary of Homeland Security, Cathy Ann Harris, of Maryland, to be a 
Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and to be Chairman of the 
Merit Systems Protection Board, Tovah R. Calderon, to be an Associate 
Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, Susan Tsui 
Grundmann, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Federal Labor Relations 
Authority, and Adrienne Jennings Noti, to be an Associate Judge of the 
Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
NATIVE AMERICAN GRAVES PROTECTION AND REPATRIATION ACT OVERSIGHT
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing 
to examine the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act's 
promise after 30 years, including Federal agency efforts and challenges 
repatriating cultural items, after receiving testimony from Joy 
Beasley, Associate Director, Cultural Resources, Partnerships and 
Science, National Park Service, Department of the Interior; Anna Maria 
Ortiz, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government 
Accountability Office; Carmen Lindsey, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 
Honolulu; Valerie Grussing, National Association of Tribal Historic 
Preservation Officers, Washington, D.C.; and Rosita Kaahani Worl, 
Sealaska Heritage Institute, Juneau, Alaska.
FREE PRESS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Competition Policy, 
Antitrust, and Consumer Rights concluded a hearing to examine breaking 
the news, focusing on journalism, competition, and the effects of 
market power on a free press, including S. 673, to provide a temporary 
safe harbor for publishers of online content to collectively negotiate 
with dominant online platforms regarding the terms on which content may 
be distributed, after receiving testimony from Jennifer Bertetto, Trib 
Total Media, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Joel Oxley, WTOP, on behalf of 
the National Association of Broadcasters, and Hal Singer, George 
Washington University Institute of Public Policy, both of Washington, 
D.C.; Dan Gainor, Free Speech America and Business Media Research 
Center, Reston, Virginia; and Daniel Francis, Harvard Law School, 
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported an 
original bill entitled, ``Health Care for Burn Pit Veterans Act''.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of 
the intelligence community.