[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 83 (Wednesday, May 17, 2023)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D470-D473]
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 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nomination of Xochitl Torres Small, of New 
Mexico, to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
RURAL BROADBAND
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Subcommittee on 
Rural Development and Energy concluded hearings to examine rural 
broadband, focusing on connecting our communities to the digital 
economy, after receiving testimony from Roger Nishi, Waitsfield and 
Champlain Valley Telecom, Waitsfield, Vermont; Christa Shute, NEK 
Broadband, Saint Johnsbury, Vermont; Jesse L. Shekleton, Jo-Carroll 
Energy, Elizabeth, Illinois; J. Frederick Johnson, Farmers 
Telecommunications Cooperative, Inc., Rainsville, Alabama; and Justin 
Forde, Midcontinent Communications, West Fargo, North Dakota.
SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and 
Capabilities, concluded hearings to examine the role of Special 
Operations Forces in supporting the National Defense Strategy, 
including activities that contribute to long-term strategic competition 
with China and Russia, after receiving testimony from Jonathan 
Schroden, Research Program Director, Countering Threats and Challenges, 
Center for Naval Analyses, and Lieutenant General Kenneth Tovo, U.S. 
Army (Ret.), former Commanding General, United States Army Special 
Operations Command, both of the Department of Defense.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported 1,062 
nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
FEDERAL RESERVE
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on 
Economic Policy concluded hearings to examine strengthening 
accountability at the Federal Reserve, including S. 1045, to amend the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Act to clarify that the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation and appropriate Federal regulators have the 
authority to claw back certain compensation paid to executives, 
focusing on lessons and opportunities for reform, after receiving 
testimony from Mark Bialek, Inspector General, Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve System and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; 
Peter Conti-Brown, The Wharton School of the University of 
Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; and Paul H. Kupiec, American Enterprise 
Institute, and Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, MRV Associates, both of 
Washington, D.C.
TAX CUTS AND THE NATIONAL DEBT
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine how 
tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations drive the national debt, 
after receiving testimony from Bruce R. Bartlett, former Deputy 
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy, Great Falls, 
Virginia; and Bobby Kogan, Center for American Progress, Samantha 
Jacoby, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Adam N. Michel, Cato 
Institute, and Scott Hodge, Tax Foundation, all of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the following business items:
  S. 92, to designate the outdoor amphitheater at the Blue Ridge Music 
Center in Galax, Virginia, as the ``Rick Boucher Amphitheater'';
  S. 162, to amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to 
include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, 
to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild 
rivers in the State of Oregon;
  S. 199, to codify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and 
the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain landscape-scale forest 
restoration projects;
  S. 440, to designate certain land administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management and the Forest Service in the State of Oregon as wilderness 
and national recreation areas, to withdraw certain land located in 
Curry County and Josephine County, Oregon, from all forms of entry, 
appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws, location, entry, 
and patent under the mining laws, and operation under the mineral 
leasing and geothermal leasing laws;

[[Page D471]]


  S. 452, to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a Nuclear 
Fuel Security Program, expand the American Assured Fuel Supply Program, 
and submit a report on a civil nuclear credit program, with an 
amendment;
  S. 534, to withdraw certain Bureau of Land Management land from 
mineral development;
  S. 535, to streamline the oil and gas permitting process and to 
recognize fee ownership for certain oil and gas drilling or spacing 
units;
  S. 593, to amend the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, 
and Recreation Act to establish the Cerro de la Olla Wilderness in the 
Rio Grande del Norte National Monument and to modify the boundary of 
the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument;
  S. 612, to reauthorize the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act;
  S. 623, to amend the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act to exclude 
certain payments to aged, blind, or disabled Alaska Natives or 
descendants of Alaska Natives from being used to determine eligibility 
for certain programs;
  S. 683, to modify the boundary of the Berryessa Snow Mountain 
National Monument to include certain Federal land in Lake County, 
California;
  S. 706, to withdraw the National Forest System land in the Ruby 
Mountains subdistrict of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and the 
National Wildlife Refuge System land in Ruby Lake National Wildlife 
Refuge, Elko and White Pine Counties, Nevada, from operation under the 
mineral leasing laws;
  S. 736, to establish the Chiricahua National Park in the State of 
Arizona as a unit of the National Park System;
  S. 776, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain 
segments of the Gila River system in the State of New Mexico as 
components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, to provide 
for the transfer of administrative jurisdiction over certain Federal 
land in the State of New Mexico;
  S. 843, to amend the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to 
authorize the use of funds for certain additional Carey Act projects;
  S. 873, to improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate 
greater access to, Federal public land, with amendments;
  S. 1260, to release the reversionary interest of the United States in 
certain non-Federal land in Salt Lake City, Utah, with an amendment;
  S. 1466, to adjust the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor;
  S. 1540, to amend the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
Planning Act of 1974 and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 to provide for circumstances under which reinitiation of 
consultation is not required under a land and resource management plan 
or land use plan under those Acts, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute; and
  The nomination of David Crane, of New Jersey, to be Under Secretary, 
Department of Energy.
PROJECT REVIEWS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine Federal actions to improve project reviews for a 
cleaner and stronger economy, after receiving testimony from Brenda 
Mallory, Chair, Council on Environmental Quality; Christine Harada, 
Executive Director, Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council; 
and Jason S. Miller, Deputy Director for Management, Office of 
Management and Budget.
IMPROVING HEALTH CARE ACCESS
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Health Care concluded a hearing 
to examine improving health care access in rural communities, focusing 
on obstacles and opportunities, after receiving testimony from Erin 
Aune, Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital, Glasgow, Montana, on behalf of 
the National Association of Rural Health Clinics; Sara K. Rich, 
Choptank Community Health System, Inc., Denton, Maryland; David C. 
Herman, Essentia Health, Duluth, Minnesota; and Mark Holmes, University 
of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the nominations of Jennifer M. Adams, of Virginia, to be 
Ambassador to the Republic of Cabo Verde, Heather Roach Variava, of 
Iowa, to be Ambassador to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Julie 
Turner, of Maryland, to be Special Envoy on North Korean Human Rights 
Issues, with the rank of Ambassador, Matthew D. Murray, of Maryland, 
for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as United 
States Senior Official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation 
(APEC), and Jennifer L. Johnson, of New York, to be Ambassador to the 
Federated States of Micronesia, all of the Department of State, after 
the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
ordered favorably reported the following business items:

[[Page D472]]


  S. 285, to provide for the perpetuation, administration, and funding 
of Federal Executive Boards, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 311, to correct the inequitable denial of enhanced retirement and 
annuity benefits to certain U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
Officers, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1137, to establish the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness 
Program, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 931, to improve the visibility, accountability, and oversight of 
agency software asset management practices, with an amendment in the 
nature of a substitute;
  S. 1528, to streamline the sharing of information among Federal 
disaster assistance agencies, to expedite the delivery of life-saving 
assistance to disaster survivors, to speed the recovery of communities 
from disasters, to protect the security and privacy of information 
provided by disaster survivors;
  S. 1549, to provide the Congressional Budget Office with necessary 
authorities to expedite the sharing of data from executive branch 
agencies;
  S. 885, to establish a Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve in the 
Department of Homeland Security as a pilot project to address the 
cybersecurity needs of the United States with respect to national 
security, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1425, to require a report on Federal support to the cybersecurity 
of commercial satellite systems, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 1464, to restrict the flow of illicit drugs into the United 
States, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1564, to require the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management to establish, or otherwise ensure the provision of, a 
training program on artificial intelligence for Federal management 
officials and supervisors, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 1443, to require an interagency strategy for creating a unified 
posture on counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) capabilities and 
protections at international borders of the United States;
  S. 1510, to amend provisions relating to the Office of the Inspector 
General of the Government Accountability Office; and
  S. 473, to provide for drone security, and S. 1560, to require the 
development of a comprehensive rural hospital cybersecurity workforce 
development strategy.
MEDICARE ADVANTAGE
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations concluded a hearing to examine health 
care denials and delays in Medicare Advantage, after receiving 
testimony from Megan Tinker, Chief of Staff, Office of Inspector 
General, Department of Health and Human Services; Jean Fuglesten 
Biniek, KFF, Washington, D.C.; Christine J. Huberty, Greater Wisconsin 
Agency on Aging Resources, Inc., Madison; Lisa M. Grabert, Marquette 
University College of Nursing, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Gloria S. 
Bent, Hartford, Connecticut.
MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER CARE
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on 
Primary Health and Retirement Security concluded a hearing to examine a 
crisis in mental health and substance use disorder care, focusing on 
closing gaps in access by bringing care and prevention to communities, 
after receiving testimony from Maria G. Celli, Brockton Neighborhood 
Health Center, Brockton, Massachusetts; Steven Denny, Four County 
Mental Health Center, Inc., Independence, Kansas; Warren Y.K. Ng, 
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York, New 
York; and Stephen M. Taylor, American Society of Addiction Medicine, 
Birmingham, Alabama.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Ana de Alba, of California, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, who was introduced by Senator 
Padilla, and Irma Carrillo Ramirez, of Texas, to be United States 
Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit, who was introduced by Senator 
Cornyn, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their 
own behalf.
FEDERAL JUDICIAL ETHICS PROCESSES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, 
Agency Action, and Federal Rights concluded a hearing to examine 
Federal judicial ethics processes at the Judicial Conference of the 
United States, after receiving testimony from Mark L. Wolf, Senior U.S. 
District Judge for the District of Massachusetts, Boston.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS BUDGET
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2024 
and 2025 advance appropriations requests for the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, after receiving testimony from Denis McDonough, Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs; and Morgan Brown, Paralyzed Veterans of America, 
Shane Liermann, Disabled American Veterans, and Patrick

[[Page D473]]

Murray, Veterans of Foreign Wars, all of Washington, D.C.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on 
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the 
intelligence community.
  Committee recessed subject to the call.