Congress
Today in Congress: April 17, 2007
Reuters
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THE SENATE
In session.
Committees
Senate Environment and Public Works (2:30 p.m.): Holds a briefing on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report on “Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: Summary for Policymakers.” Cynthia Rosenzweig of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Stephen Schneider of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Program of the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University; Christopher Field, coordinating lead author of North America Chapter Director, Department of Global Ecology, Stanford University; Terry Root of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy at Stanford University; Virginia Burkett of the U.S. Geological Survey; Roger Pulwarty of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado, and Center for Disease Control; Paty Romero-Lankao, deputy director of the Institute for the Study of Science and Environment at the National Center for Atmospheric Research; Joan Kleypas, scientist II at the National Center for Atmospheric Research; and Kristie Ebi, scientist and independent consultant at ESS, LLC, brief the committee. 406 Dirksen.
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “XM Sirius Merger.” Mel Karmazin, CEO of SIRIUS Satelite Radio; Russell Withers Jr., pesident of Withers Broadcasting Group; Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal and international affairs at the Consumer Union; Gigi Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge; David Bank, managing director of equity research at RBC Capital Markets, testify. 253 Russell.
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (3 p.m.): Securities, Insurance, and Investment Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Subprime Mortgage Market Turmoil: Examining the Role of Securitization.” Gyan Sinha, senior managing director and head of ABS and CDO Research, Bear Sterns & Co. Inc.; David Sherr, managing director and head of securitized products at Lehman Brothers; Susan Barnes, managing director of ratings services at Standard and Poor’s; Warren Kornfeld, managing director of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Rating Group, Moody’s Investors Service; Kurt Eggert, professor of law at the Chapman University School of Law; and Christopher Peterson, assistant professor of law at the Levin College of Law, University of Florida, testify. 538 Dirksen.
House Armed Services (3 p.m.): Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee holds a closed briefing on the current readiness of U.S. ground forces in review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2008 and the Future Years Defense Program. Army Lt. Gen. James Lovelace Jr., deputy chief of staff, G-3/5/7; and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski, deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations, brief the committee. S-407, U.S. Capitol.
Senate Armed Services (9:30 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “whether the Army and Marine Corps are properly sized, organized, and equipped to respond to the most likely missions over the next two decades while retaining adequate capability to respond to all contingencies along the spectrum of combat.” Andrew Krepinevich Jr., president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments; retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, president of BR McCaffrey Associates LLC; Lawrence Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; and retired Army Maj. Gen. Robert Scales Jr., president of Colgen, Inc., testify. 106 Dirksen.
Senate Appropriations (2 p.m.): Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Combating Autism: Undertaking a Coordinated Response.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Julie Gerberding; Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health; Robert Wright, vice chairman and executive officer of the General Electric Foundation, Fairfield, Conn.; Judith Favell, CEO of AdvoServ and executive director of The Celeste Foundation, Mount Dora, Fla.; and Bradley Whitford, volunteer spokesperson for Autism Speaks Organization, New York, N.Y., testify. 124 Dirksen.
Senate (Select) Intelligence (2:30 p.m.): Holds a hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Director of National Intelligence John McConnell; Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency; and Kenneth Wainstien, assistant attorney general for national security, testify. G-50 Dirksen.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (10 a.m.): Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Too Much, Too Long? Domestic Violence in the Workplace.” Kathy Rodgers, president of Legal Momentum, New York, N.Y.; Laura Fortman, commissioner of the State of Maine Department of Labor, Augusta, Maine; Yvette Cade, survivor of domestic violence in the workplace, Temple Hill, Md.; Sue Willman, attorney at Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, Kansas City, Mo., testify. 430 Dirksen.
THE HOUSE
In session.
Committees
House Judiciary (10:30 a.m.): Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Executive Compensation in Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Cases: How Much is Too Much?” Witnesses TBA. 2141 Rayburn.
House Natural Resources (2 p.m.): Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Implementation of Title III, the Oil and Gas Provisions, of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.” Assistant Deputy Interior Secretary Abraham Haspel; Ann Morgan, former state director of the Colorado, Bureau of Land Management and vice president for public lands at The Wilderness Society; Curtis Bramble, majority leader of Utah State Senate; Jim Bartis, senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation; Kathleen Kelley, former Colorado state senator; Oscar Simpson, public lands community organizer of National Wildlife Federation; Paul Cicio, president of the Industrial Energy Consumers of America, testify. 1334 Longworth.
House Financial Services (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “Possible Responses to Rising Mortgage Foreclosures.” Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio); Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair; Assistant Housing and Urban Development Secretary Brian Montgomery, for housing; Daniel Mudd, president and CEO of Fannie Mae; Richard Syron, chairman and CEO of Freddie Mac; David Berenbaum, executive vice president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition; Janis Bowdler, senior policy analyst for the National Council of La Raza; John Dalton, president of the Housing Policy Council of The Financial Services Roundtable; Michael Decker, senior managing director of research and public policy at the Security Industry and Financial Markets Association; Douglas Garver, executive director of the Ohio Housing Finance Agency; and Kenneth Wade, CEO of the NeighborWorks America, testify. 2128 Rayburn.
House (Select) Intelligence (2 p.m.): Holds a hearing on personnel and security. Witnesses TBA. H-405, U.S. Capitol.
House Rules (11 a.m.): Meets to formulate a rule on H.R.1257, the “Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act”; H.R.1361, the “RECOVER Act,” to improve the disaster relief programs of the Small Business Administration. H-313, U.S. Capitol.
House Transportation and Infrastructure (2 p.m.): Water Resources and the Environment Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Nonpoint Source Pollution: Atmospheric Deposition and Water Quality.” Witnesses TBA. 2167 Rayburn.
House Appropriations (1:30 p.m.): Defense Subcommittee closed hearing on the U.S. Central Command. Adm. William Fallon, commander of the U.S. Central Command, testifies. H-140, U.S. Capitol.
House Appropriations (9:30 a.m.): Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee holds a hearing on the Indian Health Service. Indian Health Service Director Charles Grim testifies. B-308 Rayburn.
House Appropriations (10 a.m.): Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee holds a hearing on the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration. Federal Highway Administrator Richard Kapka; and Federal Transit Administrator James Simpson, testify. 2358 Rayburn.
House Foreign Affairs (2 p.m.): International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight Subcommittee and Europe Subcommittee hold a joint hearing on “Extraordinary Rendition in U.S. Counterterrorism Policy: The Impact on Transatlantic Relations.” Jonathan Evans, member of the European Parliament and chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with the United States; Claudio Fava, member of the European Parliament, author of the “Report on the Alleged Use of European Countries by the CIA for the Transportation and Illegal Detention of Prisoners”; Sarah Ludford, member of the European Parliament, and vice-chairman of the Temporary Committee on the Alleged Use of European Countries by the CIA for the Transportation and Illegal Detention of Prisoners; Julianne Smith, director and senior fellow in the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Michael Scheuer former chief of the Bin Laden Unit at the Central Intelligence Agency, testify. 2172 Rayburn.
House Judiciary (2 p.m.): Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on H.R.1592, the “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007.” Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute; Frederick Lawrence, dean of The George Washington University Law School; Timothy Lynch, director of the Project on Criminal Justice Cato Institute; Jack McDevitt, associate dean of Northeastern University; David Ritcheson, Harris County, Texas; Mark Shrutleff, attorney general of the State of Utah, testify. 2141 Rayburn.
House Natural Resources (10 a.m.): Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Wildlife and Oceans in a Changing Climate.” William McKibben, author and scholar in residence at Middlebury College; Joshua Lawler of the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington; Terry Root of the Center for Environmental Science and Policy at Stanford University; Monica Medina, acting director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, United States Office; Christopher Haney, chief scientist for Defenders of Wildlife; Mark Eakin, coordinator of the Coral Reef Watch, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellite Oceanography & Climate; Ken Caldeira of the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington; Joanie Kleypas of the Institute for the Study of Society and Environment at the National Center for Atmospheric Research; and Gary Sharp and John Everett, of Ocean Associates, Inc., testify. 1324 Longworth.
House Oversight and Government Reform (10 a.m.): Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia Subcommittee holds a hearing on “The U.S. Postal Service: 101.” Postmaster General John Potter; James Miller, chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors; Dan Blair, chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission; David William, inspector general of the U.S. Postal Service; Katherine Siggerud, director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office; William Burrus, president of the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO; William Young, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers; Donnie Pitts, of the National Rural Letter Carriers Association; John Hegarty, national president of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union; Oscar Goff, national president of the National Association of Postmasters of the United States; Charles Mapa, president of the National League of Postmasters; and Ted Keating, president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, testify. 2247 Rayburn.
House Science and Technology (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “The State of Climate Change Science 2007: The Findings of the Fourth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Working Group II: Climate Change Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability.” Virginia Burkett, lead author of IPCC, Working Group II, Chapter 6: Coastal Systems and Low Lying Areas; William Easterling, coordinating lead author of IPCC, Working Group II, Chapter 5: Food Fibre and Forest Products; Roger Pulwarty, lead author of IPCC, Working Group II, Chapter 17: Assessment of Adaptation Practices, Options, Constraints and Capacity; Cynthia Rosenzweig, coordinating lead author of IPCC, Working Group II, Chapter 1: Assessment of Observed Chanced and Responses in Natural and Managed Systems; Stephen Schneider, coordinating lead author of IPCC, Working Group II, Chapter 19: Assessing Key Vulnerabilities and the Risk from Climate Change; and Shardul Agrawala, coordinating lead author of IPCC, Working Group II, Chapter 17: Assessment of Adaptation Practices, Options, Constraints and Capacity, testify. 2318 Rayburn.
House Oversight and Government Reform (10 a.m.): National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Is This Any Way to Treat Our Troops - Part II: Follow Up on Corrective Measures at Walter Reed.” Former Veterans Affairs Secretary and Former Secretary of the Army Togo West Jr.; Former Secretary of the Army Jack Marsh; Michael Dominguez, principal deputy undersecretary of Defense for personnel and readiness; Acting Army Surgeon General and Commander, U.S. Army Medical Command Maj. Gen. Gale Pollack; Maj. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, commander of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, tesitfy. 2154 Rayburn.
House Natural Resources (10 a.m.): National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee holds a hearing on H.R.554, the “Paleontological Resources Preservation Act”; H.R.986, the “Eighmile Wild and Scenic River Act”; H.R.1100, the “Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site Boundary Revision Act of 2007”; H.R.1285, the “Snoqualmie Pass Land Conveyance Act.” Sue Masica, chief of staff for the National Park Service; Frederick Norbury, associate deputy chief of the National Forest System at the Forest Service; Peter Larson of the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research; Ted Vlamis, chairman of the Government Affairs Committee of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology; Nathan Frohling, director of the Lower Connecticut River Program, Eightmile Project, The Nature Conservancy; Chuck McGrady, commissioner of Henderson County, N.C.; and Chris Caviezel, commission of King and Kittitas Counties, Wash. Fire District 51, testify. 1334 Longworth.
House Homeland Security (10 a.m.): Meets to markup H.R.1680, the “Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007,” to authorize the Homeland Security Secretary to regulate the sale of ammonium nitrate to prevent and deter the acquisition of ammonium nitrate by terrorists. 210 Cannon.
House Foreign Affairs (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “The Outlook for the Independence of Kosova.” Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns testifies. 2172 Rayburn.
House Energy and Commerce (10 a.m.): Health Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act.” Theresa Mullin, assistant commissioner for planning at the Food and Drug Administration; Alan Goldhammer, deputy vice president for regulatory affairs for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; Thomas Thew, patient advocate at Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association; Kay Holcombe, senior policy advisor at the Genzyme Corporation; William Vaughn, senior policy advocate at the Consumers Union; William Hubbard, senior advisor, Coalition for a Stronger FDA, testify. 2123 Rayburn.
House Appropriations (10 a.m.): Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee holds a hearing on the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). Navy Adm. William Fallon testifies. H-143, U.S. Capitol.
House Appropriations (10 a.m.): Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee holds a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC Chairman Kevin Martin testifies. 2359 Rayburn.
House Appropriations (10 a.m.): Defense Subcommittee holds a hearing on Army force posture and acquisition overview. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody; and Claude Bolton, assistant secretary for acquisition, testify. H-140, U.S. Capitol.
House Agriculture (11 a.m.): Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee holds a hearing on market structure of the livestock industry. James Link, administrator of the Agriculture Department’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; Mary Muth, program director for food and agricultural policy research, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, N.C.; Kay Doby, poultry grower, representing the Campaign for Contract Agriculture Reform, RAFI, Cameron, N.C.; John Crabtree, development and outreach officer at the Center for Rural Affairs, Lyons, Neb.; Tom Buis, president of the National Farmers Union; Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation; Robert Taylor, Alfa Eminent scholar at Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.; Joy Philippi, pork producer, representing the National Pork Producers Council, Bruning, Neb.; William Roenigk, senior vice president at the National Chicken Council; John Queen, president of the National Cattleman’s Beef Association; and Patrick Boyle, president & CEO, American Meat Institute, testify. 1300 Longworth.
House Transportation and Infrastructure (10 a.m.): Highways and Transit Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Public-Private Partnerships: Innovative Contracting.” James Ray, action deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration; David Horner, chief counsel for Federal Transit Administration; John Njord, director of the Utah Transportation Department in Salt Lake City; Fred Hansen, general manager of TriMet in Portland, Ore.; Paul Yarossi, executive vice president and president, HNTB Holdings Ltd., New York; Richard Thomas, director of government affairs for Ames Construction Inc. of Burnsville, Minn.; Maria Lehman, COO of Chazen Companies of Poughkeepsie, New York; and Bruce Blanning, executive director, Professional Engineers in California Government, Sacramental, Calif. 2167 Rayburn.
House Veterans Affairs (12:30 p.m.): Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee holds a hearing on H.R.67, the “Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2007”; H.R.1435, the “Department of Veterans Affairs Claims Backlog Reduction Act of 2007”; H.R.1444, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make interim benefit payments under certain remanded claims; and H.R.1490, to provide for a presumption of service-connectedness for certain claims for benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.); Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.); Rep. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.); Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.); Douglas LeValley, former president of the National Association of County Veteran Service Officers; Carl Blake, national legislative director of Paralyzed Veterans of America; Gerald Manar, deputy director of Veterans of Foreign Wars; Craig Kabatchnick, clinical legal instructor for the North Carolina Central University School of Law; Robert Chisholm, president of the National Organization of Veterans Advocates; Deputy VA Undersecretary for Benefits Ronald Aument; and VA Deputy General Counsel John Thompson, testify. 334 Cannon.
