111th Congress (2009 - 2010)
January 6 - April 29, 2009
Senate Committee Meetings by Date
Compiled from the Congressional Record's Daily Digests via Thomas at
thomas.loc.gov
2009/01/06
Daily Digest - Tuesday, January 6, 2009; pages D1 - D8
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D4]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/07
Daily Digest - Wednesday, January 7, 2009; pages D9 - D12
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/08
Daily Digest - Thursday, January 8, 2009; pages D13 - D16
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
CBO AND ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Budget and Economic Outlook, after receiving
testimony from Robert A. Sunshine, Acting Director, Congressional Budget
Office.
ENERGY SECURITY CHALLENGES
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine current energy security challenges, after receiving testimony from
Dianne R. Nielson, Utah Office of the Governor, Salt Lake City, on behalf of
the Western Governors' Association; and Kit Batten, Center for American
Progress Action Fund, Eric Schwartz, Energy Security Leadership Council, and
Karen A. Harbert, Institute for 21st Century Energy, all of Washington, D.C.
TVA AND COAL ASH SPILL
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded an oversight
hearing to examine the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the recent major
coal ash spill, after receiving testimony from Tom Kilgore, President and
Chief Executive Officer, Tennessee Valley Authority; Stephen A. Smith,
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Knoxville, Tennessee; and William Howard
Rose, Jr., Roane County Office of Emergency Services, Ten Mile, Tennessee.
[Page: D14]
MUMBAI TERRORIST ATTACKS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine lessons learned from the Mumbai terrorist attacks, after
receiving testimony from Charles E. Allen, Under Secretary of Homeland
Security for Intelligence and Analysis; Donald Van Duyn, Chief Intelligence
Officer, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice; and Raymond
W. Kelly, New York City Police Department, New York, New York.
NOMINATION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Thomas A. Daschle, to be Secretary of
Health and Human Services, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator
Johnson and former Senator Robert J. Dole, testified and answered questions in
his own behalf.
ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine ways to
help state and local law enforcement during an economic downturn, including S.
150, to provide Federal assistance to States for rural law enforcement, after
receiving testimony from Michael E. Schirling, Burlington Police Department,
Burlington, Vermont; Charles H. Ramsey, Philadelphia Police Department,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; John R. Schmidt, former Associate Attorney
General, Mayer Brown LLP, Chicago, Illinois; and Mary Lou Leary, National
Center for Victims of Crime, and David B. Muhlhausen, Heritage Foundation
Center for Data Analysis, both of Washington, D.C.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2008/01/09
Daily Digest - Friday, January 9, 2009; pages D18 - D22
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Hilda L. Solis, to be Secretary of Labor,
after the nominee, who was introduced by Senators Feinstein and Boxer,
testified and answered questions in her own behalf.
[Page: D19]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/11
Daily Digest - Sunday, January 11, 2009; pages D24 - D26
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D25]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/12
Daily Digest - Monday, January 12, 2009; pages D28 - D30
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D29]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/13
Daily Digest - Tuesday, January 13, 2009; pages D32 - D36
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Shaun Donovan, of New York, to be
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, after the nominee, who was
introduced by Senator Schumer, testified and answered questions in his own
behalf.
[Page: D33]
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Peter R. Orszag, of Massachusetts, to be Director, who was
introduced by Representatives Spratt and Paul Ryan, and Robert L. Nabors II,
of New Jersey, to be Deputy Director, who was introduced by Representative
Obey, both of the Office of Management and Budget, after the nominees
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nomination of Steven Chu, to be Secretary of Energy, after the
nominee, who was introduced by Senators Feinstein and Boxer, testified and
answered questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Hillary R. Clinton, to be Secretary of State, after the nominee,
who was introduced by Senator Schumer, testified and answered questions in her
own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Arne Duncan, to be Secretary of
Education, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Durbin, testified
and answered questions in his own behalf.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/14
Daily Digest - Wednesday, January 14, 2009; pages D38 - D42
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Thomas J. Vilsack, to be Secretary of
Agriculture, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senators Harkin and
Grassley, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nominations of Lisa P. Jackson, to be Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency, who was introduced by Senators Lautenberg and
Menendez, and Nancy Helen Sutley, to be Chairman of the Council on
Environmental Quality, 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 Peter R. Orszag, of Massachusetts, to be
Director, who was introduced by Representatives John Spratt and Paul Ryan, and
Robert L. Nabors II, of New Jersey, to be Deputy Director, who was introduced
by Representative David Obey, both of the Office of Management and Budget,
after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Eric K. Shinseki, to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs, after the
nominee, who was introduced by Senator Inouye and former Senator Robert J.
Dole, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/15
Daily Digest - Thursday, January 15, 2009; pages D43 - D48
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded hearings to examine the
nominations of William J. Lynn III, to be Deputy Secretary, who was introduced
by Senator Reed, Robert F. Hale, to be Under Secretary (Comptroller) and Chief
Financial Officer, Michele Flournoy, to be Under Secretary for Policy, who was
introduced by Representative Skelton, and Jeh Charles Johnson, to be General
Counsel, who was introduced by Senator Menendez, all of the Department of
Defense, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nominations of Mary Schapiro, of New York, to be
Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, who was introduced by
Senators Reed and Schumer, Christina Romer, of California, to be Chair of the
Council of Economic Advisors, Austan Goolsbee, of Illinois, who was introduced
by Senator Durbin, and Cecilia Rouse, of New Jersey, who was introduced by
Senator Menendez, each to be a Member of the Council of Economic Advisors, and
Daniel Tarullo, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, who was introduced by Senator Dodd, after the nominees
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
DEBT OUTLOOK
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the debt
outlook and its implications for policy, after receiving testimony from
Richard Berner, Morgan Stanley, and Allen Sinai, Decision Economics, Inc.,
both of New York, New York; and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, DHE Consulting, LLC, of
Arlington, Virginia.
NOMINATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nomination of Ken Salazar, to be Secretary of the Interior, after
the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Mark Udall and Representative John
Salazar, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
[Page: D45]
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported an original bill to
reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Also, committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Susan E. Rice, to be Representative to the United Nations, with
the rank and status of Ambassador, and the Representative in the Security
Council of the United Nations, and to be Representative to the Sessions of the
General Assembly of the United Nations during her tenure of service as
Representative to the United Nations, after the nominee, who was introduced by
Senators Bayh and Collins, testified and answered questions in her own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of Hillary R. Clinton, to be Secretary of State.
NOMINATION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Janet A. Napolitano, to be Secretary of
Homeland Security, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senators McCain
and Kyl, testified and answered questions in her own behalf.
HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine investing in health information technology (IT), focusing
on stimulus for a healthier America, after receiving testimony from Valerie C.
Melvin, Director, Human Capital and Management Information Systems Issues,
Government Accountability Office; John H. Cochran, The Permanente Foundation,
Oakland, California, on behalf of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program;
Janet Corrigan, The National Quality Forum, and Mary R. Grealy, Healthcare
Leadership Council, both of Washington, D.C.
ECONOMIC STIMULUS
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine job
creation and economic stimulus in Indian country, after receiving testimony
from Robert Middleton, Director, Office of Indian Energy and Economic
Development, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Jack Rever, Director, Facilities
Management and Improvement, both of the Department of the Interior; Jackie
Johnson-Pata, National Congress of American Indians, Robin Butterfield,
National Indian Education Association, and Reno Franklin, National Indian
Health Board, all of Washington, D.C.; and Julie Kitka, Alaska Federation of
Natives, Anchorage, on behalf of the National Indian Health Board.
NOMINATION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee held a hearing to examine the nomination
of Eric H. Holder, to be Attorney General of the United States, the nominee,
who was introduced by former Senator John Warner and Representative Norton,
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
Hearings recessed subject to the call and will meet again on Friday, January
16, 2009.
[Page: D46]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/16
Daily Digest - Friday, January 16, 2009; pages D49 - D52
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Eric H. Holder, to be Attorney General of the United States,
after receiving testimony from Louis J. Freeh, former Director, Federal Bureau
of Investigations, Department of Justice; Frances Fragos Townsend, former
Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to President George W. Bush;
Chuck Canterbury, Fraternal Order of Police, Washington, D.C.; John Payton,
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal
Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., New York, New York; Richard Hahn, R. Hahn
and Company, Inc., Seal Beach, California; Joseph F. Connor, Glen Rock, New
Jersey; and Stephen P. Halbrook, Fairfax, Virginia.
[Page: D50]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/20
Daily Digest - Tuesday, January 20, 2009; pages D53 - D56
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/21
Daily Digest - Wednesday, January 21, 2009; pages D58 - D62
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FISCAL CHALLENGES
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine addressing
short-and long-term fiscal challenges, after receiving testimony from Alice M.
Rivlin, Brookings Institution, and Robert D. Reischauer, and Rudolph G.
Penner, both of the Urban Institute, all of Washington, DC.
NOMINATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Ray LaHood, to be Secretary of
Transportation, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Durbin and
former Representative Michel, testified and answered questions in his own
behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nomination
of Timothy F. Geithner, of New York, to be Secretary of the Treasury, after
the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Schumer and Paul Volcker, former
Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, testified and
answered questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of Susan E. Rice, to be Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador, and to be Representative to
the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations during her tenure
of service as Representative to the United Nations.
FINANCIAL CRISIS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing on the financial crisis and financial governance, after receiving
testimony from Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General, Government
Accounting Office; Howell E. Jackson, Harvard Law School, Cambridge,
Massachusetts; and Steven M. Davidoff, University of Connecticut School of
Law, Hartford.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/22
Daily Digest - Thursday, January 22, 2009; pages D63 - D68
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the nomination of
Timothy F. Geithner, of New York, to be Secretary of the Treasury.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of James B. Steinberg, to be Deputy Secretary, who was introduced
by Senator Hutchison, and Jacob J. Lew, to be Deputy Secretary for Management
and Resources, who was introduced by Senator Schumer, both of the Department
of State, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
HEALTH ISSUES AND STATES
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine what States are doing to keep citizens healthy, after
receiving testimony from Iowa State Senator Jack Hatch, Des Moines; L. Allen
Dobson, Jr., North Carolina Community Care Networks, Inc., Raleigh, on behalf
of the Community Care of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of
Health and Human Services; JudyAnn Bigby, Massachusetts Secretary of Health
and Human Services, Boston; Jonathan Fiedling, County of Los Angeles Public
Heath, Los Angeles, California; and William Emmet, Campaign for Mental Health
Reform, Washington, D.C.
[Page: D65]
NOMINATION
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Dennis Blair, of Pennsylvania, to be Director of National
Intelligence, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Inouye,
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/23
Daily Digest - Friday, January 23, 2009; pages D69 - D70
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
No Joint hearings noted.
2009/01/26
Daily Digest - Monday, January 26, 2009; pages D71 - D74
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D72]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/27
Daily Digest - Tuesday, January 27, 2009; pages D75 - D80
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 336,
making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation,
infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the
unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2009.
Also, committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported 654
nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
challenges facing the Department of Defense, after receiving testimony from
Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense.
INVESTMENT SECURITIES FRAUD
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine investment securities fraud, focusing on regulatory and
oversight concerns, after receiving testimony from Lori A. Richards, Director,
Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, and Linda Chatman Thomsen,
Director, Division of Enforcement, both of the Securities and Exchange
Commission; John C. Coffee, Jr., Columbia University Law School, New York, New
York; Stephen I. Luparello, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and
Stephen P. Harbeck, Securities Investor Protection Corporation, both of
Washington, D.C.; and Henry A. Backe, Jr., Fairfield, Connecticut.
PUBLIC HEALTH
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine access to prevention and public health for high risk
populations, after receiving testimony from Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey; David Stevens, National Association
of Community Health Centers, Bethesda, Maryland; Michael Meit, University of
Chicago National Option Research Center, Chicago, Illinois; Lisa I. Iezzoni,
Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Robert N. Butler,
International Longevity Center, New York, New York; and Joseph F. Hagan, Jr.,
University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, on behalf of the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
[Page: D77]
DIGITAL AGE PRIVACY
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine health
information technology (IT), focusing on protecting Americans' privacy in the
digital age, after receiving testimony from James Hester, Vermont State
Legislature Health Care Reform Commission, Montpelier; Adrienne Hahn,
Consumers Union, Deven McGraw, Center for Democracy and Technology Health
Privacy Project, and David Merritt, Center for Health Transformation, all of
Washington, D.C.; Michael Stokes, Microsoft Corporation Health Solutions
Group, Eagle, Idaho; and John P. Houston, University of Pittsburgh Medical
Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/28
Daily Digest - Wednesday, January 28, 2009; pages D81 - D86
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
HOUSING AND FINANCIAL CRISIS
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine federal
response to the housing and financial crisis, after receiving testimony from
Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget Office.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: On Tuesday, January 27, 2009, committee ordered
favorably reported an original bill entitled, "The American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act".
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
global climate change, after receiving testimony from Former Vice President Al
Gore, Nashville, Tennessee.
MUMBAI TERRORIST ATTACKS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine lessons from the Mumbai, India, terrorist attacks, after
receiving testimony from Brian Michael Jenkins, RAND Corporation, Santa
Monica, California; Ashley J. Tellis, Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace, Washington, D.C.; and Alan Orlob, Marriott International Lodging,
Bethesda, Maryland, and Michael L. Norton, Tishman Speyer, New York, New York,
both on behalf of the Real Estate Roundtable.
ECONOMIC CRISIS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on
Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security concluded a hearing to examine impact of the economic
crisis on the United States Postal Service, after receiving testimony from
John E. Potter, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer, United States
Postal Service; Dan G. Blair, Chairman, Postal Regulatory Commission; and
Phillip Herr, Director, Physical Infrastructure, Government Accountability
Office.
[Page: D83]
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination Eric H. Holder, Jr., of the District of Columbia, to be Attorney
General.
VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
veterans organizations' priorities for the 111th Congress, after receiving
testimony from Dean Stoline, The American Legion, Rockville, Maryland; Adrian
Atizado, Disabled American Veterans, Cold Spring, Kentucky; Todd Bowers, Iraq
and Afghanistan Veterans of America, New York, New York; Carl Blake, Paralyzed
Veterans of America, Fredericksburg, Virginia; Dennis Cullinan, Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the United States, Washington, D.C.; and John Rowan, Vietnam
Veterans of America, Middle Village, New York.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of Dennis Blair, of Pennsylvania, to be Director of National
Intelligence.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/29
Daily Digest - Thursday, January 29, 2009; pages D87 - D90
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
GLOBAL ECONOMY
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the global
economy, focusing on outlook, risks, and implications for policy, after
receiving testimony from Simon Johnson, Peterson Institute for International
Economics, Washington, DC; Brad Setser, Council on Foreign Relations, New
York, New York; and Tim Adams, The Lindsey Group, Fairfax, Virginia.
QUALITY IN HEALTH REFORM
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine quality in health reform, after receiving testimony from
Nancy Davenport-Ennis, National Patient Advocate Foundation, Washington, DC;
Karen Davis, The Commonwealth Fund, New York, New York; Rhonda Robinson Beale,
OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions, Golden Valley, Minnesota; Elizabeth Olmsted
Teisberg, University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Charlottesville;
and Christine Cassel, American Board of Internal Medicine, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the intelligence
community.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/01/30
Daily Digest - Friday, January 30, 2009; pages D91 - D94
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D92]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/02
Daily Digest - Monday, February 2, 2009; page D95 - D98
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/03
Daily Digest - Tuesday, February 3, 2009; page D100 - D104
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/04
Daily Digest - Wednesday, February 4, 2009; pages D106 - D112
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FINANCIAL REGULATORY SYSTEM
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the United States financial regulatory system, including
how regulation has evolved in banking, securities, thrifts, credit unions,
futures, insurance, and secondary mortgage markets, after receiving testimony
from Paul A. Volcker, Chair, President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board; and
Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/05
Daily Digest - Thursday, February 5, 2009; pages D114 - D118
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FOOD SAFETY
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine federal food safety relative to the peanut products recall,
after receiving testimony from Stephen Sundlof, Director, Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, Michael Chappell, Acting Associate Commissioner,
Regulatory Affairs, and William K. Hubbard, Former Senior Associate
Commissioner for Policy, Planning, and Legislation, all of the Food and Drug
Association, Department of Health and Human Services; Rear Admiral Ali S.
Khan, Assistant Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
Caroline Smith DeWaal, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington,
D.C.; and Gabrielle Meunier, Burlington, Vermont.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nominations of William J. Lynn, III, to be Deputy Secretary, Robert F. Hale,
to be Under Secretary (Comptroller) and Chief Financial Officer, MicheAE2le
Flournoy, to be Under Secretary for Policy, and Jeh Charles Johnson, to be
General Counsel, all of the Department of Defense.
TARP
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), focusing on
oversight of the financial rescue package, after receiving testimony from Gene
L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office; and
Neil M. Barofsky, Special Inspector General, and Elizabeth Warren, Chair,
Congressional Oversight Panel, both of the Troubled Asset Relief Program,
Department of the Treasury.
[Page: D116]
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported an
original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
Also, committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress and
announced the following subcommittee assignments:
Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Global Narcotics Affairs:
Senators Dodd (Chair), Menendez, Cardin, Webb, Gillibrand, Barrasso, Isakson,
Risch, and Republican Leader designee.
Subcommittee on African Affairs : Senators Feingold (Chair), Cardin, Webb,
Kaufman, Shaheen, Isakson, DeMint, Corker, and Risch.
Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights,
Democracy, and Global Women's Issues: Senators Boxer (Chair), Feingold,
Menendez, Kaufman, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Wicker, DeMint, Barrasso, and
Republican Leader designee.
Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic
Affairs, and International Environmental Protection : Senators Menendez
(Chair), Boxer, Cardin, Casey, Shaheen, Gillibrand, Corker, Wicker, DeMint,
and Republican Leader designee.
Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs : Senators
Casey (Chair), Dodd, Feingold, Boxer, Cardin, Kaufman, Risch, Corker,
Barrasso, and Isakson.
Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs : Senators Webb (Chair), Dodd,
Feingold, Boxer, Casey, Gillibrand, Republican Leader designee, Isakson,
Barrasso, and Wicker.
Subcommittee on European Affairs : Senators Shaheen (Chair), Dodd, Menendez,
Casey, Webb, Kaufman, DeMint, Risch, Corker, and Wicker.
BEST PATIENT CARE PRACTICES
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine implementing best patient care practices, after receiving
testimony from Peter J. Pronovost, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
Maryland; Steven D. Pearson, Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for
Clinical and Economic Review, Boston; Donald R. Fischer, Highmark Blue Cross
Shield, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Association; and Jeff Gulcher, deCODE Genetics, Chicago, Illinois.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported an original
resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee, and the rules of
procedure for the 111th Congress.
HEALTH CARE
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to
examine advancing Indian health care, after receiving testimony from H. Sally
Smith, National Indian Health Board, and Rachel A. Joseph, National Steering
Committee to Reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act, both of
Washington, D.C.; Ron His Horse is Thunder, Great Plains Tribal Chairman's
Association, Rapid City, South Dakota; David Rambeau, United American Indian
Involvement, Los Angeles, California, on behalf of National Council of Urban
Indian Health; Andrew Joseph, Jr., Northwest Portland Area Indian Health
Board, Portland, Oregon; and Mickey Peercy, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma,
Durant.
NOMINATION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of David W. Ogden, of Virginia, to be Deputy Attorney General,
after the nominee, who was introduced by former Senator Warner, testified and
answered questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATION
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held a hearing to examine the
nomination of Leon E. Panetta, of California, to be Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, the nominee testified and answered questions on his own
behalf.
Hearings recessed subject to the call and will meet again on Friday, February
6, 2009.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/06
Daily Digest - Friday, February 6, 2009; pages D119 - D124
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Leon E. Panetta, of California, to be Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency, after the nominee testified and answered questions in his
own behalf.
[Page: D121]
Joint Meetings
EMPLOYMENT
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
employment situation for January 2009, after receiving testimony from Keith
Hall, Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor.
2009/02/07
Daily Digest - Saturday, February 7, 2009; pages D125 - D126
[Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/09
Daily Digest - Monday, February 9, 2009; pages D127 - D130
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D128]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/10
Daily Digest - Tuesday, February 10, 2009; pages D131 - D135
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nominations of Austan Dean Goolsbee, of Illinois, and Cecilia
Elena Rouse, of California, both to be Members of the Council of Economic
Advisers.
Committee ordered favorably reported an original resolution authorizing
expenditures by the Committee.
Also, committee announced the following subcommittee assignments:
[Page: D132]
Subcommittee on Financial Institutions : Senators Johnson (Chair), Reed,
Schumer, Bayh, Menendez, Akaka, Tester, Kohl, Merkley, Bennet, Crapo, Bennett,
Hutchison, Bunning, Martinez, Corker, and DeMint.
Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development : Senators
Menendez (Chair), Johnson, Reed, Schumer, Akaka, Brown, Tester, Kohl, Warner,
Merkley, Vitter, Hutchison, Bennett, Johanns, Crapo, Martinez, and DeMint.
Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment : Senators Reed (Chair),
Johnson, Schumer, Bayh, Menendez, Akaka, Brown, Warner, Bennet, Dodd, Bunning,
Martinez, Bennett, Crapo, Vitter, Johanns, and Corker.
Subcommittee on Economic Policy : Senators Brown (Chair), Tester, Merkley,
Dodd, and DeMint.
Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance : Senators Bayh
(Chair), Kohl, Warner, Bennet, Dodd, Corker, and Johanns.
TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded an
oversight hearing to examine the financial rescue program, focusing on a new
plan for the Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP), after receiving testimony
from Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury.
HEALTH REFORM BUDGET
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine issues and
budget options for health reform, focusing on expanding health insurance
coverage and the efficiency of the health care system, after receiving
testimony from Douglas W. Elmendorf, Director, Congressional Budget Office.
RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY STANDARD PROPOSAL
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine renewable electricity standards proposal, after receiving testimony
from David A. Wright, South Carolina Public Service Commissioner, Columbia, on
behalf of the Southeastern Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners;
Ralph Izzo, Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, Newark, New Jersey;
Donald N. Furman, Iberdrola Renewables, Inc., Portland, Oregon; Scott P.
Jones, Forest Landowners Association, Atlanta, Georgia; and Lester B. Lave,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
NORTH KOREA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee met in closed session to receive a
briefing on North Korea from officials of the National Security community.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Elena Kagan, of Massachusetts, to be Solicitor General of the
United States, who was introduced by Senator Reed, and Thomas John Perrelli,
of Virginia, to be Associate Attorney General, both of the Department of
Justice, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the intelligence
community.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/11
Daily Digest - Wednesday, February 11, 2009; pages D137 - D144
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
DEVILS LAKE REGION
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
concluded a hearing to examine protecting residents of the Devils Lake region
from rising water, after receiving testimony from Colonel Jon L. Christensen,
District Commander, Saint Paul District, Army Corps of Engineers, Department
of Defense; Scott Dummer, Hydrologist-in-Charge, North Central River Forecast
Center, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, Department of Commerce; Dale Frink, North Dakota State
Engineer, Bismarck, on behalf of the North Dakota Water Commission; Mayor Fred
Bott, Devils Lake, North Dakota; and Mayor Dennis Walaker, Fargo, North
Dakota.
[Page: D138]
FINANCIAL AND HOUSING MARKETS
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the crises
in financial and housing markets, after receiving testimony from Timothy F.
Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably
reported an original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
Also, committee announced the following subcommittee assignments:
Subcommittee on Energy: Senators Cantwell (Chair), Dorgan, Wyden, Landrieu,
Menendez, Sanders, Bayh, Stabenow, Udall (CO), Shaheen, Risch, Burr, Barrasso,
Brownback, Bennett, Bunning, Sessions, and Corker.
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests: Senators Wyden (Chair), Johnson,
Landrieu, Cantwell, Menendez, Lincoln, Udall (CO), Shaheen, Barrasso, Risch,
McCain, Bennett, Sessions, and Corker.
Subcommittee on National Parks: Senators Udall (CO) (Chair), Dorgan, Landrieu,
Menendez, Lincoln, Sanders, Bayh, Stabenow, Burr, Barrasso, Brownback, McCain,
Bunning, and Corker.
Subcommittee on Water and Power: Senators Stabenow (Chair), Dorgan, Johnson,
Cantwell, Lincoln, Sanders, Bayh, Shaheen, Brownback, Risch, McCain, Bennett,
Bunning, and Sessions.
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
foreign policy implications of the global economic crisis, after receiving
testimony from Niall Ferguson, Harvard Business School, Cambridge,
Massachusetts; and David Gordon, The Eurasia Group, Desmond Lachman, American
Enterprise Institute, Sebastian Mallaby, Council on Foreign Relations, and
Douglas Rediker, The New America Foundation, all of Washington, DC.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee ordered
favorably reported the following business items:
S. 160, to provide the District of Columbia a voting seat and the State of
Utah an additional seat in the House of Representatives, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute;
S. 303, to reauthorize and improve the Federal Financial Assistance Management
Improvement Act of 1999;
S. 69, to establish a fact-finding Commission to extend the study of a prior
Commission to investigate and determine facts and circumstances surrounding
the relocation, internment, and deportation to Axis countries of Latin
Americans of Japanese descent from December 1941 through February 1948, and
the impact of those actions by the United States, and to recommend appropriate
remedies; and
S. 234, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located
at 2105 East Cook Street in Springfield, Illinois, as the "Colonel John H.
Wilson, Jr. Post Office Building".
Committee ordered favorably reported an original resolution authorizing
expenditures by the Committee.
Also, committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress and
announced the following subcommittee assignments:
Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations: Senators Levin (Chair), Carper,
Pryor, McCaskill, Tester, Bennet, Coburn, Collins, McCain, and Ensign.
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and
the District of Columbia: Senators Akaka (Chair), Levin, Landrieu, Burris,
Bennet, Voinovich, and Graham.
Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal
Services, and International Security: Senators Carper (Chair), Levin, Akaka,
Pryor, McCaskill, Burris, McCain, Coburn, Voinovich, and Graham.
Ad Hoc Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and
Integration: Senators Pryor (Chair), Akaka, Landrieu, Tester, Bennet, Ensign,
Voinovich, and Graham.
Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery: Senators Landrieu (Chair),
McCaskill, Burris, and Graham.
Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight*: Senators McCaskill (Chair),
Levin, Carper, Pryor, Tester, Coburn, and McCain.
*The Ranking Member for the Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight has
not been appointed, pending designation of another Republican member to the
committee. In the interim, Senator Collins will serve as the ex-officio
ranking member of the subcommittee.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered
favorably reported the following business items:
[Page: D139]
An original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee; and
The nomination of Hilda L. Solis, of California, to be Secretary of Labor.
FRAUD ENFORCEMENT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the need
for increased fraud enforcement in the wake of the economic downturn, after
receiving testimony from John Pistole, Deputy Director, Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and Rita Glavin, Acting Assistant Attorney General, Criminal
Division, both of the Department of Justice; and Neil Barofsky, Special
Inspector General, Troubled Asset Relief Program, Department of the Treasury.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee adopted its rules of
procedure for the 111th Congress.
VETERANS' DISABILITY COMPENSATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
veterans' disability compensation, focusing on the appeals process, after
receiving testimony from Bruce E. Kasold, United States Judge for the Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims; James P. Terry, Chairman, Board of Veterans'
Appeals, Department of Veterans Affairs; Kerry Baker, Disabled American
Veterans, Cold Spring, Kentucky; and Richard Paul Cohen, National Organization
of Veterans' Advocates, Inc., and Barton F. Stichman, National Veterans Legal
Services Program, both of Washington, DC.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported an
original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of Leon E. Panetta, of California, to be Director of the Central
Intelligence Agency.
Committee ordered favorably reported an original resolution authorizing
expenditures by the Committee.
Joint Meetings
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
Conferees met to resolve the differences between the Senate and House passed
versions of H.R. 1, making supplemental appropriations for job preservation
and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science,
assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for
fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and continued in evening session.
2009/02/12
Daily Digest - Thursday, February 12, 2009; pages D146 - D152
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported an original
resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
CONSUMER PROTECTION IN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine consumer protection in the financial regulatory system,
focusing on strengthening credit card protections, after receiving testimony
from Travis B. Plunkett, Consumer Federation of America, Adam J. Levitin,
Georgetown University Law Center, and Kenneth J. Clayton, American Bankers
Association, all of Washington, DC; James C. Sturdevant, The Sturdevant Law
Firm, San Francisco, California, on behalf of The National Association of
Consumer Advocates; Lawrence M. Ausubel, University of Maryland, College Park;
and Todd J. Zywicki, George Mason University School of Law, Falls Church,
Virginia.
BUDGET RESOLUTION/RECONCILIATION
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine Senate
procedures for consideration of the budget resolution/reconciliation, after
receiving testimony from Senators Byrd and Specter; William Hennif,
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; G. William Hoagland,
former Staff Director, Senate Budget Committee, Fairfax, Virginia; and Robert
Dove, former Senate Parliamentarian, Falls Church, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Budget: Committee ordered favorably reported an original
resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered
favorably reported an original resolution authorizing expenditures by the
Committee.
Also, Committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nominations of Jane Lubchenco, of Oregon, to be Under
Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, who was introduced by Senator Wyden, and
John P. Holdren, of Massachusetts, to be Director of the Office of Science and
Technology Policy, both of the Department of Commerce, after the nominees
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program, authorized under
Title 17 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and how the delivery of services to
support the deployment of clean energy technologies might be improved, after
receiving testimony from David G. Frantz, Director, Loan Guarantee Program,
and Andy Karsner, former Assistant Secretary for Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, both of the Department of Energy; Kevin Book, Friedman, Billings,
Ramsey and Co., Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and James K. Asselstine, Barclays
Capital, New York, New York.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably
reported an original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
Also, Committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress and
announced the following subcommittee assignments:
Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure: Senators Baucus (Chair),
Carper, Lautenberg, Cardin, Sanders, Klobuchar, Boxer (ex officio), Voinovich,
Vitter, Barrasso, Specter, and Inhofe (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety: Senators Carper (Chair), Baucus,
Cardin, Sanders, Merkley, Boxer (ex officio), Vitter, Voinovich, Bond, and
Inhofe (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health: Senators
Lautenberg (Chair), Baucus, Klobuchar, Whitehouse, Gillibrand, Boxer (ex
officio), Specter, Crapo, Bond, and Inhofe (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife: Senators Cardin (Chair), Lautenberg,
Whitehouse, Udall (NM), Merkley, and Boxer (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Green Jobs and the New Economy: Senators Sanders (Chair),
Carper, Gillibrand, Boxer (ex officio), Bond, Voinovich, and Inhofe (ex
officio).
Subcommittee on Children's Health: Senators Klobuchar (Chair), Udall (NM),
Merkley, Boxer (ex officio), Alexander, Specter, and Inhofe (ex officio).
[Page: D148]
Subcommittee on Oversight: Senators Whitehouse (Chair), Udall (NM),
Gillibrand, Boxer (ex officio), Barrasso, Vitter, and Inhofe (ex officio).
DARFUR
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
United States relations with Darfur, after receiving testimony from Timothy M.
Carney, former United States Ambassador to Sudan, Roger P. Winter, former
Special Representative on Sudan, Michael Gerson, Council on Foreign Relations,
Jerry Fowler, Save Darfur Coalition, and John Prendergast, The Enough Project,
all of Washington, DC.
NATIONAL AND HOMELAND SECURITY AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine structuring national security and homeland security at the
White House, after receiving testimony from Thomas J. Ridge, former Secretary
of Homeland Security; Frances Fragos Townsend, former Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism Advisor to President George W. Bush; Christine E. Wormuth,
Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC; and James R.
Locher III, Project on National Security Reform, Arlington, Virginia.
INDIAN AFFAIRS
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to
examine matters relating to Indian affairs, after receiving testimony from Ken
Salazar, Secretary of the Interior.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported an original
resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
Also, Committee announced the following subcommittee assignments:
Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts: Senators Whitehouse
(Chair), Feinstein, Feingold, Schumer, Cardin, Kaufman, Sessions, Grassley,
Kyl, and Graham.
Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights: Senators
Kohl (Chair), Schumer, Whitehouse, Wyden, Klobuchar, Kaufman, Hatch, Specter,
Grassley, and Cornyn.
Subcommittee on the Constitution: Senators Feingold (Chair), Feinstein,
Durbin, Cardin, Whitehouse, Kaufman, Coburn, Specter, Graham, and Cornyn.
Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs: Senators Durbin (Chair), Kohl, Feinstein,
Feingold, Schumer, Cardin, Klobuchar, Kaufman, Graham, Specter, Hatch,
Grassley, Sessions, and Coburn.
Joint Meetings
AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT
Conferees agreed to file a conference report on the differences between the
Senate and House passed versions of H.R. 1, making supplemental appropriations
for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy
efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local
fiscal stabilization, for fiscal year ending September 30, 2009.
2009/02/13
Daily Digest - Friday, February 13, 2009; pages D153 - D156
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee ordered favorably
reported an original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
[Page: D156]
2009/02/23
Daily Digest - Monday, February 23, 2009; pages D157 - D162
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee ordered favorably
reported an original resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
PRINCIPLES OF INTEGRATED HEALTH
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine principles of integrative health, focusing on a path to
health care reform, after receiving testimony from Catherine M. Base, The Dow
Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan; James S. Gordon, Center for Mind-Body
Medicine, Washington, DC; Wayne B. Jonas, Samueli Institute, Alexandria,
Virginia; Mary Jo Kreitzer, University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality
and Healing, Minneapolis; and Robert Duggan, and Charlotte R. Kerr, both of
the Tai Sophia Institute, Laurel, Maryland.
[Page: D158]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/24
Daily Digest - Tuesday, February 24, 2009; pages D164 - D170
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: On Monday, February 23,
2009, committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress.
[Page: D165]
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee announced the following subcommittee
assignments for the 111th Congress:
Subcommittee on AirLand: Senators Lieberman (Chair), Bayh, Webb, McCaskill,
Hagan, Begich, Burris, Thune, Inhofe, Sessions, Chambliss, and Burr.
Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities: Senators Reed (Chair),
Kennedy, Byrd, Nelson (FL), Nelson (NE), Bayh, Udall (CO), Wicker, Graham,
Martinez, Burr, and Collins.
Subcommittee on Personnel: Senators Nelson (NE) (Chair), Kennedy, Lieberman,
Akaka, Webb, McCaskill, Hagan, Begich, Burris, Graham, Chambliss, Thune,
Martinez, Wicker, Vitter, and Collins.
Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support: Senators Bayh (Chair), Byrd,
Akaka, McCaskill, Udall (CO), Burris, Burr, Inhofe, Chambliss, and Thune.
Subcommittee on Seapower: Senators Kennedy (Chair), Liebermann, Reed, Akaka,
Nelson (FL), Webb, Hagan, Martinez, Sessions, Wicker, Vitter, and Collins.
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces: Senators Nelson (FL) (Chair), Byrd, Reed,
Nelson (NE), Udall (CO), Begich, Sessions, Inhofe, Graham, and Vitter.
MONETARY POLICY REPORT
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the semiannual monetary policy report to the Congress,
after receiving testimony from Ben Bernanke, Chairman, Board of Governors of
the Federal Reserve System.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee adopted its rules
of procedure for the 111th Congress.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN SRI LANKA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Near East and South and
Central Asian Affairs concluded a hearing to examine recent developments in
Sri Lanka, after receiving testimony from Jeffrey J. Lunstead, former United
States Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Middlebury, Vermont; Anna Neistat, Human
Rights Watch, Washington, D.C.; and Robert Dietz, Committee to Protect
Journalists, New York, New York.
NATIONAL HEALTH REFORM
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine addressing underinsurance in national health reform, after
receiving testimony from Cathy Schoen, The Commonwealth Fund, New York, New
York; Gail Shearer, Consumers Union, and Diane Rowland, The Kaiser Commission
on Medicaid and the Uninsured, both of Washington, D.C.; and Grace-Marie
Turner, Galen Institute, Alexandria, Virginia.
MERGER
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and
Consumer Rights concluded a hearing to examine the Ticketmaster/Live Nation
merger, focusing on consumers and the concert business, after receiving
testimony from Irving Azoff, Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc., West Hollywood,
California; Michael Rapino, Live Nation, Beverly Hills, California; Jerry
Mickelson, Jam Productions, Ltd., Chicago, Illinois; and David A. Balto,
Center for American Progress Action Fund, and Seth Hurwitz, 9:30 Club/I.M.P.,
both of Washington, D.C.
DISABLED VETERANS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a joint hearing with the
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to examine the legislative presentation
of the Disabled American Veterans, after receiving testimony from Raymond E.
Dempsey, Disabled American Veterans, Chicago, Illinois.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee adopted its rules of procedure for
the 111th Congress.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/25
Daily Digest - Wednesday, February 25, 2009; pages D171 - D178
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Gary Gensler, of Maryland, to be Chairman
and Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, after the
nominee, who was introduced by Senators Mikulski and Cardin and former Senator
Sarbanes, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
Committee on Armed Services: Committee met in closed session to receive a
briefing to examine Afghanistan and Pakistan from Michele Flournoy, Under
Secretary of Defense for Policy; Lieutenant General John M. Paxton, Jr., USMC,
Director for Operations, J3, and Vice Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr., USN,
Director for Strategic Plans and Policy, J5, both of the Joint Staff; and Rear
Admiral Mark D. Harnitchek, USN, Director, Strategy, Policy, Programs and
Logistics Directorate, J5/4, United States Transportation Command.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nominations of Capt. Brian P. Monahan, to be Rear Admiral and Attending
Physician to the Congress, and Michael A. Brown, to be Rear Admiral, both of
the Navy; and routine lists in the Air Force Reserve and the Navy.
LATEST GLOBAL WARMING SCIENCE
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine an update on the latest global warming science, after receiving
testimony from Howard Frumkin, Director, National Center for Environmental
Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic
Substances and Disease Registry, Department of Health and Human Services; R.K.
Pachauri, United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, New Delhi,
India; Christopher B. Field, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford,
California; and William Happer, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey.
EXPANDING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine scoring health
care reform, focusing on Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) budget options,
including expanding health insurance coverage and making the health care
system more efficient, after receiving testimony from Douglas W. Elmendorf,
Director, Congressional Budget Office.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported an original
resolution authorizing expenditures by the Committee.
Also, committee announced the following subcommittee assignments for the 111th
Congress:
Subcommittee on Health Care : Senators Rockefeller (Chair), Bingaman, Kerry,
Lincoln, Wyden, Schumer, Stabenow, Cantwell, Nelson (FL), Menendez, Carper,
Hatch, Snowe, Ensign, Enzi, Cornyn, Kyl, Bunning, and Crapo.
[Page: D173]
Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth : Senators
Conrad (Chair), Baucus, Rockefeller, Wyden, Schumer, Stabenow, Cantwell,
Menendez, Carper, Kyl, Hatch, Snowe, Roberts, Ensign, Enzi, and Cornyn.
Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure : Senators
Bingaman (Chair), Conrad, Kerry, Lincoln, Stabenow, Cantwell, Nelson (FL),
Carper, Bunning, Crapo, Cornyn, Hatch, and Enzi.
Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy : Senators
Lincoln (Chair), Rockefeller, Conrad, Schumer, Nelson (FL), Roberts, Kyl, and
Ensign.
Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness :
Senators Wyden (Chair), Rockefeller, Bingaman, Kerry, Stabenow, Cantwell,
Menendez, Crapo, Snowe, Bunning, and Roberts.
Also, Committee appointed the following Members to the Congressional Oversight
Group, the Congressional Trade Advisors on Trade Policy and Negotiations, and
the Joint Committee on Taxation: Senators Baucus, Rockefeller, Conrad,
Grassley, and Hatch.
TELEVISION IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine ensuring
television carriage in the digital age, after receiving testimony from Vermont
State Senator Robert M. Hartwell, Manchester Center; Charles W. Ergen, Dish
Network Corporation, Englewood, Colorado; K. James Yager, Barrington
Broadcasting Group, LLC, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, on behalf of the National
Association of Broadcasters; Martin D. Franks, CBS Corporation, New York, New
York; and David L. Cohen, Comcast Corporation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of David S. Kris, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Attorney
General, and Dawn Elizabeth Johnsen, of Indiana, to be an Assistant Attorney
General, who was introduced by Senator Bayh, both of the Department of
Justice, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
SECURING RETIREMENT
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine securing
retirement in a volatile economy, after receiving testimony from Dallas
Salisbury, Employee Benefit Research Institute, Dean Baker, Center for
Economic and Policy Research, Ignacio Salazar, SER-Jobs for Progress National,
Inc., and Barbara B. Kennelly, National Committee to Preserve Social Security
and Medicare, all of Washington, D.C.; Deena Katz, Texas Tech University,
Lubbock; and Jeanine L. Cook, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
BUSINESS MEETING
Special Committee on Aging: Committee adopted its rules of procedure for the
111th Congress.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/02/26
Daily Digest - Thursday, February 26, 2009; pages D179 - D184
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
strategic options for the way ahead in Afghanistan and Pakistan, after
receiving testimony from Lieutenant General David W. Barno, USA (Ret.),
Director, National Defense University Near East South Asia Center for
Strategic Studies, Washington, D.C.; James Dobbins, RAND Corporation
International Security and Defense Policy Center, Arlington, Virginia; and
Marin J. Strmecki, Smith Richardson Foundation, Westport, Connecticut.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee adopted its rules of procedure for the
111th Congress.
HOMEOWNER AFFORDABILITY AND STABILITY PLAN
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the Administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability
Plan, after receiving testimony from Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development.
CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CREDIT CRISIS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine consumer protection and the credit crisis, after receiving
testimony from Pamela Jones Harbour, Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission;
Travis Plunkett, Consumer Federation of America, and Bill Himpler, American
Financial Services Association, both of Washington, D.C.; Prentiss Cox,
University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis; and Nancy Dix, Ansted, West
Virginia.
ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDINGS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded hearings to
examine recommendations for reducing energy consumption in buildings through
improved implementation of authorized Department of Energy (DOE) programs and
through other innovative federal energy efficiency policies and programs,
after receiving testimony from Arun Majumdar, Director, Environmental Energy
Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Department of
Energy; Philip Giudice, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Energy
Resources, Boston; Edward Mazria, 2030, Inc./Architecture 2030, Santa Fe, New
Mexico; Jennifer Amann, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy,
Washington, D.C.; Ward Hubbell, Green Building Initiative, Portland, Oregon;
and Charles Zimmerman, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas.
ENGAGING WITH MUSLIM COMMUNITIES
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
engaging with Muslim communities around the world, after receiving testimony
from Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of State; Admiral William J.
Fallon, USN (Ret.), former Commander of United States Central Command,
Cambridge, Massachusetts; Dahlia Mogahed, Gallup Center for Muslim Studies,
Washington, D.C.; Eboo Patel, Interfaith Youth Core, Chicago, Illinois; and
Jim Sciutto, London, United Kingdom.
PROTECTING ANIMAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of
Columbia concluded a hearing to examine protecting public and animal health,
focusing on homeland security and the federal veterinarian workforce, after
receiving testimony from Lisa Shames, Director, Natural Resources and
Environment, Government Accountability Office; Nancy H. Kichak, Associate
Director for Strategic Human Resources Policy, Office of Personnel Management;
Gerald W. Parker, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of the
Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Preparedness and
Response; Jill M. Crumpacker, Director, Office of Human Capital Management,
Departmental Administration, Department of Agriculture; Thomas J. McGinn,
Chief Veterinarian, Office of Health Affairs, Department of Homeland Security;
and W. Ron DeHaven, American Veterinary Medical Association, Michael Gilsdorf,
National Association of Federal Veterinarians, and Marguerite Pappaioanou,
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, all of Washington, D.C.
[Page: D181]
INTEGRATIVE CARE
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine integrative care, focusing on a pathway to a healthier
nation, after receiving testimony from Mehmet C. Oz, Columbia University, New
York, New York; Mark Hyman, Ultra Wellness Center, Lenox, Massachusetts; Dean
Ornish, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, Sausalito, California; and
Andrew Weil, Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, Vail.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee adopted its
rules of procedure for the 111th Congress.
YOUTH SUICIDE IN INDIAN COUNTRY
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to
examine youth suicide in Indian country, after receiving testimony from
Senator Reid; Robert G. McSwain, Director, Indian Health Service, and Eric B.
Broderick, Acting Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, both of the Department of Health and Human Services; Robert
Moore, Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, Rosebud, on behalf of the Greats
Plains Tribal Chairman's Association and the Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairman's
Health Board; R. Dale Walker, Oregon Health and Science University One Sky
Center American Indian/Alaska Native National Resource Center for Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services, Portland; Hayes A. Lewis, Center for
Lifelong Education at the Institute of American Indian Arts, Santa Fe, New
Mexico; Teresa LaFromboise, Stanford University School of Education, Stanford,
California; and Dana Lee Jetty, Fort Totten, North Dakota.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorable reported the
nomination of David W. Ogden, of Virginia, to be Deputy Attorney General, of
the Department of Justice.
Also, committee adopted its rules of procedure for the 111th Congress.
VETERANS IN RURAL AREAS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
caring for veterans in rural areas, after receiving testimony from Kara
Hawthorne, Director, Office of Rural Health, and Adam Darkins, Chief
Consultant, Care Coordination, Office of Patient Care Services, both of the
Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs; Ricardo C.
Flippin, CARE-NET: Caring Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, Charleston, West Virginia;
Alan Watson, Saint Mary's Medical Center of Campbell County, Lafollette,
Tennessee; Thomas Loftus, American Legion Post #45, Clarksville, Virginia; and
Matthew Kuntz, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Helena, Montana.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the intelligence
community.
Committee recessed subject to call.
Joint Meetings
RESTORING THE ECONOMY
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine restoring
the economy, focusing on strategy for short-term and long-term change, after
receiving testimony from Paul A. Volcker, Chairman, President's Economic
Advisory Board; Roger C. Altman, Evercore Partners, New York, New York; Adam
S. Posen, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, D.C.;
and Joseph R. Mason, Louisiana State University, Berwyn, Pennsylvania.
2009/02/27
Daily Digest - Friday, February 27, 2009; pages D186 - D190
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/02
Daily Digest - Monday, March 2, 2009; pages D192 - D196
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D193]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/03
Daily Digest - Tuesday, March 3, 2009; pages D198 - D204
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
acquisition of major weapons systems by the Department of Defense, and S. 454,
to improve the organization and procedures of the Department of Defense for
the acquisition of major weapon systems, after receiving testimony from
Michael J. Sullivan, Director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management, Government
Accountability Office; Jacques S. Gansler, former Under Secretary of Defense
for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, Defense Science Board Task Force
on Industrial Structure for Transportation, College Park, Maryland; Paul G.
Kaminski, National Research Council, Fairfax Station, Virginia; and Charles
Adolph, Defense Science Board Task Force on Developmental Test and Evaluation,
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
CONSUMER PROTECTIONS IN FINANCIAL SERVICES
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine consumer protections in financial services, after receiving
testimony from Steve Bartlett, Financial Services Roundtable, and Ellen
Seidman, New America Foundation, both of Washington, D.C.; and Patricia A.
McCoy, University of Connecticut School of Law, Hartford.
ECONOMIC AND BUDGET CHALLENGES
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine economic and
budget challenges for the short and long term, after receiving testimony from
Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
SMART GRID TECHNOLOGIES AND INITIATIVES
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded an oversight
hearing to examine the progress on smart grid initiatives authorized in the
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and funded in the stimulus bill,
and opportunities and impediments in installation of smart grid technologies,
after receiving testimony from Suedeen G. Kelly, Commissioner, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission; Patrick D. Gallagher, Deputy Director, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce; Patricia
Hoffman, Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity Delivery and
Energy Reliability; Frederick F. Butler, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities,
Newark, on behalf of the National Association of Regulatory Utility
Commissioners; Edward Lu, Google, Inc., Mountain View, California; Katherine
Hamilton, The GridWise Alliance, Washington, D.C.; and Evan R. Gaddis,
National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Rosslyn, Virginia.
IRANIAN POLITICAL AND NUCLEAR REALITIES
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
Iranian political and nuclear realities and United States policy options,
after receiving testimony from Frank G. Wisner, former United States
Ambassador to Zambia, Egypt, the Philippines, and India, and Richard N. Haass,
Council on Foreign Relations, both of New York, New York; Mark Fitzpatrick,
International Institute for Strategic Studies, London, United Kingdom; and
Karim Sadjadpour, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 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.
[Page: D200]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/04
Daily Digest - Wednesday, March 4, 2009; pages D206 - D212
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
CHILDREN'S NUTRITION
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine improving nutrition for America's children in difficult
economic times, after receiving testimony from Katie Wilson, Onalaska School
District, Onalaska, Wisconsin; Susan Bartlett, Abt Associates Inc., Cambridge,
Massachusetts; Connie K. Boldt, Knoxville Community Schools, Knoxville, Iowa;
David M. Page, The John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Lucy Nolan,
End Hunger Connecticut!, Hartford; and Kenneth Hecht, California Food Policy
Advocates, Oakland.
BUDGET
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the President's
proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, after receiving testimony from Timothy
F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury.
IRAN
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee met in closed session to receive a
briefing to examine the Iran status report, focusing on nuclear and political
issues, from national security briefers.
FINANCIAL GOVERNANCE SYSTEMIC RISK AND BREAKDOWN
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine systemic risk and breakdown of financial governance, after
receiving testimony from Robert E. Litan, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation,
Kansas City, Missouri; Damon A. Silvers, American Federation of Labor and
Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Washington, D.C.; and Robert
C. Pozen, MFS Investment Management, Boston, Massachusetts.
TAX HAVEN BANKS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Permanent
Subcommittee on Investigations concluded a hearing to examine financial
institutions which are located in offshore tax havens and which use practices
that facilitate tax evasion and other misconduct by United States clients,
after receiving testimony from John DiCicco, Acting Assistant Attorney
General, Tax Division, Department of Justice; Doug Shulman, Commissioner,
Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury; and Mark Branson, UBS
Global Wealth Management and Swiss Bank, Zurich, Switzerland.
[Page: D208]
NONPARTISAN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine a
nonpartisan commission of inquiry, after receiving testimony from Thomas R.
Pickering, Hills and Company, and David B. Rivkin, Jr., Baker Hostetler LLP,
both of Washington, D.C.; Lee F. Gunn, Vice Admiral, USN (Ret.), Institute for
Public Research, and Jeremy A. Rabkin, George Mason University School of Law,
both of Arlington, Virginia; John J. Farmer, Jr., Arseneault, Whipple, Farmer,
Fassett, and Azzarello, LLP, Chatham, New Jersey; and Frederick A.O. Schwarz,
Jr., New York University School of Law Brennan Center for Justice, New York.
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine health
reform in an aging America, after receiving testimony from Thomas E. Hamilton,
Center for Medicaid and State Operations, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, Department of Health and Human Services; Karen E. Timberlake,
Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Madison; Holly Benson, Florida Agency
for Health Care Administration, Tallahassee; Henry Claypool, Paraprofessional
Healthcare Institute (PHI), New York, New York; Melanie Bella, Center for
Health Care Strategies, Hamilton, New Jersey; and Judith Feder, Georgetown
University, Washington, D.C.
No Joint hearings noted.
2009/03/05
Daily Digest - Thursday, March 5, 2009; pages D213 - D220
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Appropriations: Committee announced the following subcommittee
assignments for the 111th Congress:
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Federal Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies: Senators Kohl (Chair), Harkin, Dorgan, Feinstein,
Durbin, Johnson, Nelson (NE), Reed, Pryor, Brownback, Bennett, Cochran,
Specter, Bond, McConnell, and Collins.
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies: Senators
Mikulski (Chair), Inouye, Leahy, Kohl, Dorgan, Feinstein, Reed, Lautenberg,
Nelson (NE), Pryor, Shelby, Gregg, McConnell, Hutchison, Brownback, Alexander,
Voinovich, and Murkowski.
Subcommittee on Defense: Senators Inouye (Chair), Byrd, Leahy, Harkin, Dorgan,
Durbin, Feinstein, Mikulski, Kohl, Murray, Cochran, Specter, Bond, McConnell,
Shelby, Gregg, Hutchison, and Bennett.
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development: Senators Dorgan (Chair), Byrd,
Murray, Feinstein, Johnson, Landrieu, Reed, Lautenberg, Harkin, Tester,
Bennett, Cochran, McConnell, Bond, Hutchison, Shelby, Alexander, and
Voinovich.
Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government: Senators Durbin
(Chair), Landrieu, Lautenberg, Nelson (NE), Tester, Collins, Bond, and
Murkowski.
Subcommittee on Homeland Security: Senators Byrd (Chair), Inouye, Leahy,
Mikulski, Murray, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Tester, Voinovich, Cochran, Gregg,
Specter, Shelby, and Brownback.
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies: Senators
Feinstein, Byrd, Leahy, Dorgan, Mikulski, Kohl, Johnson, Reed, Nelson (NE),
Tester, Alexander, Cochran, Bennett, Gregg, Murkowski, Collins, and Voinovich.
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related
Agencies: Senators Harkin (Chair), Inouye, Kohl, Murray, Landrieu, Durbin,
Reed, Pryor, Specter, Cochran, Gregg, Hutchison, Shelby and Alexander.
Subcommittee on Legislative Branch: Senators Nelson (NE), Pryor, Tester, and
Murkowski.
Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs, and Related
Agencies: Senators Johnson, Inouye, Landrieu, Byrd, Murray, Reed, Nelson (NE),
Pryor, Hutchison, Brownback, McConnell, Collins, Alexander, and Murkowski.
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: Senators
Leahy (Chair), Inouye, Harkin, Mikulski, Durbin, Johnson, Landrieu,
Lautenberg, Gregg, McConnell, Specter, Bennett, Bond, and Brownback.
Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related
Agencies: Senators Murray (Chair), Byrd, Mikulski, Kohl, Durbin, Dorgan,
Leahy, Harkin, Feinstein, Johnson, Lautenberg, Bond, Shelby, Specter, Bennett,
Hutchison, Brownback, Alexander, Collins, and Voinovich.
AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine American International Group, focusing on government
intervention and implications for future regulation, after receiving testimony
from Donald L. Kohn, Vice Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System; Scott M. Polakoff, Acting Director, Office of Thrift Supervision,
Department of the Treasury; and Eric Dinallo, New York State Insurance
Department, New York.
[Page: D215]
ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded an oversight
hearing to examine future directions of energy research and development and to
identify key scientific and technological hurdles that must be overcome in
order to pursue these new directions, after receiving testimony from Steven
Chu, Secretary, and George W. Crabtree, Senior Scientist, Associate Division
Director and Distinguished Fellow, Materials Sciences Division, Argonne
National Laboratory, both of the Department of Energy; James T. Bartis, RAND
Corporation, Arlington, Virginia; Michael L. Corradini, University of
Wisconsin Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics Program, Madison; and
Robert M. Fri, Resources for the Future, and Deborah L. Wince-Smith, Council
on Competitiveness, both of Washington, D.C.
U.S. STRATEGY REGARDING IRAN
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
United States strategy regarding Iran, after receiving testimony from Zbigniew
Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Lieutenant
General Brent Scowcroft, USAF (Ret.), The Scowcroft Group, both of Washington,
D.C.
RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT SPENDING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine transparency and accountability for recovery and
reinvestment spending, including preserving and creating jobs and promoting
economic recovery, assisting those most impacted by the recession, investing
in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure to
provide long-term economic benefits, and stabilizing state and local
government budgets, after receiving testimony from Robert Nabors, Deputy
Director, Office of Management and Budget; Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller
General of the United States, Government Accountability Office; and Phyllis K.
Fong, Inspector General, Department of Agriculture.
2010 CENSUS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on
Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security concluded a hearing to examine how the Obama
Administration can achieve an accurate and cost-effective 2010 census, after
receiving testimony from Barbara Everitt Bryant, former Director, and Robert
B. Hill, former Chair, both of the United States Census Bureau; Robert
Goldenkoff, Director, Strategic Issues, and David A. Powner, Director,
Information Technology Management Issues, both of the Government
Accountability Office; Lawrence D. Brown, University of Pennsylvania The
Wharton School, Pennsylvania; and John Thompson, National Opinion Research
Council, Chicago, Illinois.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the following
business items:
S. 386, to improve enforcement of mortgage fraud, securities fraud, financial
institution fraud, and other frauds related to federal assistance and relief
programs, for the recovery of funds lost to these frauds, with an amendment in
the nature of a substitute;
S. 146, to amend the Federal antitrust laws to provide expanded coverage and
to eliminate exemptions from such laws that are contrary to the public
interest with respect to railroads;
S. 256, to enhance the ability to combat methamphetamine; and
The nominations of Elena Kagan, of Massachusetts, to be Solicitor General of
the United States, Thomas John Perrelli, of Virginia, to be Associate Attorney
General, and David S. Kris, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Attorney General,
all of the Department of Justice.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the intelligence
community.
[Page: D216]
Joint Meetings
VETERANS' ORGANIZATIONS LEGISLATIVE PRESENTATIONS
Joint Hearing: Committee on Veterans' Affairs concluded a joint hearing with
the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to examine legislative presentations
of certain veterans' organizations, after receiving testimony from Norman
Jones, Jr., Blinded Veterans Association, Patrick Campbell, Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America, Ira Novoselsky, Jewish War Veterans of the
United States of America, Randy L. Pleva, Sr., Paralyzed Veterans of America,
and Dawn Halfaker, Wounded Warrior Project, all of Washington, D.C.; Charles
A. Stenger, American Ex-Prisoners of War, Bastrop, Louisiana; and Kathryn A.
Witt, Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., Phoenix, Arizona.
2009/03/06
Daily Digest - Friday, March 6, 2009; pages D222 - D228
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
EMPLOYMENT
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
employment situation for February 2009, after receiving testimony from Keith
Hall, Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor.
2009/03/09
Daily Digest - Monday, March 9, 2009; pages D229 - D234
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATION
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nomination
of Ronald Kirk, of Texas, to be United States Trade Representative, with the
rank of Ambassador, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Cornyn,
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
PREVENTING WORKER EXPLOITATION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine preventing worker exploitation, focusing on protecting
individuals with disabilities and other vulnerable populations, after
receiving testimony from John L. McKeon, Deputy Administrator for Enforcement,
Wage and Hour Division, and James B. Leonard, former attorney, both of the
Department of Labor; Curtis Decker, National Disability Rights Network,
Washington, DC; Joyce Bender, Bender Consulting Services, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; and Kim Bobo, Interfaith Worker Justice, Chicago, Illinois.
[Page: D231]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/10
Daily Digest - Tuesday, March 10, 2009; pages D236 - D244
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded open and closed hearings to
examine current and future worldwide threats to the national security of the
United States, after receiving testimony from Dennis C. Blair, Director,
National Intelligence; and Michael D. Maples, United States Army, Director,
Defense Intelligence Agency, and David J. Dorsett, Director, Naval
Intelligence, both of the Department of Defense.
SECURITIES MARKETS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine enhancing investor protection and the regulation of
securities markets, after receiving testimony from Lynn E. Turner, former
Chief Accountant, Securities and Exchange Commission; John C. Coffee, Jr.,
Columbia University Law School, T. Timothy Ryan, Jr., Securities Industry and
Financial Markets Association, and Robert Pickel, International Swaps and
Derivatives Association, all of New York, New York; Paul Schott Stevens,
Investment Company Institute, Alexandria, Virginia; Mercer E. Bullard,
University of Mississippi School of Law, Oxford; Damon A. Silvers, American
Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Takoma
Park, Maryland; and Thomas Doe, Municipal Market Advisors, Concord,
Massachusetts.
BUDGET PROPOSAL
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
President's proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, after receiving testimony
from Peter R. Orszag, Director, Office of Management and Budget.
WATER RESOURCES
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine S. 531, to provide for the conduct of an in-depth analysis of the
impact of energy development and production on the water resources of the
United States, after receiving testimony from Carl O. Bauer, Director,
National Energy Technology Laboratory, Department of Energy; Lon W. House,
Association of California Water Agencies, Cameron Park; Stephen Bolze, General
Electric Power and Water, Schenectady, New York; Peter H. Gleick, Pacific
Institute, Oakland, California; and Michael E. Webber, University of Texas
Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy, Austin.
[Page: D238]
HEALTH CARE PROPOSALS
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the President's
fiscal year 2010 health care proposals, after receiving testimony from Peter
R. Orszag, Director, Office of Management and Budget.
REBUILDING ECONOMIC SECURITY
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine rebuilding economic security, focusing on empowering
workers to restore the middle class, after receiving testimony from Paula B.
Voos, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick; Wade
Henderson, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Jim Wallis, Sojourners,
both of Washington, DC.; Anne Layne-Farrar, LECG, LLC, Chicago, Illinois;
Deborah Kelly, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Anchorage,
Alaska; Kelly Badillo, Service Employees International Union, Jersey City, New
Jersey; Larry Getts, Dana Corporation, Albion, Indiana; and Sharon Harrison,
AT&T Mobility, Lebanon, Virginia.
NATIONAL SERVICE
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the future of national service, after receiving testimony
from Alan Solomont, Weston, Massachusetts, Chairman, and Stephen Goldsmith,
Vice-Chairman, Cambridge, Massachusetts, both of the Board of Directors,
Corporation for National and Community Service; former Montana Governor Marc
Racicot, Bigfork; Lester Strong, Experience Corps, and Shirley Sagawa, Center
for American Progress, both of Washington, DC; Michael Brown, City Year, Inc.,
Boston, Massachusetts; and Michelle Bouchard, HealthCorps, New York, New York.
PATENT REFORM
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine patent
reform in the 111th Congress, focusing on legislation and recent court
decisions, after receiving testimony from Steven R. Appleton, Micron
Technology, Inc., Boise, Idaho; Philip S. Johnson, Johnson and Johnson, New
Brunswick, New Jersey; David J. Kappos, International Business Machines
Corporation (IBM), Armonk, New York; Taraneh Maghame, Tessera, Inc., San Jose,
California; Herbert C. Wamsley, Intellectual Property Owners Association,
Washington, DC; and Mark A. Lemley, Stanford Law School, Stanford, California.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Lanny A. Breuer, of the District of Columbia, who was
introduced by Representative Harmon, Christine Anne Varney, of the District of
Columbia, who was introduced by Senator Schumer, and Tony West, of California,
each to be an Assistant Attorney General, after the nominees testified and
answered questions in their own behalf.
BUDGET FOR VETERANS PROGRAMS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to
examine Department of Veterans Affairs budget programs for fiscal year 2010,
after receiving testimony from Eric K. Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans
Affairs; Carl Blake, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Fredericksburg, Virginia;
Kerry Baker, Disabled American Veterans, Cold Spring, Kentucky; Raymond C.
Kelley, AMVETS, Lanham, Maryland; Dennis M. Cullinan, Veterans of Foreign
Wars, Kansas City, Missouri; Steve Robertson, American Legion, Indianapolis,
Indiana; and Rick Weidman, Vietnam Veterans of America, Silver Spring,
Maryland.
NOMINATION
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of David S. Kris, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Attorney General,
after the nominee testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
[Page: D239]
Joint Meetings
CLIMATE REMEDIATION POLICIES
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission concluded a
hearing to examine the impact of potential climate remediation policies on
carbon-intensive United States industries and creating climate-friendly
economic and trade policies, focusing on ways the financial crisis impacts the
implementation of climate-friendly policies within the United States and among
trading partners, after receiving testimony from Richard D. Morgenstern,
Resources for the Future, Trevor Houser, Rhodium Group Peterson Institute for
International Economics, and Rob Bradley, World Resources Institute, all of
Washington, DC.
2009/03/11
Daily Digest - Wednesday, March 11, 2009; pages D245 - D252
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY BUDGET
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2010 for the Department of
Energy, after receiving testimony from Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy.
AL-SHABAAB RECRUITMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine violent Islamist extremism, focusing on al-Shabaab
recruitment in the United States, after receiving testimony from Philip Mudd,
Associate Executive Assistant Director, National Security Branch, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice; Andrew Liepman, Deputy
Director of Intelligence, National Counterterrorism Center, Directorate of
Intelligence; Ken Menkhaus, Davidson College, Davidson, NC; and Abdirahman
Mukhtar, Brian Coyle Center of Pillsbury United Communities, and Osman Ahmed,
both of Minneapolis, MN.
VOTER REGISTRATION
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine voter registration, focusing on assessing current problems, after
receiving testimony from Chris Nelson, South Dakota Secretary of State,
Pierre; Stephen Ansolabehere, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Curtis Gans,
Center for the Study of the American Electorate, Kristen Clarke, NAACP Legal
Defense and Education Fund, Inc., and Jonah H. Goldman, Lawyers' Committee for
Civil Rights Under Law, all of Washington, DC; and Nathaniel Persily, Columbia
Law School, New York, NY.
Joint Meetings
TARP
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine Troubled
Asset Relief Program (TARP) accountability and oversight, focusing on
achieving transparency, after receiving testimony from Richard H. Neiman, New
York State Banking Department, Member, and Damon A. Silvers, Deputy Chairman,
both of the Congressional Oversight Panel; and Nicole Tichon, U.S. Public
Interest Research Group, and Alex J. Pollock, American Enterprise Institute
for Public Policy Research, both of Washington, DC.
U.S. SENATE VACANCIES
Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution:
Subcommittee concluded a joint hearing with the House Committee on the
Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties
to examine S.J. Res. 7 and H.J. Res. 21, both proposing an amendment to the
Constitution of the United States relative to the election of Senators, after
receiving testimony from Senator Begich; Representatives Dreier and Schock;
Thomas H. Neale, Specialist in American National Government, Government and
Finance Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; Kevin
J. Kennedy, Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, Madison; Vikram David
Amar, University of California School of Law, Davis; Bob Edgar, Common Cause,
and Matthew Spalding, Heritage Foundation, both of Washington, DC; Pamela S.
Karlan, Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Stanford, CA; and
David Segal, Fair Vote Center for Voting and Democracy, Providence, RI.
2009/03/12
Daily Digest - Thursday, March 12, 2009; pages D254 - D264
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION SOLUTIONS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine sustainable transportation solutions, focusing on investing
in transit to meet 21st century challenges, after receiving testimony from
Raymond H. LaHood, Secretary of Transportation; Joseph F. Marie, Connecticut
Department of Transportation, West Hartford, on behalf of the American
Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; Mayor John
Hickenlooper, Denver, Colorado, on behalf of the United States Conference of
Mayors; and Beverly Scott, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority,
Atlanta, Georgia, on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association.
BUDGET AND REVENUE PROPOSALS
Committee on the Budget: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
President's fiscal year 2010 budget and revenue proposals, after receiving
testimony from Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: On Wednesday, March 11,
2009, committee announced the following subcommittee assignments for the 111th
Congress:
Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security: Senators Dorgan
(Chair), Inouye, Kerry, Boxer, Nelson (FL), Cantwell, Lautenberg, Pryor,
McCaskill, Klobuchar, Warner, Begich, Rockefeller (ex officio), DeMint, Snowe,
Ensign, Thune, Wicker, Isakson, Vitter, Brownback, Martinez, Johanns, and
Hutchison (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology: Senators Kerry (Chair), Inouye,
Dorgan, Nelson (FL), Cantwell, Lautenberg, Pryor, McCaskill, Klobuchar, Udall
(NM), Warner, Begich, Rockefeller (ex officio), Ensign, Snowe, DeMint, Thune,
Wicker, Isakson, Vitter, Brownback, Martinez, Johanns, and Hutchison (ex
officio).
Subcommittee on Competiteveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion: Senators
Klobuchar (Chair), Kerry, Dorgan, McCaskill, Udall (NM), Warner, Begich,
Rockefeller (ex officio), Martinez, Ensign, DeMint, Thune, Brownback, Johanns,
and Hutchison (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance: Senators
Pryor (Chair), Dorgan, Boxer, Nelson (FL), McCaskill, Klobuchar, Udall (NM),
Rockefeller (ex officio), Wicker, Snowe, DeMint, Thune, Isakson, Vitter, and
Hutchison (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard: Senators
Cantwell (Chair), Inouye, Kerry, Boxer, Lautenberg, Begich, Rockefeller (ex
officio), Snowe, Wicker, Isakson, Vitter, Martinez, and Hutchison (ex
officio).
Subcommittee on Science and Space: Senators Nelson (FL) (Chair), Inouye,
Kerry, Boxer, Pryor, Udall (NM), Warner, Rockefeller (ex officio), Vitter,
Snowe, Ensign, Thune, Isakson, Johanns, and Hutchison (ex officio).
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine: Senators
Lautenberg (Chair), Inouye, Kerry, Dorgan, Boxer, Cantwell, Pryor, Udall,
Warner, Begich, Rockefeller (ex officio), Thune, Snowe, Ensign, DeMint,
Wicker, Isakson, Vitter, Brownback, Johanns, and Hutchison (ex officio).
[Page: D256]
CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSE
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine climate science, focusing on empowering our response to
climate change, after receiving testimony from Sean Dilweg, Wisconsin
Insurance Division, Madison, on behalf of the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners; Tim Killeen, National Science Foundation, Arlington,
VA; Katharine Jacobs, Arizona Water Institute, Tucson; and Frank Alix,
Powerspan Corporation, Portsmouth, NH.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered
favorably reported the nominations of John P. Holdren, of Massachusetts, to be
Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Jane Lubchenco,
of Oregon, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, both
of the Department of Commerce, and routine promotion lists in the Coast Guard.
ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION LINES SITING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine proposed legislation regarding siting of electricity transmission
lines, including increased federal siting authority and regional transmission
planning, after receiving testimony from Senator Reid; Jon Wellinghoff, Acting
Chairman, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Tony Clark, North Dakota
Public Service Commission, Bismarck, on behalf of the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Reid Dechton, Energy Future Coalition,
Washington, DC; Joseph L. Welch, ITC Holdings Corporation, Novi, MI; Graham
Edwards, Midwest Independent Transmission System Operation, Inc., Carmel, IN;
James A. Dickenson, JEA, Jacksonville, FL, on behalf of the Large Public Power
Council; and Michael G. Morris, American Electric Power, Columbus, OH.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nomination of David J. Hayes, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary
of the Interior, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Bayh,
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
HEALTH CARE REFORM
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine workforce
issues in health care reform, focusing on assessing the present and preparing
for the future, after receiving testimony from David C. Goodman, Dartmouth
Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Hanover, NH; Allan H.
Goroll, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA; and Fitzhugh Mullan, George
Washington University, and Steven A. Wartman, Association of Academic Health
Centers, both of Washington, DC.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the nomination of
Ronald Kirk, of Texas, to be United States Trade Representative, with the rank
of Ambassador.
INDIAN AFFAIRS BUDGET
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2010 for tribal
priorities, after receiving testimony from Jacqueline Johnson, National
Congress of American Indians, Robert B. Cook, National Indian Education
Association, and Cheryl Parish, Bay Mills Housing Authority, on behalf of the
National American Indian Housing Authority, all of Washington, DC; and Jessica
Burger, National Indian Health Board, Manistee, MI.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 49, to
help Federal prosecutors and investigators combat public corruption by
strengthening and clarifying the law, with an amendment in the nature of a
substitute.
BUSINESS MEETING
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of David S. Kris, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Attorney General.
Joint Meetings
VETERANS' SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS
Joint Hearing: Committee on Veterans' Affairs concluded joint hearings with
the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to examine legislative presentations
of veterans' service organizations, after receiving testimony from John Chad
Hapner, American Veterans (AMVETS), Lanham, MD; Robert H. Price, Air Force
Sergeants Association, Suitland, MD; Joseph L. Barnes, USN (Ret.), Fleet
Reserve Association, and Robert F. Norton, USA (Ret.), Military Officers
Association of America, both of Alexandria, VA; Gene Overstreet, Non
Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America (NCOA), San
Antonio, TX; Jeff Roy, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Annandale, VA;
Charlie L. Flowers, USAF (Ret.), The Retired Enlisted Association, Aurora, CO;
Charlie F. Smith, National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs,
Charlotte, NC; and John Rowan, Vietnam Veterans of America, Cold Creek, NY.
2009/03/16
Daily Digest - Monday, March 16, 2009; pages D265 - D268
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nomination of Gary Gensler, of Maryland, to be a Commissioner and
Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
GLOBAL COUNTERTERRORISM
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee met in closed session to receive a
briefing to examine global counterterrorism efforts from national security
briefers.
[Page: D266]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/17
Daily Digest - Tuesday, March 17, 2009; pages D269 - D276
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
SOUTHERN, NORTHERN, AFRICA, AND TRANSPORTATION COMMANDS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine United
States Southern Command, United States Northern Command, United States Africa
Command, and United States Transportation Command, after receiving testimony
from Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN, Commander, United States Southern
Command; General Victor E. Renuart, Jr., USAF, Commander, United States
Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command; General William
E. Ward, USA, Commander, United States Africa Command; and General Duncan J.
McNabb, USAF, United States Transportation Command.
INSURANCE REGULATION
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine perspectives on modernizing insurance regulation, after
receiving testimony from Michael T. McRaith, Illinois Department of Financial
and Professional Regulation, Springfield, on behalf of National Association of
Insurance Commissioners; Frank Keating, American Council of Life Insurers,
Franklin W. Nutter, Reinsurance Association of America, and J. Robert Hunter,
Consumer Federation of America, all of Washington, D.C.; William R. Berkley,
W.R. Berkley Corporation, Greenwich, Connecticut, on behalf of the American
Insurance Association; Spencer M. Houldin, Ericson Insurance, Washington
Depot, Connecticut, on behalf of Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of
America, Inc.; and John T. Hill, Magna Carta Companies, New York, New York, on
behalf of National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
[Page: D271]
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded an oversight
hearing to examine energy development on public lands and the Outer
Continental Shelf, focusing on the range of issues associated with the
development of energy resources from public lands and the Outer Continental
Shelf, after receiving testimony from Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior;
Philip D. Moeller, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Dan Arvizu, Director,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Department of Energy; Joanna Prukop, New
Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, Santa Fe; George
Cooper, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Washington, D.C.; Steven
R. Kopf, Pacific Energy Ventures, LLC, Portland, Oregon; and Robert Bryce,
Austin, Texas.
FRAUD SCHEMES AND OFFSHORE TAX EVASION
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine tax issues
related to fraud schemes and an update on offshore tax evasion legislation,
after receiving testimony from Doug Shulman, Commissioner, Internal Revenue
Service, Department of the Treasury; Michael Brostek, Director, Strategic
Issues Team, Government Accountability Office; and William Josephson, Fried,
Frank, Harris, Shriver, and Jacobson, LLP, New York, New York.
MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs concluded a joint
hearing with the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control to examine
law enforcement responses to Mexican drug cartels, after receiving testimony
from William Hoover, Assistant Director, Field Operations, Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Anthony P. Placido, Assistant
Administrator, Intelligence Division, Drug Enforcement Agency, both of
Department of Justice; Kumar C. Kibble, Deputy Director, Investigations,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security; Terry
Goddard, Arizona Attorney General, Phoenix; Denise Dresser, Instituto
Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, Mexico City; and Jorge Luis Aguirre, El Paso,
Texas.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on
intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the intelligence
community.
Committee recessed subject to call.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/18
Daily Digest - Wednesday, March 18, 2009; pages D277 - D286
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MEDICAL PROGRAMS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense concluded a hearing to
examine Department of Defense medical programs, after receiving testimony from
Lieutenant General Eric B. Shoomaker, USA, Surgeon General of the Army and
Commander, Army Medical Command, and Major General Patricia D. Horoho, USA,
Chief, Army Nurse Corps, both of the United States Army, Vice Admiral Adam M.
Robinson, USN, Surgeon General of the Navy, and Rear Admiral Christine M.
Bruzek-Kohler, USN, Director, Navy Nurse Corps, both of the United States
Navy, and Lieutenant General James G. Roudebush, USAF, Surgeon General of the
Air Force, and Major General Kimberly A. Siniscalchi, USAF, Assistant Surgeon
General of the Air Force, Nursing Services and Medical Force Development, both
of the United States Air Force, all of the Department of Defense.
MILITARY SUICIDE PREVENTION
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel concluded a hearing to
examine incidents of suicides of United States Servicemembers and initiatives
within the Department of Defense to prevent military suicides, after receiving
testimony from Senator Cornyn; General Peter W. Chiarelli, USA, Vice Chief of
Staff, Lieutenant General Benjamin C. Freakley, USA, Commanding General, Army
Accessions Command, Major General David A. Rubenstein, USA, Deputy Surgeon
General of the Army, Brigadier General Loree K. Sutton, USA, Director, Defense
Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, and
Brigadier General Michael S. Linnington, USA, Commandant, Corps of Cadets,
United States Military Academy, all of the United States Army, Admiral Patrick
M. Walsh, USN, Vice Chief of Naval Operations, United States Navy, General
James F. Amos, USMC, Assistant Commandant, United States Marine Corps, General
William M. Frasier III, USAF, Vice Chief of Staff, United States Air Force,
all of the Department of Defense; and A. Kathryn Power, Director, Center for
Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Department of Health and Human Services.
[Page: D279]
RISK MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on Securities,
Insurance and Investment concluded a hearing to examine risk management
oversight at Federal financial regulators, after receiving testimony from
Scott M. Polakoff, Acting Director, Office of Thrift Supervision, and Timothy
W. Long, Senior Deputy Comptroller, Bank Supervision Policy and Chief National
Bank Examiner, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, both of the
Department of the Treasury; Orice M. Williams, Director, Financial Markets and
Community Investment, Government Accountability Office; Roger T. Cole,
Director, Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve System; and Erik Sirri, Director, Division of Trading
and Markets, United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
NOMINATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Gary Locke, of Washington, to be
Secretary of Commerce, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senators
Murray and Cantwell, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
NUCLEAR ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine nuclear energy development, after receiving testimony from Dale E.
Klein, Chairman, Nuclear Regulator Commission; Marvin S. Fertel, Nuclear
Energy Institute, and Thomas B. Cochran, Natural Resources Defense Council,
Inc., both of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nomination of David J. Hayes, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary
of the Interior.
HEALTH CARE QUALITY
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Health Care concluded a hearing to
examine what is health care quality and who decides, after receiving testimony
from Carolyn M. Clancy, Director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
Department of Health and Human Services; Marjorie Kanof, Managing Director,
Health Care, Government Accountability Office; and Brent C. James,
Intermountain Healthcare Institute for Health Care Delivery Research, Salt
Lake City, Utah.
DISASTER HOUSING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Ad Hoc Subcommittee
on Disaster Recovery concluded a hearing to examine findings from the Disaster
Recovery Subcommittee Special Report and working with the Administration on a
way forward, focusing on disaster housing and challenges facing the disaster
housing mission, after receiving testimony from Nancy Ward, Acting
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland
Security; Nelson R. Bregon, General Deputy Assistant Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development for the Office of Community Planning and Development; Sheila
Crowley, National Low Income Housing Coalition, Washington, D.C.; Krystal
Williams, Louisiana Housing Alliance, New Orleans; Reilly Morse, Mississippi
Center for Justice Katrina Recovery Office, Biloxi; and Karen Paup, Texas Low
Income Housing Information Service, Austin.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered
favorably reported S. 277, to amend the National and Community Service Act of
1990 to expand and improve opportunities for service.
STRENGTHENING FORENSIC SCIENCE
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
National Academy of Science's report entitled "Strengthening Forensic Science
in the United States: A Path Forward", after receiving testimony from Harry T.
Edwards, Senior Circuit Judge and Chief Judge Emeritus, United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia.
[Page: D280]
Joint Meetings
VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS
Joint Hearing: Committee on Veterans' Affairs concluded a joint hearing with
the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to examine the legislative
presentation of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, after receiving testimony from
Glen M. Gardner, Jr., Veterans of Foreign Wars, Round Rock, Texas.
2009/03/19
Daily Digest - Thursday, March 19, 2009; pages D288 - D298
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND, U.S. STRATEGIC COMMAND, AND U.S. FORCES KOREA
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine United
States Pacific Command, United States Strategic Command, and United States
Forces Korea, after receiving testimony from Admiral Timothy J. Keating, USN,
Commander, United States Pacific Command, General Kevin P. Chilton, USAF,
Commander, United States Strategic Command, and General Walter L. Sharp, USA,
Commander, United Nations Command and Republic of Korea-United States Combined
Forces Command, and Commander, United States Forces Korea, all of the
Department of Defense.
BANK SUPERVISION AND REGULATION
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine bank supervision and regulation, after receiving testimony
from John C. Dugan, Comptroller of the Currency, Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, and Scott M. Polakoff, Acting Director, Office of Thrift
Supervision, both of the Department of the Treasury; Daniel K. Tarullo,
Member, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Sheila C. Bair,
Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Michael E. Fryzel, Chairman,
National Credit Union Administration; Joseph A. Smith, Jr., North Carolina
Commissioner of Banks, Raleigh, on behalf of the Conference of State Bank
Supervisors; and George Reynolds, Georgia Department of Banking and Finance,
Atlanta, on behalf of the National Association of State Credit Union
Supervisors.
DEPOSIT INSURANCE
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on Financial
Institutions concluded a hearing to examine current issues in deposit
insurance, after receiving testimony from Arthur J. Murton, Director, Division
of Insurance and Research, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; David M.
Marquis, Executive Director, National Credit Union Administration; William
Grant, First United Bank and Trust, Oakland, Maryland, on behalf of the
American Bankers Association; Terry West, VyStar Credit Union, Jacksonville,
Florida, on behalf of the Credit Union National Association; Stephen J.
Verdier, Independent Community Bankers of America, Washington, D.C.; and David
J. Wright, Services Center Federal Credit Union, Yankton, South Dakota, on
behalf of the National Association of Federal Credit Unions.
[Page: D290]
CYBERSECURITY
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine cybersecurity, focusing on assessing our vulnerabilities
and developing an effective defense, after receiving testimony from James A.
Lewis, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C.;
Joseph M. Weiss, Applied Control Solutions, LLC, Cupertino, California; Edward
Amoroso, AT&T Inc., Florham Park, New Jersey; and Eugene H. Spafford, Purdue
University Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and
Security, West Lafayette, Indiana.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered
favorably reported the nomination of Gary Locke, of Washington, to be
Secretary of Commerce.
APPLIANCE STANDARDS IMPROVEMENT ACT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine S. 598, to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to improve
appliance standards, after receiving testimony from David Rodgers, Director
for Strategic Planning and Analysis, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy, Department of Energy; Brian McLean, Director, Office of Atmospheric
Programs, Office of Air and Radiation, Environmental Protection Agency; Steven
Nadel, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Washington, D.C.;
Richard D. Upton, American Lighting Association, Dallas, Texas; Kyle Pitsor,
National Electric Manufacturers Association, Rosslyn, Virginia; and Mark
Connelly, Consumers Union, Yonkers, New York.
U.S.-RUSSIA RELATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
prospects for engagement with Russia, after receiving testimony from Andrew C.
Kuchins, Center for Strategic and International Studies Russia and Eurasia
Program, Ariel Cohen, The Heritage Foundation, and Stephen Sestanovich,
Council on Foreign Relations, all of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of Dawn Elizabeth Johnsen, of Indiana, to be an Assistant Attorney
General, Department of Justice.
SMALL BUSINESS LENDING
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine perspectives from main street on small business lending,
after receiving testimony from James Chessen, American Bankers Association,
and Todd McCracken, National Small Business Association, both of Washington,
D.C.; Bob Cockerham, Car World, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico; Mark Lane, Coed
Sportswear, Inc., Newfields, New Hampshire; David Rader, Wells Fargo Bank,
Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Guy Williams, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company,
New Orleans, Louisiana.
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.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/23
Daily Digest - Monday, March 23, 2009; pages D300 - D304
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/24
Daily Digest - Tuesday, March 24, 2009; pages D306 - D314
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
U.S. EUROPEAN COMMAND AND U.S. JOINT FORCES COMMAND
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine United
States European Command and United States Joint Forces Command, after
receiving testimony from General Bantz J. Craddock, USA, Commander, United
States European Command, and General James N. Mattis, USMC, Commander, United
States Joint Forces Command, both of the Department of Defense.
BANK SUPERVISION AND REGULATION MODERNIZING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine modernizing bank supervision and regulation, after
receiving testimony from William R. Attridge, Connecticut River Community
Bank, Wethersfield, on behalf of the Independent Community Bankers of America;
Daniel A. Mica, Credit Union National Association, Washington, D.C.; Aubrey B.
Patterson, BancorpSouth, Inc., Tupelo, Mississippi, on behalf of the American
Bankers Association; and Christopher Whalen, Institutional Risk Analytics,
Croton-on-Hudson, New York; and Gail Hillebrand, Consumers Union, Yonkers, New
York.
NOMINATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nomination of Thomas L. Strickland, of Colorado, to be Assistant
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior, after
the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Udall (CO), testified and answered
questions on his own behalf.
THREE MILE ISLAND
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Clean Air and
Nuclear Safety concluded a hearing to examine Three Mile Island, focusing on
lessons learned over the past 30 years, after receiving testimony from Dale E.
Klein, Chairman, Gregory B. Jaczko, Peter B. Lyons, and Kristine L. Svinicki,
each a Commissioner, and Harold R. Denton, Former Director, Office of Nuclear
Reactor Regulation, all of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Dick Thornburgh,
former Pennsylvania Governor, K&L Gates LLP, and Marvin S. Fertel, Nuclear
Energy Institute, both of Washington, D.C.; and Peter A. Bradford, Vermont Law
School Institute for Energy and the Environment, South Royalton.
GLOBAL HUNGER CHALLENGES
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
alleviating global hunger, focusing on challenges and opportunities for United
States leadership, after receiving testimony from Dan Glickman, former
Secretary of Agriculture; Catherine Bertini, former Executive Director of the
United Nations World Food Programme, Syracuse, New York; David Beckmann, Bread
for the World, Washington, D.C.; Robert Paarlberg, Wellesey College, Wellesey,
Massachusetts; Edwin C. Price, Norman Borlaug Institute for International
Agriculture, College Station, Texas; and Gebisa Ejeta, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, Indiana.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Richard Rahul Verma, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary for
Legislative Affairs, who was introduced by Senator Reid, Melanne Verveer, of
the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador at Large for Women's Global Issues,
who was introduced by Senators Casey and Hutchison, and Esther Brimmer, of the
District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for International Organization
Affairs, who was introduced by Representative Norton, all of the Department of
State, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
INSURANCE MARKET REFORM
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine addressing insurance market reform in national health
reform, after receiving testimony from Sandy Praeger, Kansas Commissioner of
Insurance, Kansas City, on behalf of the National Association of Insurance
Commissioners; Janet Stokes Trautwein, National Association of Health
Underwriters, Arlington, Virginia; Ronald A. Williams, Aetna, Inc., Hartford,
Connecticut; Karen Pollitz, Georgetown University Health Policy Institute,
Karen Ignagni, America's Health Insurance Plans, and Len M. Nichols, New
America Foundation, all of Washington, D.C.; and Katherine Baicker, Harvard
School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.
[Page: D308]
CREDIT CARD PRACTICES AND BANKRUPTCY
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the
Courts concluded a hearing to examine abusive credit card practices and
bankruptcy, after receiving testimony from Rosemary Gambardella, United States
Bankruptcy Judge for the District of New Jersey, Newark; Adam J. Levitin,
Georgetown University Law Center, and David C. John, Heritage Foundation
Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies, both of Washington, D.C.;
Mark S. Scarberry, Pepperdine University School of Law, Malibu, California;
and Douglas J. Corey, North Scituate, Rhode Island.
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.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/25
Daily Digest - Wednesday, March 25, 2009; pages D315 - D324
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE BUDGET
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense concluded a hearing to
examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2010 for
National Guard and Reserve, after receiving testimony from Lieutenant General
Clyde A. Vaughn, USA, Director, Army National Guard, and Lieutenant General
Jack Stultz, USA, Chief, Army Reserve, both of the United States Army,
Lieutenant General Harry M. Wyatt, III, USAF, Director, Air National Guard,
and Lieutenant General Charles E. Stenner, Jr., USAF, Chief, Air Force
Reserve, both of the United States Air Force, Vice Admiral Dirk J. Debbink,
USN, Chief, Navy Reserve, United States Navy, and Lieutenant General Jack W.
Bergman, USMC, Commander, Marine Forces Reserve, United States Marine Corps,
all of the Department of Defense.
RESERVE COMPONENT PROGRAMS
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel concluded a hearing to
examine reserve component programs of the Department of Defense, after
receiving testimony from Thomas F. Hall, Assistant Secretary for Reserve
Affairs, Lieutenant General Clyde A. Vaughn, USA, Director, Army National
Guard, and Lieutenant General Jack C. Stultz, Chief, Army Reserve and
Commanding General, United States Army Reserve Command, both of the United
States Army, Lieutenant General Harry M. Wyatt, III, USAF, Director, Air
National Guard, and Lieutenant General Charles E. Stenner, Jr., Chief, Air
Force Reserve, both of the United States Air Force, Vice Admiral Dirk J.
Debbink, USN, Chief, Navy Reserve, United States Navy, Lieutenant General Jack
W. Bergman, USMC, Commander, Marine Forces Reserve, United States Marine
Corps, and Rear Admiral Daniel R. May, USCG, Director, Coast Guard Reserve and
Training, United States Coast Guard, all of the Department of Defense.
2010: BUDGET
Committee on the Budget : Committee met to mark up a proposed concurrent
resolution setting forth the fiscal year 2010 budget for the Federal
Government, but did not complete consideration thereon, and will meet again
tomorrow.
FAA REAUTHORIZATION
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Aviation
Operations, Safety, and Security concluded a hearing to examine Federal
Aviation Administration reauthorization, focusing on NextGen and the benefits
of modernization, after receiving testimony from Hank Krakowski, Chief
Operating Officer, Air Traffic Organization, Federal Aviation Administration,
Department of Transportation; Gerald L. Dillingham, Director, Physical
Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office; Joe Kolshak, United
Airlines, Chicago, Illinois, on behalf of the Air Transport Association of
America; Dale Wright, National Air Traffic Controllers Association,
Washington, D.C.; and TK Kallenbach, Honeywell Aerospace, Phoenix, Arizona.
[Page: D317]
ENERGY MARKET TRANSPARENCY AND REGULATION IMPROVEMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Energy concluded a
hearing to examine how to improve energy market transparency and regulation,
after receiving testimony from Howard Gruenspecht, Acting Administrator,
Energy Information Administration, Department of Energy; Anna Cochrane, Acting
Director, Office of Enforcement, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Robert
McCullough, McCullough Research, Portland, Oregon; and Gerry Ramm, Inland Oil
Company, Ephrata, Washington, on behalf of the Petroleum Marketers Association
of America.
TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine transportation investment, after receiving testimony from Ray LaHood,
Secretary of Transportation; Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell,
Harrisburg; and Mayor Kathleen Novak, Northglenn, Colorado, on behalf of the
National League of Cities.
LONG-TERM CARE IN HEALTH REFORM
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Health Care concluded a hearing to
examine the role of long-term care in health reform, after receiving testimony
from Judith Feder, Center for American Progress Action Fund, Ray Scheppach,
National Governors Association, Dennis G. Smith, The Heritage Foundation, and
Joshua M. Wiener, RTI International, all of Washington, D.C.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Christopher R. Hill, of Rhode Island, a Career Member of the
Senior Foreign Service, Class of Career Minister, to be Ambassador to the
Republic of Iraq, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Reed,
testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
foreign policy and the global economic crisis, after receiving testimony from
Lawrence B. Lindsey, former Director of the National Economic Council; Martin
Wolf, Financial Times , London, United Kingdom; and George Soros, Soros Fund
Management and Open Society Institute, New York, New York.
SOUTHERN BORDER VIOLENCE
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine Southern border violence, focusing on homeland security
threats, vulnerabilities, and responsibilities, after receiving testimony from
Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security; James B. Steinberg, Deputy
Secretary of State; and David Ogden, Deputy Attorney General, Department of
Justice.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION OVERSIGHT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to
examine the Federal Bureau of Investigation, after receiving testimony from
Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department
of Justice.
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BUDGET
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year
2010 for Small Business Administration, after receiving testimony from Darryl
K. Hairston, Acting Administrator, Small Business Administration.
BENEFITS DELIVERY METHODS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
State-of-the-Art information technology (IT) solutions for Veterans' Affairs
benefits delivery, after receiving testimony from Stephen W. Warren, Acting
Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology, and Keith M. Wilson,
Director, Education Service, and Kim A. Graves, Director, Office of Business
Process Integration, both of the Veterans Benefits Administration, all of the
Department of Veterans Affairs; and Scott A. Gaydos, EDS, Washington, D.C.
ALZHEIMER'S STUDY GROUP
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine an update
from the Alzheimer's Study Group, after receiving testimony from former
Senator Bob Kerrey, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt
Gingrich, and Sandra Day O'Conner, former Associate Justice, Supreme Court of
the United States, all of the Alzheimer's Study Group; Maria Shriver, First
Lady of California, Sacramento; and Larry Butcher, Alzheimer's Community Care,
Inc., West Palm Beach, Florida.
[Page: D318]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/26
Daily Digest - Thursday, March 26, 2009; pages D325 - D336
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Ashton B. Carter, of Massachusetts, to be Under Secretary for
Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, who was introduced by Senator
Lieberman, James N. Miller, Jr., of Virginia, to be Deputy Under Secretary for
Policy, who was introduced by Senator Reed, and Alexander Vershbow, of the
District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for International Security
Affairs, all of the Department of Defense, after the nominees testified and
answered questions in their own behalf.
U.S. MILITARY LAND POWER
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Airland concluded a hearing to
examine current and future roles, missions, and capabilities of United States
military land power, after receiving testimony from Andrew F. Krepinevich,
Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, and Thomas Donnelly, American
Enterprise Institute, both of Washington, D.C.; and Peter R. Mansoor, Ohio
State University, Columbus.
INVESTOR PROTECTION AND SECURITIES MARKETS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine enhancing investor protection and the regulation of
securities markets, after receiving testimony from Mary L. Schapiro, Chairman,
Richard C. Breeden, and Arthur Levitt, both a former Chairman, and Paul S.
Atkins, former Commissioner, all of the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission; Fred J. Joseph, Colorado Securities Commissioner, Denver, on
behalf of the North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc.;
Richard G. Ketchum, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Richard H. Baker,
Managed Funds Association, Barbara Roper, Consumer Federation of America, and
David G. Tittsworth, Investment Adviser Association, all of Washington, D.C.;
Ronald A. Stack, Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, Alexandria, Virginia;
and James Chanos, Coalition of Private Investment Companies, Rita M. Bolger,
Standard and Poor's, and Daniel Curry, DBRS Inc., all of New York, New York.
2010: BUDGET
Committee on the Budget: Committee ordered favorably reported a concurrent
resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States
Government for fiscal year 2010, revising the appropriate budgetary levels for
fiscal year 2009, and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for
fiscal years 2011 through 2014.
[Page: D327]
HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY PRACTICES
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine health insurance industry practices, after receiving
testimony from Linda A. Lacewell, State of New York Office of the Attorney
General Healthcare Industry Taskforce, Albany; Nancy H. Nielsen, American
Medical Association, Washington, D.C.; and Charles Bell, Consumers Union,
Yonkers, New York.
STRENGTHENING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine S. 661, to strengthen American manufacturing through improved
industrial energy efficiency, after receiving testimony from David Rodgers,
Director for Strategic Planning and Analysis, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of Energy; R. Neal Elliott, American Council for
an Energy-Efficient Economy, and Stephen Harper, Intel Corporation, both of
Washington, D.C.; David Zepponi, Northwest Food Processors Association,
Portland, Oregon; Jeff Metts, Dowding Industries, Inc., Eaton Rapids,
Michigan; and Maxine Savitz, Los Angeles, California.
NOMINATION
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nomination of Thomas L. Strickland, of Colorado, to be Assistant
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior, after
the nominee, who was introduced by Senators Udall (CO) and Bennet, testified
and answered questions in his own behalf.
MIDDLE INCOME TAX RELIEF
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine middle income
tax relief, after receiving testimony from Paul Taylor, Pew Research Center,
Robert Greenstein, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Alan D. Viard,
American Enterprise Institute, all of Washington, D.C.; and George K. Yin,
University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville.
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Karl Winfrid Eikenberry, of Florida, to be Ambassador of the
United States of America to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Department of
State, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Inouye and former
Senator Warner, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Rose Eilene Gottemoeller, of Virginia, to be Assistant
Secretary for Verification and Compliance, who was introduced by Senator
Lugar, and Philip H. Gordon, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant
Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, both of the Department of State,
after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Jane Holl Lute, of New York, to be Deputy
Secretary of Homeland Security, after the nominee, who was introduced by New
York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, testified and answered questions in her
own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of John Berry, of the District of Columbia,
to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management, after the nominee, who
was introduced by Senator Cardin and Representative Hoyer, testified and
answered questions in his own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nominations of Tony West, of California, Lanny A. Breuer, of the District of
Columbia, and Christine Anne Varney, of the District of Columbia, each to be
an Assistant Attorney General, all of the Department of Justice.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to receive a
briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of the intelligence
community.
[Page: D328]
Joint Meetings
HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission concluded a
hearing to examine human rights in Afghanistan, after receiving testimony from
Sima Samar, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Kabul,
Afghanistan; and Scott Worden, United States Institute of Peace, Washington,
D.C.
2009/03/30
Daily Digest - Monday, March 30, 2009; pages D337 - D342
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
[Page: D338]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/03/31
Daily Digest - Tuesday, March 31, 2009; pages D343 - D382
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FEDERAL SCHOOL MEAL PROGRAMS
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine Federal school meal programs, focusing on nutrition for
kids in schools, after receiving testimony from Pat Cooper, Early Childhood
and Family Learning Foundation, New Orleans, Louisiana; Nancy Huehnergarth,
New York State Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Alliance, Chappaqua; Byron
V. Garrett, National Parent Teacher Association, Chicago, Illinois; Reginald
M. Felton, National School Boards Association, Alexandria, Virginia; Karen
Ehrens, North Dakota Dietetic Association, Bismarck, on behalf of the American
Dietetic Association; Miriam Erickson Brown, Anderson Dairy Company, Des
Moines, Iowa; Hank Izzo, Mars, Snackfood US, Hackettstown, New Jersey; and
Susan K. Neely, American Beverage Association, Washington, D.C.
[Page: D345]
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee ordered favorably
reported S. 414, to amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act, to ban abusive
credit practices, enhance consumer disclosures, protect underage consumers,
with amendments.
LESSONS FROM THE NEW DEAL
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on Economic
Policy concluded a hearing to examine lessons from the New Deal, after
receiving testimony from Christina D. Romer, Chair, President's Council of
Economic Advisers; James K. Galbraith, University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B.
Johnson School of Public Affairs; J. Bradford DeLong, University of California
Berkeley; Allan M. Winkler, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio; and Lee E.
Ohanian, University of California Los Angeles Ettinger Family Program in
Macroeconomic Research.
HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY PRACTICES
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine health insurance industry practices, after receiving
testimony from Stephen J. Hemsley, UnitedHealth Group, Washington, D.C.; and
Andy Slavitt, Ingenix, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nomination of Thomas L. Strickland, of Colorado, to be Assistant
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior.
PROMOTING WATER USE EFFICIENCY
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife
concluded a hearing to examine Environmental Protection Agency's role in
promoting water use efficiency, after receiving testimony from Michael
Shapiro, Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of Water, Environmental
Protection Agency; Martha Davis, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Chino,
California; Mary Ann Dickinson, Alliance for Water Efficiency, Chicago,
Illinois; Mark A. Shannon, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Center
of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems, Urbana; and
G. Tracy Mehan, III, Cadmus Group, Inc., Arlington, Virginia.
TARP OVERSIGHT
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to examine a
six month update on the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), after receiving
testimony from Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General, Troubled Asset Relief
Program Department of the Treasury; Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller
General, Government Accountability Office; and Elizabeth Warren, Chair,
Congressional Oversight Panel.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported the
following business items:
S. 384, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2010 through 2014 to
provide assistance to foreign countries to promote food security, to stimulate
rural economies, and to improve emergency response to food crises, to amend
the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, with an amendment;
S. 705, to reauthorize the programs of the Overseas Private Investment
Corporation;
S. Res. 90, expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the Fifth Summit of
the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from April 17-19, 2009;
S. Con. Res. 11, condemning all forms of anti-Semitism and reaffirming the
support of Congress for the mandate of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat
Anti-Semitism, with an amendment;
S. Res. 9, commemorating 90 years of U.S.-Polish diplomatic relations, during
which Poland has proven to be an exceptionally strong partner to the United
States in advancing freedom around the world;
S. Res. 20, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization;
S. Res. 56, urging the Government of Moldova to ensure a fair and democratic
election process for the parliamentary elections on April 5, 2009; and
The nominations of Timothy F. Geithner, of New York, to be United States
Governor of the International Monetary Fund, the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the
African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the African Development
Fund, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and Esther
Brimmer, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for
International Organization Affairs, Karl Winfrid Eikenberry, of Florida, to be
Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Philip H. Gordon, of the
District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian
Affairs, Rose Eilene Gottemoeller, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for
Verification and Compliance, Christopher R. Hill, of Rhode Island, to be
Ambassador to the Republic of Iraq, Richard Rahul Verma, of Maryland, to be
Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, and Melanne Verveer, of the
District of Columbia, to be Ambassador at Large for Women's Global Issues, all
of the Department of State.
[Page: D346]
RETURN AND RESETTLEMENT OF DISPLACED IRAQIS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and
Central Asian Affairs concluded a hearing to examine the return and
resettlement of displaced Iraqis, after receiving testimony from Ellen
Laipson, The Stimson Center, and Nancy A. Aossey, International Medical Corps,
both of Washington, D.C.; and Nabil Al-Tikriti, University of Mary Washington,
Fredericksburg, Virginia.
D.C. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of
Columbia concluded a hearing to examine the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, focusing on the progress it has made since the financial crisis of
the 1990s, the financial management challenges in the years ahead, and the
steps that are being taken to address those challenges, after receiving
testimony from Natwar M. Gandhi, Chief Financial Officer, and Charles J.
Willoughby, Inspector General, both of the Government of the District of
Columbia, Washington, D.C.
NOMINATION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Kathleen Sebelius, of Kansas, to be
Secretary of Health and Human Services, after the nominee, who was introduced
by former Senator Robert J. Dole and Senator Roberts, testified and answered
questions in her own behalf.
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.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/04/01
Daily Digest - Wednesday, April 1, 2009; pages D383 - D394
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nominations of Kathleen A. Merrigan, of Massachusetts,
to be Deputy Secretary, who was introduced by Senator Leahy, Joe Leonard, Jr.,
of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, who
was introduced by Representative Kilpatrick, and James W. Miller, of Virginia,
to be Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, who was
introduced by Senator Conrad, all of the Department of Agriculture, after the
nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
CIVILIAN CASUALTIES OF WAR
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and
Related Programs concluded a hearing to examine assistance for civilian
casualties of war, after receiving testimony from Dirk Dijkerman, Acting
Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian
Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development; Ca Va Tran, Vietnam
Assistance for the Handicapped, McLean, VA; John W. Chromy, CHF International,
Washington, DC; Erica Gaston, Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict
(CIVIC), New Orleans, LA; and Jonathan Tracy, National Institute of Military
Justice, Falls Church, VA.
U.S. POLICY TOWARD AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine U.S.
Policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, after receiving testimony from Michele
A. Flournoy, Under Secretary for Policy, General David H. Petraeus, USA,
Commander, U.S. Central Command, and Admiral Eric T. Olson, USN, Commander,
U.S. Special Operations Command, all of the Department of Defense.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nominations of Ashton B. Carter, of Massachusetts, to be Under Secretary for
Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, and James N. Miller, Jr., of Virginia,
to be Deputy Under Secretary for Policy, both of the Department of Defense.
Also, committee ordered favorably reported 3,952 nominations in the Army,
Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
RENEWABLE FUEL STANDARD OVERSIGHT
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Clean Air and
Nuclear Safety concluded an oversight hearing to examine the Environmental
Protection Agency's renewable fuel standard, after receiving testimony from
Charles T. Drevna, National Petrochemical and Refiners Association, on behalf
of National Marine Manufacturers Association and Outdoor Power Equipment
Institute, A. Blakeman Early, American Lung Association, and Michael McAdams,
Advanced Biofuels Association, all of Washington, DC; Kelly J. Tiller,
University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and Nathanael Greene, Natural Resources
Defense Council, New York, NY.
[Page: D386]
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nomination of Thomas L. Strickland, of Colorado, to be Assistant
Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Department of the Interior.
USAID IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on International Development and
Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Environmental
Protection concluded a hearing to examine United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) in the 21st Century, after receiving
testimony from Andrew Natsios, The Walsh School of Foreign Service, and Carol
Lancaster, Mortara Center for International Studies, both of Georgetown
University, and Steven Radelet, Center for Global Development, all of
Washington, DC.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee ordered
favorably reported the following items:
H.R. 35, to amend chapter 22 of title 44, U.S. Code, popularly known as the
Presidential Records Act, to establish procedures for the consideration of
claims of constitutionally based privilege against disclosure of Presidential
records, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 615, to provide additional personnel authorities for the Special Inspector
General for Afghanistan Reconstruction;
S. 507, to provide for retirement equity for Federal employees in nonforeign
areas outside the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia, with an
amendment;
S. 713, to require the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency to quickly and fairly address the abundance of surplus manufactures
housing units stored by the Federal Government around the country at taxpayer
expense, with an amendment;
S. 574, to enhance citizen access to Government information and services by
establishing that Government documents issued to the public must be written
clearly, with an amendment;
S. Res. 87, expressing the sense of the Senate that public servants should be
commended for their dedication and continued service to the Nation during
Public Service Recognition Week, May 4 through 10, 2009; and
The nominations of Jane Holl Lute, of New York, to be Deputy Secretary of
Homeland Security, and John Berry, of the District of Columbia, to be Director
of the Office of Personnel Management.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of David F. Hamilton, of Indiana, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the
Seventh Circuit, who was introduced by Senators Lugar and Bayh, Ronald H.
Weich, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Attorney General,
Department of Justice, who was introduced by Senator Reid, and R. Gil
Kerlikowske, of Washington, to be Director of National Drug Control Policy,
Executive Office of the President, who was introduced by Senators Cantwell and
Murray, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of Karen Gordon Mills, of Maine, to be
Administrator of the Small Business Administration, after the nominee, who was
introduced by Senator Snowe, testified and answered questions in her own
behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nomination of Karen Gordon Mills, of Maine, to be Administrator
of the Small Business Administration.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of W. Scott Gould, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy
Secretary, who was introduced by Senator Reed, and Ladda Tammy Duckworth, of
Illinois, to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs,
who was introduced by Senator Durbin, both of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
[Page: D387]
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/04/02
Daily Digest - Thursday, April 2, 2009; pages D396 - D408
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
FHA ROLE IN ADDRESSING HOUSING CRISIS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine the role of
the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in addressing the housing crisis,
after receiving testimony from Shaun Donovan, Secretary, Kenneth M. Donohue,
Inspector General, both of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; J.
Lennox Scott, John L. Scott Real Estate, Bellevue, Washington, on behalf of
the National Association of REALTORS; and Mia Vermillion, Lakewood,
Washington.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 454, to
improve the organization and procedures of the Department of Defense for the
acquisition of major weapon systems, with an amendment.
NOMINATION
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of Massachusetts, to be an
Assistant Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, of the Environmental
Protection Agency, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Dodd,
testified and answered questions in her own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nomination
of Kathleen Sebelius, of Kansas, to be Secretary of Health and Human Services,
after the nominee, who was introduced by former Senator Robert J. Dole and
Senator Roberts, testified and answered questions in her own behalf.
RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT SPENDING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine recovery and reinvestment spending, after receiving
testimony from Robert Nabors II, Deputy Director, Office of Management and
Budget; and Earl E. Devaney, Chairman, Recovery Accountability and
Transparency Board.
TRIBAL BILLS
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine S. 313,
to resolve water rights claims of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in the State
of Arizona, S. 443, to transfer certain land to the United States to be held
in trust for the Hoh Indian Tribe, to place land into trust for the Hoh Indian
Tribe, S. 633, to establish a program for tribal colleges and universities
within the Department of Health and Human Services and to amend the Native
American Programs Act of 1974 to authorize the provision of grants and
cooperative agreements to tribal colleges and universities, and H.R. 326, to
direct the Secretary of the Interior to take lands in Yuma County, Arizona,
into trust as part of the reservation of the Cocopah Tribe of Arizona, after
receiving testimony from Ronnie Lupe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, Whiteriver,
Arizona; Jonette Reyes, Hoh Indian Tribe, Forks, Washington; Paul Soto,
Cocopah Indian Tribe, Somerton, Arizona; and Linda D. Taylor, College of
Menominee Nation, Keshena, Wisconsin.
[Page: D404]
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 515, to
amend title 35, United States Code, to provide for patent reform, with
amendments.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of W. Scott Gould, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Joint Meetings
WESTERN BALKANS
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Commission concluded a
hearing to examine the Western Balkans, focusing on challenges for United
States and European engagement, after receiving testimony from Paddy Ashdown,
former High Representative to Bosnia-Herzegovina, London, United Kingdom; Ivo
Banac, Croatian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, New Haven, Connecticut;
Ivana Howard, National Endowment for Democracy, Sarajevo, Bosnia and
Herzegovina; and James Lyon, Democratization Policy Council, Belgrade, Serbia.
2009/04/20
Daily Digest - Monday, April 20, 2009; pages D409 - D416
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nomination of Ladda Tammy Duckworth, of Illinois, to be Assistant Secretary of
Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Joint Meetings
EMPLOYMENT
Joint Economic Committee: On Friday, April 3, 2009, committee concluded a
hearing to examine the employment situation for March 2009, after receiving
testimony from Keith Hall, Commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Department of Labor.
2009/04/21
Daily Digest - Tuesday, April 21, 2009; pages D418 - D424
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nominations of Cameron Kerry, of Massachusetts, to be
General Counsel, and April S. Boyd, of the District of Columbia, to be an
Assistant Secretary, both of the Department of Commerce, who were introduced
by Senator Kerry, Dana G. Gresham, of the District of Columbia, to be an
Assistant Secretary, Roy W. Kienitz, of Pennsylvania, to be Under Secretary
for Policy, Peter Appel, of Virginia, to be the Administrator of Research and
Innovative Technology Administration, and Robert Rivkin, of Illinois, to be
General Counsel, and Joseph C. Szabo, of Illinois, to be Administrator of the
Federal Railroad Administration, who were introduced by Senator Durbin, all of
the Department of Transportation, and Sherburne B. Abbott, of Texas, to be an
Associate Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive
Office of the President, after the nominees testified and answered questions
in their own behalf.
HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine reforming
America's health care delivery system, after receiving testimony from Glenn M.
Hackbarth, Chairman, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; Lewis Morris, Chief
Counsel, Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, Department of Health and
Human Services; Paul Diaz, Kindred Healthcare, Inc., Louisville, KY; Allan M.
Korn, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Mark B. McClellan, Brookings
Institute, Debra Ness, National Partnership for Women and Families, and
Richard J. Umbdenstock, American Hospital Association, all of Washington, DC;
Peter V. Lee, Pacific Business Group on Health, San Francisco, CA; Mary D.
Naylor, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and John Tooker,
American College of Physicians, both of Philadelphia, PA; Frank G. Opelka,
Louisiana State University Health Science Center, New Orleans; Glenn Steele,
Jr., Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA; and Ron Williams, Aetna Inc.,
Hartford, CT.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the nomination of
Kathleen Sebelius, of Kansas, to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
U.S. DIPLOMATIC CAPACITY IN AFRICA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on African Affairs concluded a
hearing to examine U.S. diplomatic capacity in Africa, after receiving
testimony from Thomas R. Pickering, former Under Secretary of State for
Political Affairs, Princeton N. Lyman, Council on Foreign Relations, and
Howard Wolpe, Woodrow Wilson Center, all of Washington, DC.
COUNTERNARCOTICS ENFORCEMENT
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Ad Hoc Subcommittee
on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration concluded a
hearing to examine counternarcotics enforcement, focusing on coordination at
the Federal, State, and local level, after receiving testimony from John
Leech, Acting Director, Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement, Department of
Homeland Security; Frances Flener, Arkansas State Drug Director, Little Rock;
and Douglas C. Gillespie, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Las Vegas,
NV, on behalf of Major Cities' Chiefs Association.
[Page: D420]
CONTRACTING FRAUD
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Ad Hoc Subcommittee
on Contracting Oversight concluded a hearing to examine improving the ability
of inspectors general to detect, prevent, and prosecute contracting fraud,
after receiving testimony from Brian D. Miller, Inspector General, General
Services Administration; Richard L. Skinner, Inspector General, Department of
Homeland Security; Charles W. Beardall, Deputy Inspector General for
Investigations, Department of Defense; and J. Anthony Ogden, Inspector
General, Government Printing Office, on behalf of the Council of the
Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency.
GREEN SKILLS TRAINING FOR WORKERS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine empowering workers to rebuild America's economy and
long-term competitiveness, focusing on green skills training for workers,
after receiving testimony from Hilda D. Solis, Secretary of Labor; Joan K.
Evans, Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Cheyenne; Lee Lambert,
Shoreline Community College, Shoreline, WA; Dean Allen, McKinstry Company,
Seattle, WA; Mark H. Ayers, AFL-CIO, Washington, DC; and Phil Lou, Vashon, WA.
TERRORISM INFORMATION SHARING
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security
concluded a hearing to examine protecting national security and civil
liberties, focusing on strategies for terrorism information sharing, after
receiving testimony from former Senator Gorton; J. Thomas Manger, Montgomery
County Chief of Police, Rockville, MD; Zoe Baird, Markle Foundation Task Force
on National Security in the Information Age, New York, NY; and Caroline
Frederickson, American Civil Liberties Union Washington Legislative Office,
Washington, DC.
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.
Joint Meetings
SYSTEMIC THREATS OF LARGE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
systemic threats of large financial institutions, after receiving testimony
from Joseph E. Stiglitz, Columbia University, former Chairman, Council of
Economic Advisers, New York, NY; Simon Johnson, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology Sloan School of Management, Cambridge; and Thomas M. Hoenig,
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, MO.
2009/04/22
Daily Digest - Wednesday, April 22, 2009; pages D425 - D434
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Strategic Forces concluded a
hearing to examine environmental management stimulus funding, after receiving
testimony from Ines R. Triay, Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for
Environmental Management.
READINESS OF U.S. GROUND FORCES
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
concluded a hearing to examine the current readiness of U.S. ground forces,
after receiving testimony from General Peter W. Chiarelli, USA, Vice Chief of
Staff, U.S. Army, and General James F. Amos, USMC, Assistant Commandant, U.S.
Marine Corps, both of the Department of Defense.
SAVE AMERICAN ENERGY ACT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine S. 548, to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to
establish a Federal energy efficiency resource standard for retail electricity
and natural gas distributors, after receiving testimony from Senator Schumer;
Patricia Hoffman, Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Electricity
Delivery and Energy Reliability; Paul A. Centolella, Ohio Public Utilities
Commission, Columbus; David J. Manning, National Grid, Brooklyn, NY; Steven
Nadel, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, Washington, DC;
Thomas E. Skains, Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Charlotte, NC, on behalf of
the American Gas Association; and Rich Wells, The Dow Chemical Company,
Midland, MI.
GSA AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded an oversight
hearing to examine the General Services Administration and energy efficiency
in public buildings, after receiving testimony from Paul F. Prouty, Acting
Administrator, General Services Administration; Doug Gatlin, U.S. Green
Building Council, and Lane Burt, Natural Resources Defense Council, both of
Washington, DC; and Harvey Bryan, Arizona State University School of
Sustainability, Tempe.
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
global climate change, focusing on U.S. leadership for a new global agreement,
after receiving testimony from Todd Stern, Special Envoy for Climate Change,
Department of State; Helene D. Gayle, CARE USA, Atlanta, GA; Ned Helme, Center
for Clean Air Policy, Washington, DC; and Paul Camuti, Siemens Corporate
Research, Princeton, NJ.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Susan Flood Burk, of Virginia, to be Special Representative of
the President, with the rank of Ambassador, and Ivo H. Daalder, of Virginia,
to be U.S. Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, both of the Department of State, after the nominees
testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
[Page: D427]
NOMINATION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of William Craig Fugate, of Florida, to be
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, after the nominee,
who was introduced by Senators Bill Nelson and Martinez, testified and
answered questions in his own behalf.
NOMINATION
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nomination of John Morton, of Virginia, to be Assistant
Secretary of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after
the nominee testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
MEDICARE AND MEDICAID FRAUD
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on
Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security concluded a hearing to examine eliminating waste and
fraud in Medicare and Medicaid, after receiving testimony from Kay L. Daly,
Director, Financial Management and Assurance, Government Accountability
Office; Deborah Taylor, Acting Director and Chief Financial Officer, Office of
Financial Management, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and Lewis
Morris, Chief Counsel, Office of Inspector General, both of the Department of
Health and Human Services; and James G. Sheehan, Medicaid Inspector General,
New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General, Albany.
VA HEALTH RELATED LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
pending health related legislation, after receiving testimony from Adrian
Atizado, Disabled American Veterans, Cold Spring, KY; Ammie Hilsabeck, Oscar
G. Johnson VA Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, Iron Mountain,
MI, on behalf of the American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO; and
Hilda R. Heady, West Virginia University Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences
Center, Ralph Ibson, Wounded Warrior Project, and Blake C. Ortner, Paralyzed
Veterans of America, all of Washington, DC.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/04/23
Daily Digest - Thursday, April 23, 2009; pages D435 - D444
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for
fiscal year 2010 for the Department of Commerce, after receiving testimony
from Gary Locke, Secretary of Commerce.
APPROPRIATIONS: SECRETARY OF THE SENATE, SENATE SERGEANT AT ARMS, U.S. CAPITOL
POLICE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch concluded a
hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2010 for the
Office of the Secretary of the Senate, the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, and
the Office of the United States Capitol Police, after receiving testimony from
Nancy Erickson, Secretary of the Senate; Terrance W. Gainer, Sergeant at Arms
and Doorkeeper of the Senate; and Phillip D. Morse, Sr., Chief of Police,
United States Capitol Police.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the nominations of Ronald C. Sims, of Washington, to be
Deputy Secretary, who was introduced by Senators Murray and Cantwell, Peter A.
Kovar, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary for Congressional and
Intergovernmental Affairs, who was introduced by Representative Frank, Helen
R. Kanovsky, of Maryland, to be General Counsel, David H. Stevens, of
Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commission,
and John D. Trasvina, of California, to be Assistant Secretary for Fair
Housing and Equal Opportunity, who was introduced by Representative Schiff,
all of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, David S. Cohen, of
Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing,
and Fred P. Hochberg, of New York, to be President of the Export-Import Bank
of the United States, who was introduced by Senator Schumer, after the
nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered
favorably reported the nominations of Sherburne B. Abbott, of Texas, to be
Associate Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive
Office of the President, Peter H. Appel, of Virginia, to be Administrator of
the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, Dana G. Gresham, of the
District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for Government Affairs, Roy W.
Kienitz, of Pennsylvania, to be Under Secretary for Policy, Joseph C. Szabo,
of Illinois, to be Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, and
Robert S. Rivkin, of Illinois, to be General Counsel, all of the Department of
Transportation, April S. Boyd, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant
Secretary for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Cameron F. Kerry,
of Massachusetts, to be General Counsel, both of the Department of Commerce,
and routine lists in the United States Coast Guard.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nominations of Kristina M. Johnson, of Maryland, to be Under
Secretary, Steven Elliot Koonin, of California, to be Under Secretary for
Science, Ines R. Triay, of New Mexico, to be Assistant Secretary for
Environmental Management, who was introduced by Senator Udall (NM), and Scott
Blake Harris, of Virginia, to be General Counsel, all of the Department of
Energy, and Hilary Chandler Tompkins, of New Mexico, to be Solicitor of the
Department of the Interior, who was introduced by Senator Udall (NM), after
the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nomination of Regina McCarthy, of Massachusetts, to be an
Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
TECHNOLOGY NEUTRALITY IN ENERGY TAX
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine technology
neutrality in energy tax, focusing on issues and options, after receiving
testimony from David L. Greene, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Department of
Energy, Knoxville, Tennessee; Gilbert E. Metcalf, Tufts University, Medford,
Massachusetts; and John M. Urbanchuk, LECG LLC, Wayne, Pennsylvania.
AFGHAN WAR SOLDIERS' STORIES
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
soldiers' stories from the Afghan war, after receiving testimony from Andrew
J. Bacevich, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts; Genevieve Chase,
Alexandria, Virginia; Christopher McGurk, New York, New York; Westley Moore,
Washington, D.C.; and Rick Reyes, Los Angeles, California.
[Page: D439]
STIMULUS FUNDING OVERSIGHT
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded
an oversight hearing to examine state and local stimulus funding, after
receiving testimony from Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General,
Government Accountability Office; and Ray Scheppach, National Governors
Association, and Carolyn M. Coleman, National League of Cities, both of
Washington, D.C.
NOMINATION
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Yvette Roubideaux, of Arizona, to be Director of the Indian
Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services, receiving testimony
from Gerald Hill, Association of American Indian Physicians, Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma, after the nominee testified and answered questions in her own
behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the
nominations of R. Gil Kerlikowske, of Washington, to be Director of National
Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President, and Ronald H. Weich,
of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Attorney General, Department
of Justice.
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.
Joint Meetings
TARP
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine a quarterly
report by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program
(TARP), after receiving testimony from Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector
General, Troubled Asset Relief Program, Department of the Treasury.
BUSINESS MEETING
Joint Committee on the Library: Committee adopted its rules of procedure for
the 111th Congress.
BUSINESS MEETING
Joint Committee on Printing: Committee adopted its rules of procedure for the
111th Congress.
2009/04/24
Daily Digest - Friday, April 24, 2009; pages D445 - D450
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
No committee meetings were held.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/04/27
Daily Digest - Monday, April 27, 2009; pages D451 - D456
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee ordered
favorably reported the nominations of William Craig Fugate, of Florida, to be
Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and John Morton, of
Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
both of the Department of Homeland Security.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/04/28
Daily Digest - Tuesday, April 28, 2009; pages D457 - D466
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
SWINE FLU
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine public health
response to swine flu, after receiving testimony from Rear Admiral Anne
Schuchat, Interim Deputy Director, Science and Public Health Program, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention; Anthony Fauci, Director, National
Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health,
Department of Health and Human Services; John R. Clifford, Deputy
Administrator, National Animal Health and Policy Program, Department of
Agriculture; and Paul Jarris, Association of State and Territorial Health
Officials, Arlington, Virginia.
[Page: D458]
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Raymond Edwin Mabus, Jr., of Mississippi, to be Secretary, who
was introduced by Senators Cochran and Wicker, and Robert O. Work, of
Virginia, to be Under Secretary, both of the Department of the Navy, Elizabeth
Lee King, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary for
Legislative Affairs, who was introduced by Senator Reed, Michael Nacht, of
California, to be Assistant Secretary for Global Strategic Affairs, and
Wallace C. Gregson, of Colorado, to be Assistant Secretary for Asian and
Pacific Security Affairs, who was introduced by Senator Webb, all of the
Department of Defense, Donald Michael Remy, of Virginia, to be General
Counsel, who was introduced by Senator Landrieu, and Jo-Ellen Darcy, of
Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Works, who was introduced by
Senator Baucus, both of the Department of the Army, and Ines R. Triay, of New
Mexico, to be Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management,
after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee ordered favorably
reported the nominations of Ronald C. Sims, of Washington, to be Deputy
Secretary, Peter A. Kovar, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary for
Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, Helen R. Kanovsky, of Maryland,
to be General Counsel, and John D. Trasvina, of California, to be Assistant
Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, all of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, David S. Cohen, of Maryland, to be Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing, and Fred P. Hochberg, of
New York, to be President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
FORMALDEHYDE IN TEXTILES AND CONSUMER PRODUCTS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Consumer
Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance concluded a hearing to examine
formaldehyde in textiles and consumer products, after receiving testimony from
Senator Casey; Ruth A. Etzel, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Phillip
Wakelyn, Wakelyn Associates, LLC, both of Washington, D.C.; and David
Brookstein, Philadelphia University School of Engineering and Textiles,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
FUTURE OF NATIONAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION POLICY
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Surface
Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security
concluded a hearing to examine the future of national surface transportation
policy, after receiving testimony from Ray LaHood, Secretary of
Transportation; Ned S. Holmes, Texas Transportation Commission, Houston; Steve
Heminger, National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission,
Oakland, California; and Anne P. Canby, Surface Transportation Policy
Partnership, and James Corless, Transportation for America, both of
Washington, D.C.
CLEAN ENERGY DEPLOYMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine financing for deployment of clean energy and energy efficiency
technologies and to enhance United States' competitiveness in this market
through the creation of a Clean Energy Deployment Administration within the
Department of Energy, after receiving testimony from Matthew Rogers, Senior
Advisor for the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Office of the Secretary,
Department of Energy; Dan W. Reicher, Google, Mountain View, California; John
Denniston, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Menlo Park, California; and
Jeanine Hull, Dykema Gossett, and Joseph S. Hezir, EOP Group, Inc., both of
Washington, D.C.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to
examine the nominations of Michelle DePass, of New York, and Cynthia J. Giles,
of Rhode Island, who was introduced by Senator Whitehouse, each to be an
Assistant Administrator, and Mathy Stanislaus, of New Jersey, to be Assistant
Administrator for Office of Solid Waste, all of the Environmental Protection
Agency, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own
behalf.
WAR POWERS IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine war
powers in the 21st Century, after receiving testimony from James A. Baker III,
and Warren Christopher, both a former Secretary of State; and Lee H. Hamilton,
Woodrow Wilson International Center, Washington, D.C.
[Page: D459]
NOMINATION
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nomination of Harold Hongju Koh, of Connecticut, to be Legal Adviser of the
Department of State, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senators Dodd
and Lieberman, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
CYBER SECURITY
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine cyber security, focusing on developing a national strategy,
after receiving testimony from Stewart A. Baker, Steptoe and Johnson LLP, and
James A. Lewis, Center for Strategic and International Studies, both of
Washington, D.C.; Alan Paller, SANS Institute, Bethesda, Maryland; and Tom
Kellerman, Core Security Technologies, Boston, Massachusetts.
GOVERNMENT AND DIGITAL FUTURE
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on
Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and
International Security concluded a hearing to examine advancing America into
the 21st Century and a digital future, after receiving testimony from Vivek
Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer and Administrator, and Karen S.
Evans, former Administrator, each for Electronic Government and Information
Technology, Office of Management and Budget; David A. Powner, Director,
Information Technology Management Issues, Government Accountability Office;
and Phillip J. Bond, TechAmerica, Washington, D.C.
WORKPLACE SAFETY
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Subcommittee on
Employment and Workplace Safety concluded a hearing to examine introducing
meaningful incentives for safe workplaces and meaningful roles for victims and
their families, after receiving testimony from Celeste Monforton, George
Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington,
D.C.; James S. Frederick, United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber,
Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International
Union, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Tammy Miser, United Support and Memorial for
Workplace Fatalities, Lexington, Kentucky; and Warren K. Brown, American
Society of Safety Engineers, Des Plaines, Illinois.
NATIONAL HEALTH CARE REFORM
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine individual state experiences with health care reform
coverage initiatives in the context of national reform, after receiving
testimony from Utah House of Representatives Speaker David Clark, and Brent C.
James, Intermountain Healthcare Institute for Health Care Delivery Research,
both of Salt Lake City, Utah; Jon Kingsdale, Commonwealth Health Insurance
Connector Authority, and Eileen McAnneny, Associated Industries of
Massachusetts, both of Boston, Massachusetts; Susan Besio, Vermont Director of
Health Care Reform, and Harry Chen, both of Burlington, Vermont; and Ruth Liu,
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Oakland,
California.
VICTIMS OF CRIME ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
Victims of Crime Act, focusing on 25 years of protecting and supporting
victims, after receiving testimony from Judith A. Rex, Vermont Center for
Crime Victim Services, Waterbury; Mary Lou Leary, National Center for Victims
of Crime, Washington, D.C.; Keith Perkins, The Never Again Foundation,
Chandler, Arizona; Steve Derene, National Association of VOCA Assistance
Administrators, Madison, Wisconsin; and Susan S. Russell, Warren, Vermont.
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.
[Page: D460]
Joint Meetings
BUDGET RESOLUTION
On Monday, April 27, 2009 Conferees agreed to file a conference report on the
differences between the Senate and House passed versions of S. Con. Res. 13,
setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for
fiscal year 2010, revising the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal year
2009, and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2011
through 2014.
GENDER PAY GAP
Joint Economic Committee: Committee concluded a hearing to examine new
evidence on the persistence of the gender pay gap, after receiving testimony
from Andrew Sherrill, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security
Issues, Government Accountability Office; Randy Albelda, University of
Massachusetts Boston Center for Social Policy; and Lisa M. Maatz, American
Association of University Women, and Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Hudson Institute,
both of Washington, D.C.
2009/04/29
Daily Digest - Wednesday, April 29, 2009; pages D467 - D476
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
WOUNDED WARRIORS
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel concluded a hearing to
examine the implementation of Wounded Warrior policies and programs, after
receiving testimony from Randall B. Williamson, Director, Health Care, Valerie
C. Melvin, Director, Human Capital and Management, Information Systems Issues,
and Daniel Bertoni, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income Security
Issues, all of the Government Accountability Office; Gail H. McGinn, Deputy
Under Secretary for Plans, Ellen P. Embrey, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Health Affairs, Major General Keith W. Meurlin, USAF, Director,
Office of Transition Policy and Care Coordination, and Rear Admiral Gregory A.
Timberlake, USN, Director, Interagency Program Office, all of the Department
of Defense; and Roger Dimsdale, Executive Director, Department of Veterans
Affairs/Department of Defense Collaboration, Office of Policy and Planning,
and Karen S. Guice, Executive Director of the Federal Recovery Coordination
Program, both of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Lieutenant Colonel
Gregory D. Gadson, USA, Lieutenant Colonel Raymond T. Rivas, USA (Ret.),
Colleen O. Rivas, Kimberly R. Noss, and First Lieutenant Andrew K. Kinard,
USMC (Ret.).
[Page: D469]
HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM
Committee on Finance: Committee met in closed session to discuss transforming
the health care delivery system, focusing on proposals to improve patient care
and reduce health care costs.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Johnnie Carson, of Illinois, to be Assistant Secretary for
African Affairs, who was introduced by Representatives Royce and Payne, and
Luis C. de Baca, of Virginia, to be Director of the Office to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking, who was introduced by Senator Harkin and Representative
Conyers, both of the Department of State, after the nominees testified and
answered questions in their own behalf.
SWINE FLU
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine swine flu, focusing on coordinating the federal response,
after receiving testimony from Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland
Security; and Anne Schuchat, Acting Deputy Director for Science and Program,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Assistant Surgeon General, United
States Public Health Service, Department of Health and Human Services.
INFORMED FINANCIAL DECISIONS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of
Columbia concluded a hearing to examine the federal government's role in
empowering Americans to make informed financial decisions, after receiving
testimony from John Berry, Director, Office of Personnel Management; James H.
Shelton III, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement,
Department of Education; Arthur J. Meyers, Acting Deputy Secretary for
Military Community and Family Policy, Department of Defense; Sandra F.
Braunstein, Director, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Richard J. Hillman, Managing
Director, Financial Markets and Community Investment, Government
Accountability Office; Robert F. Duvall, Council for Economic Education, New
York, New York; and Dallas L. Salisbury, Employee Benefit Research Institute,
Washington, D.C.
SWINE FLU EPIDEMIC
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a
hearing to examine the swine flu epidemic, focusing on the public health and
medical response, after receiving testimony from Richard E. Besser, Acting
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Anthony Fauci,
Director, National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National
Institutes of Health, both of the Department of Health and Human Services.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered
favorably reported the nominations of Russlynn Ali, of California, to be
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Carmel Martin, of Maryland, to be
Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Charles
P. Rose, of Illinois, to be General Counsel, Peter Cunningham, of Illinois, to
be Assistant Secretary for Communications and Outreach, and Gabriella Cecilia
Gomez, of California, to be Assistant Secretary for Legislation and
Congressional Affairs, all of the Department of Education, Brian Kennedy, of
Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental
Affairs, and T. Michael Kerr, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant
Secretary for Administration and Management, both of the Department of Labor,
and Thomasina Rogers, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Occupational Safety
and Health Review Commission.
CRACK-POWDER COCAINE FEDERAL SENTENCING
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs concluded a
hearing to examine restoring fairness to federal sentencing, focusing on
addressing the crack-powder disparity, after receiving testimony from Lanny
Breuer, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice;
Judge Reggie B. Walton, United States District Court for the District of
Columbia, on behalf of the Judicial Conference of the United States; Ricardo
H. Hinojosa, Acting Chair, United States Sentencing Commission; Asa
Hutchinson, former Administrator of the United States Drug Enforcement
Administration, Rogers, Arkansas; John F. Timoney, Chief of Police, City of
Miami Police Department, Miami, Florida; and Cedric Parker, Alton, Illinois.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the
nominations of Andre M. Davis, of Maryland, to be United States Circuit Judge
for the Fourth Circuit, who was introduced by Senator Mikulski and former
Senator Sarbanes, David F. Hamilton, of Indiana, to be United States Circuit
Judge for the Seventh Circuit, and Thomas E. Perez, of Maryland, to be
Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division, Department of Justice,
after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
[Page: D470]
BENEFITS LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine
pending benefits legislation, after receiving testimony from Bradley G. Mayes,
Director, Compensation and Pension Service, Veterans Benefits Administration,
Department of Veterans Affairs; R. Chuck Mason, Legislative Attorney, American
Law Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; Robert
Jackson, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, and Ian DePlanque,
American Legion, both of Washington, D.C.; Raymond Kelley, AMVETS, Lanham,
Maryland; and Rebecca Poynter, Annapolis, Maryland.
LIFE SETTLEMENT MARKET
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the life
settlement market, focusing on what is at stake for seniors, after receiving
testimony from Mary Beth Senkewicz, Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner,
Office of Insurance Regulation, Tallahassee; Michael T. McRaith, Illinois
Director of Insurance, Chicago; Fred J. Joseph, Colorado Securities
Commissioner, Denver, on behalf of the North American Securities
Administrators Association, Inc., Stephan R. Leimberg, Leimberg Information
Services, Inc., Havertown, Pennsylvania; James J. Avery, Individual Life
Insurance, Prudential Financial, Newark, New Jersey, on behalf of the American
Council of Life Insurers; Scott Peden, Life Partners, Inc., Waco, Texas; and
Michael Freedman, Coventry First LLC, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania.
Joint Meetings
No joint committee meetings were held.
2009/04/30
It is with sorrow that I note the absence of the Daily Digest entries for
April 30, 2009. Today is the editor's last day of employment; there are no
plans to continue this service.
John A. McGeachy
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