[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 126 (Thursday, July 28, 2022)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D868-D869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Milancy Danielle Harris, of Virginia, and Radha 
Iyengar Plumb, of New York, both to be a Deputy Under Secretary, and 
Brendan Owens, of Virginia, and Laura Taylor-Kale, of California, both 
to be an Assistant Secretary, all of the Department of Defense, after 
the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
CRYPTO AND SECURITIES SCAMS AND RISKS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine protecting investors and savers, focusing on 
understanding scams and risks in crypto and securities markets, 
including S. 4356, to provide for responsible financial innovation and 
to bring digital assets within the regulatory perimeter, S. 3529, to 
amend the Investor Protection and Securities Reform Act of 2010 to 
provide grants to States for enhanced protection of senior investors 
and senior policyholders, S. 4608, to amend the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986 to exclude from gross income de minimis gains from certain 
sales or exchanges of virtual currency, S. 3990, to amend the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prohibit certain securities trading 
and related communications by those who possess material, nonpublic 
information, and S. 2147, to enhance civil penalties under the Federal 
securities laws, after receiving testimony from Melanie Senter Lubin, 
North American Securities Administrators Association, and Gerri Walsh, 
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, both of Washington, D.C.

[[Page D869]]


ENERGY LEGISLATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine S. 3145, to amend the Natural Gas Act to expedite 
approval of exports of small volumes of natural gas, S. 3543, to 
support research, development, and other activities to develop 
innovative vehicle technologies, S. 3719, to establish the Southwestern 
Power Administration Fund, S. 3740, to provide for a comprehensive and 
integrative program to accelerate microelectronics research and 
development at the Department of Energy, S. 3769, to amend the Energy 
Conservation and Production Act to improve the weatherization 
assistance program, S. 3856, to prohibit the importation of uranium 
from the Russian Federation, S. 4038, to increase the production and 
use of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, S. 4061, to 
amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to modify the definition 
of water heater under energy conservation standards, S. 4066, to amend 
the Energy Act of 2020 to require the Secretary of Energy to establish 
a program to accelerate the availability of commercially produced high-
assay, low-enriched uranium in the United States and to make high-
assay, low-enriched uranium produced from Department of Energy 
inventories available for use in advanced nuclear reactors, S. 4280, to 
require the Secretary of Energy to remove carbon dioxide directly from 
ambient air or seawater, after receiving testimony from Kathryn Huff, 
Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, and Kelly Speakes-Backman, 
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy, both of the Department of Energy; Mike Wech, 
Southwestern Power Administration, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Matt Leuck, Neste 
US, Houston, Texas; and Jeff Navin, TerraPower, Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
nomination of Jay Curtis Shambaugh, of Maryland, to be an Under 
Secretary of the Treasury.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the 
nomination of Douglas J. McKalip, of the District of Columbia, to be 
Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade 
Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, after the nominee 
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of William H. Duncan, of Texas, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of El Salvador, Hugo F. Rodriguez, Jr., of 
Pennsylvania, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Nicaragua, Candace A. 
Bond, of Missouri, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Trinidad and 
Tobago, who was introduced by Senator Booker, Heide B. Fulton, of West 
Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, and 
Robert J. Faucher, of Arizona, to be Ambassador to the Republic of 
Suriname, 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 Shefali Razdan Duggal, of California, to be 
Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, who was introduced by 
Senator Kaine, Carrin F. Patman, of Texas, to be Ambassador to the 
Republic of Iceland, who was introduced by Senator Cornyn, Gautam A. 
Rana, of New Jersey, to be Ambassador to the Slovak Republic, Angela 
Price Aggeler, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador to the 
Republic of North Macedonia, and Randy W. Berry, of Colorado, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Namibia, all of the Department of State, 
after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own 
behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the 
following business items:
  S. 4430, to amend title 35, United States Code, to establish an 
interagency task force between the United States Patent and Trademark 
Office and the Food and Drug Administration for purposes of sharing 
information and providing technical assistance with respect to patents, 
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and
  The nominations of Roopali H. Desai, of Arizona, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, and E. Martin Estrada, to be 
United States Attorney for the Central District of California, and 
Gregory J. Haanstad, to be United States Attorney for the Eastern 
District of Wisconsin, both of the Department of Justice.
FEDERAL TECHNOLOGY
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
Federal technology for people with disabilities, older Americans, and 
veterans, after receiving testimony from Eve L. Hill, Brown Goldstein 
and Levy, Washington, D.C.; Anil Lewis, National Federation of the 
Blind, Atlanta, Georgia; Jule Ann Lieberman, TechOWL, Devon, 
Pennsylvania; and Ronald G. Holmquest, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.