[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 180 (Wednesday, October 29, 2025)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D1091-D1092] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings (Committees not listed did not meet) NOMINATIONS Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Mindy Brashears, of Texas, to be Under Secretary for Food Safety, who was introduced by Representative Arrington, Stella Herrell, of New Mexico, to be an Assistant Secretary, and John Walk, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, all of the Department of Agriculture, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. BIG TECH Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a hearing to examine Big Tech and silencing Americans, part II, after receiving testimony from Markham Erickson, Google, Neil Potts, Meta Platforms Inc., and Harold Feld, Public Knowledge, all of Washington, D.C.; and Will Creeley, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the Section 106 consultation process under the National Historic Preservation Act, after receiving testimony from Christopher W. Merritt, Utah State Historic Preservation Officer, Millcreek; Andy McDonald, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Bismarck, North Dakota; and Steven Concho, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers, Acoma, New Mexico. BUSINESS MEETING Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items: S. 2082, to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to modify the definition of ``production facility'' to exclude an equipment or device capable of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel in a manner that does not separate plutonium from other transuranic elements; S. 2235, to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize the diesel emissions reduction program; S. 2741, to establish within the Environmental Protection Agency the Office of Mountains, Deserts, and Plains, with an amendment; S. 3022, to amend the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act to reauthorize certain Environmental Protection Agency programs; S. 2110, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare a report on reuse and refill systems; S. 2878, to reauthorize funding to monitor, assess, and research the Great Lakes Basin; S. 287, to designate the Federal building located at 225 South Pierre Street in Pierre, South Dakota, as the ``Marcella LeBeau Federal Building''; S. 2319, to designate the Federal building located at 300 West Congress Street in Tucson, Arizona, as the ``Raul M. Grijalva Federal Building''; 3 General Services Administration resolutions; and The nominations of Jeffrey Hall, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Administrator, and Douglas Troutman, of Maryland, to be Assistant Administrator for Toxic Substances, both of the Environmental Protection [[Page D1092]] Agency, Ho Nieh, of Alabama, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mitch Graves, and Jeff Hagood, both of Tennessee, Randall Jones, of Alabama, and Arthur Graham, of Florida, each to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority. NOMINATIONS Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Arjun Mody, of New Jersey, to be Deputy Commissioner Social Security for the term expiring January 19, 2031, Jeffrey Goettman, of Virginia, to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative (Africa, Western Hemisphere, Europe, the Middle East, Environment, Labor, and Industrial Competitiveness), with the Rank of Ambassador, Julie Callahan, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, and Thomas Bell, of Virginia, to be Inspector General, Department of Health and Human Services, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. FUTURE OF BIOTECH Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the future of biotech, focusing on maintaining U.S. competitiveness and lifesaving cures to patients, after receiving testimony from Lowell Schiller, University of Southern California Leonard D. Schaeffer Institute for Public Policy and Government Science, and John F. Crowley, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, both of Washington, D.C.; Josh Makower, Stanford University Schools of Medicine and Engineering, Stanford, California; Aaron S. Kesselheim, Brigham and Women's Hospital Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Boston, Massachusetts; and Reshma Ramachandran, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. IMPACTS OF GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine impacts of government shutdowns and agency reductions in force on Native communities, after receiving testimony from Sarah Harris, United South and Eastern Tribes Sovereignty Protection Fund, Nashville, Tennessee; Ben Mallott, Alaska Federation of Natives, Anchorage; Kerry D. Bird, National Indian Education Association, and Anthony Locklear, II, National Indian Health Board, both of Washington, D.C.; and Pete Upton, Native CDFI Network, Grand Island, Nebraska. VA DISABILITY SYSTEM Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine putting veterans first, focusing on the current VA disability system, after receiving testimony from Cheryl L. Mason, Inspector General, Department of Veterans Affairs; Elizabeth H. Curda, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues, Government Accountability Office; and Jeremy Villanueva, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Jon Retzer, Disabled American Veterans, Ryan Gallucci, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, and Daniel M. Gade, Lieutenant Colonel, USA (Ret.), all of Washington, D.C.