[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 29, 2008)] [Daily Digest] [Pages D57-D59] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Committee Meetings OUTSOURCING--DOD INSPECTOR GENERAL Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Defense met in executive session on DOD Inspector General on Outsourcing. Testimony was heard from Claude M. Kicklighter, Inspector General, Department of Defense. INTERAGENCY REFORM Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on Interagency Reform: Can the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Case Study Illuminate the Future of Reconstruction and Stabilization Operations? Testimony was heard from public witnesses. BOLSTER U.S. ECONOMY--USING FISCAL POLICY Committee on the Budget: Held a hearing on Using Fiscal Policy to Bolster the U.S. Economy. Testimony was heard from Lawrence H. Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury; and public witnesses. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT PROTECTIONS Committee on Education and Labor: Held a hearing on H.R. 3195, ADA Restoration Act of 2007. Testimony was heard from Representative Hoyer; and public witnesses. COVERING UNINSURED KIDS Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled ``Covering Uninsured Kids: Missed Opportunities for Moving Forward.'' Testimony was heard from Dennis G. Smith, Director, Center for Medicaid and State Operations, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services; Ann C. Kohler, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Human Services, State of New Jersey; Chris L. Peterson, Specialist in Health Care Financing, Domestic Social Policy Division, CRS, Library of Congress; and public witnesses. ISSUANCE OF SUBPOENAS--FDA PRESCRIPTION DRUG SAFETY; FDA SCIENCE MISSION Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations agreed by a roll call vote of 12-0 a motion by Chairman Stupak to issue subpoenas relating to witnesses and documents in connection with the Subcommittee's ongoing investigation into the adequacy of the efforts of the FDA to protect the American public from excessive risks from prescription drugs and other matters. The Subcommittee also held a hearing entitled ``Science and Mission at Risk: FDA's Self-Assessment.'' Testimony was heard from the following officials of the GAO: Marcia G. Crosse, Director, Health Care; and Lisa Shames, Director, Food and Agriculture Issues; Andrew C. von Esechenbach, M.D., Commissioner, FDA, Department of Health and Human Services; Donna V. Porter, Specialist in Life Sciences, Science Policy Research Division, CRS, Library of Congress; and public witnesses. DIGITAL TV AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING Committee on Energy and Commerce: Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Internet held a hearing entitled ``Public, Educational, and Governmental (PEG) Services in the Digital TV Age.'' Testimony was heard from John B. O'Reilly, Jr., Mayor, Dearborn, Michigan; and public witnesses. WAKE OF DISASTERS--HOUSING PROGRAMS Committee on Homeland Security: Held a hearing entitled ``Ensuring Safe and Effective Housing Programs in the Wake of Disasters.'' Testimony was heard from Carlos Castilllo, Assistant Administrator, Disaster Assistance Directorate, FEMA, Department of Homeland Security; Henry Falk, M.D., Director, Coordinating Center, Environmental Health and Injury Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services; Nelson Bregon, General Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Community Planning and Development, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Michael Gerber, Executive Director, Department of Housing and Community Affairs, State of Texas; and a public witness. MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE CRISIS Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law held a hearing on the Growing Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis: Identifying Solutions and Dispelling Myths. Testimony was heard from Jack Kemp, former Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development; and public witnesses. OVERSIGHT--STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE REFORM Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held an oversight hearing on Reform of the State Secrets Privilege. Testimony was heard from Patricia Wald, Retired Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; and public witnesses. [[Page D58]] FEDERAL ESPIONAGE LAWS ENFORCEMENT Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a hearing on Enforcement of Federal Espionage Laws. Testimony was heard from J. Patrick Rowan, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, National Security Division, Department of Justice; and public witnesses. OVERSIGHT--CALIFORNIA WATER DELIVERIES Committee on Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power held an oversight hearing on the Immediate Federal and State Role in Addressing Uncertain Water Deliveries for California and the Impacts on California Communities.'' Testimony was heard from Bob Johnson, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior; Lester Snow, Director, Department of Water Resources, State of California; and public witnesses. MISCELLANEOUS MEASURES; BREAST-CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING GAP Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Ordered reported the following measures: H. Con. Res. 273, Recognizing the 50th Anniversary of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; H. Res. 867, Commending the Houston Dynamo soccer team for winning the 2007 Major League Soccer Cup; H. Res. 931, Expressing the support for designation of February 17, 2008, as ``Race Day in America'' and highlighting the 50th running of the Daytona 500; H. Res 942, Recognizing the significance of Black History Month; H. Res. 943, Remembering the space shuttle Challenger disaster and honoring its crew members, who lost their lives on January 28, 1986; H.R. 3532, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5815 McLeod Street in Lula, Georgia, as the ``Private Johnathon Millican Lula Post Office;'' H.R. 3936, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 116 Highway in Cleveland, Georgia as the ``Sgt. Jason Harkins Post Office Building;'' H.R. 4203, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3035 Stone Mountain Street in Lithonia, Georgia, as the ``Jamaal RaShard Addison Post Office Building;'' H.R. 4454, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3050 Hunsinger Lane in Louisville, Kentucky, as the ``Iraq and Afghanistan Fallen Military Heroes of Louisville Memorial Post Office Building;'' in honor of the service men and women from Louisville, Kentucky, who died in service during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom; H.R. 5135, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 201 West Greenway Street in Derby, Kansas, as the ``Sergeant Jamie O. Maugans Post Office Building;'' S. 2272, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service known as the Southpark Station in Alexandria, Louisiana, as the John ``Marty'' Thiels Southpark Station, in honor and memory of Thiels, a Louisiana postal worker who was killed in the line of duty on October 4, 2007; and S. 2478, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 59 Colby in East Hampstead, New Hampshire, as the ``Captain Jonathan D. Grassbaugh Post Office.'' The Committee also held a hearing on Addressing the Screening Gap: The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. Testimony was heard from Rosemarie Henson, Deputy Director, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services; Pama Joyner, Director, Breast and Cervical Health Program, Department of Health, State of Washington; and public witnesses. PLAIN LANGUAGE IN GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 2007 Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives approved for full Committee action H.R. 3548, Plain Language in Government Communications Act of 2007. PAKISTANI ELECTIONS Committee on Oversight and Government Reform: Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs continued hearings on Pakistani Elections: Will They Be Free and Fair or Fundamentally Flawed (Part II). Testimony was heard from Richard A. Boucher, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Department of State. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATING RESEARCH Committee on Small Business: Held a hearing entitled ``SBIR: America's National Technology Development Incubator.'' Testimony was heard from public witnesses. VA'S CLAIMS PROCESSING IMPROVEMENTS Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs held a hearing on the Use of Artificial Intelligence to Improve the VA's Claims Processing System. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs: Kim Graves, Director, Office of Business Process Integration, Veterans Benefits Administration; and Stephen W. Warren, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Information [[Page D59]] and Technology; Gary Christopherson, former Veterans Health Administration Chief Information Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs; representatives of veterans organizations; and public witnesses. VA CREDENTIALING AND PATIENT SAFETY Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on VA Credentialing and Privileging: A Patient Safety Issue. Testimony was heard from the following officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs: John D. Daigh, M.D., Assistant Inspector General, Healthcare Inspections, Office of the Inspector General; Gerald M. Cross, M.D., Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health; and a public witness. BRIEFING--PAKISTAN Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence: Met in executives session to receive a briefing on Pakistan. The Committee was briefed by departmental witnesses. Joint Meetings COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe: Commission concluded a hearing to examine anti-Semitism in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) region, focusing on initiatives, lessons learned, and the way forward in monitoring and combating anti-Semitism, after receiving testimony from Gert Weisskirchen, Personal Representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, and Kathrin Meyer, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, both of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Vienna, Austria.