Congress

Today in Congress: June 26, 2008

Reuters

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THE SENATE

The Senate is in session.

Committees

Senate Appropriations (2 p.m.): Meets to markup the FY2009 Labor, HHS, and Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. 106 Dirksen.

Senate Armed Services (9:30 a.m.): Holds a hearing on the nominations of Nelson Ford to be undersecretary of the Army; Joseph Benkert to be assistant secretary of Defense for global security affairs; Sean Stackley to be assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition; and Frederick Celec to be assistant to the secretary of Defense for nuclear and chemical and biological defense programs. The nominees testify. 106 Dirksen

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation (10 a.m.): Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on “The Outlook for Summer Air Travel: Addressing Congestion and Delays.” Hank Krakowski, COO of the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Organization; Deputy Assistant Transportation Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Michael Reynolds; Susan Fleming, director of physical infrastructure at the Government Accountability Office; and James May, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association, testify. 253 Russell

Senate Finance (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “The Foundation of International Tax Reform: Worldwide, Territorial, and Something in Between.” James Hines Jr., of the University of Michigan Law School; Stephen Shay, partner at Ropes & Gray, Boston, Mass.; Roseanne Altshuler of Rutgers University; and Robert Dilworth, partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, testify. 215 Dirksen

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (2 p.m.): Children and Families Subcommittee holds a hearing on ”Protecting Children, Strengthening Families: Reauthorizing CAPTA (Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act).” Cheryl Boyce, chief of the National Institute of Mental Health's Child Abuse and Neglect Program; Tanya Long, parent from Columbus, Ohio; Karen Foley-Schain, executive director of the Connecticut Children's Trust Fund, Hartford, Conn.; and Caren Kaplan, director of child protection reform at the American Humane Association, Denver, Colo., testify. 430 Dirksen

House Homeland Security (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “Nuclear Terrorism: Providing Medical Care and Meeting Basic Needs in the Aftermath - the Federal Response.” Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator David Paulison; Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary for Preparedness and Response Craig Vanderwagen; Assistant Defense Secretary for Homeland Defense and Americas' Security Affairs Paul McHale; and James Schwartz, chief of the Arlington County Fire Department, testify. 342 Dirksen

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (2:30 p.m.): Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on “In the Red: Addressing the Nation's Financial Challenges.” Acting U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro of the Government Accountability Office; Daniel Werfel, acting controller of the Office of Management and Budget; Kenneth Carfine, fiscal assistant secretary Treasury Department; former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker; Robert Bixby, CEO of the Concord Coalition; James Horney, director of federal fiscal policies at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and Maurice McTigue, director of the Governmental Accountability Project at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, testify. 342 Dirksen

Senate Indian Affairs (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on ”Access to Contract Health Services in Indian Country.” Robert McSwain, director of Indian Health Services, Health and Human Services Department; Sally Smith, chairman of the National Indian Health Board; Marlene Krein, president and CEO of Mercy Hospital, Devils Lake, N.D.; Stacy Dixon, chair of Susanville Indian Rancheria, Susanville, Calif.; Jefferson Keel, lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation, Ada, Okla.; Linda Holt, Suquamish Tribal Council member, Suquamish, Wash., and chair of the Northwest Portland Indian Health Board, Portland, Ore.; and Brenda Shore, Tribal Health Program director for the United South and Eastern Tribal, Inc., Nashville, Tenn., testify. 562 Russell

Senate Judiciary (10 a.m.): Meets to markup S.2979, to exempt the African National Congress from treatment as a terrorist organization; H.R.5690, to remove the African National Congress from treatment as a terrorist organization for certain acts or events, provide relief for certain members of the African National Congress regarding admissibility; S.2892, the “Wartime Enforcement of Fraud Act of 2008”; S.1211, the “Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2007”; S.3155, to reauthorize and improve the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974; S.2746, the “OPEN FOIA Act of 2008”; S.3061, the “William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008”; S.Res 594, designating September 2008 as “Tay-Sachs Awareness Month”; 226 Dirksen

Senate Judiciary (2:30 p.m.): Crime and Drugs Subcommittee holds a hearing on “They Can Run, But they Can't Hide: Catching Fugitives in the 21st Century,” focusing on the need to improve the identification, apprehension, and extradition of felony fugitives. Steve Morris, deputy assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Criminal Justice Information Services; Mark Dion, sheriff of Cumberland County, Maine; William Casey, deputy superintendent and commanding officer in the Boston Police Department's Information Technology Division; and William Sorukas, chief inspector of the Domestic Investigations Branch at the U.S. Marshals Service, testify. 226 Dirksen

Senate Veterans Affairs (2:30 p.m.): Meets to markup S.2969, the “Veterans' Medical Personnel Recruitment and Retention Act of 2008”; S.2309, the “Compensation for Combat Veterans Act”; S.22, the “Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007”; legislation to provide technical corrections to S.22; and S.2617, the “Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2008”; followed by a hearing on the nomination of Christine Hill to be assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs for congressional affairs. The nominee testifies. 418 Russell

THE HOUSE

The House meets at 10 a.m. to consider H.R.6052, the “Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008.”

Committees

House Appropriations (10 a.m.): Meets to markup the FY2009 Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill; and the FY2009 Agriculture appropriations bill. 2359 Rayburn

House Agriculture (10 a.m.): Horticulture and Organic Agriculture Subcommittee holds a hearing on the status of pollinator health including colony collapse disorder. 1300 Longworth.

House Education and Labor (10:30 a.m.): Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee holds a hearing on ”An Examination of Discrimination Against Transgender Americans in the Workplace.” Witnesses TBA. 2175 Rayburn

House Energy and Commerce (10 a.m.): Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Climate Change: Costs of Inaction.” 2123 Rayburn.

House (Select) Energy Independence and Global Warming (1:30 p.m.): Holds a hearing on “$4 Gasoline and Fuel Economy: Auto Industry at a Crossroads.” Assistant Treasury Secretary for Policy Tyler Duvall; Dominique Thormann, senior vice president of Nissan North America, Inc.; Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Project Better Place; and Torben Holm, consultant for DONG Energy A/S, testify. 210 Cannon

House Financial Services (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on H.R.6066, the “Extractive Industries Transparency Disclosure Act,” which would require oil, gas, and mining companies listed on U.S. exchanges to publicly disclose the payments they make to the governments of the countries from which those resources are extracted. Witnesses TBA. 2128 Rayburn

House Financial Services (2 p.m.): Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee holds a hearing on “Problem Credit Card Practices Affecting Students: The Need for Legislative Action,” focusing on deceptive credit card practices aimed at students that cause them to rack up late fees, high balances, and delinquencies. 2128 Rayburn.

House Homeland Security (10 a.m.): Meets to markup H.R.263, the “Cybersecurity Education Enhancement Act of 2007”; H.R.2490, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a pilot program for the mobile biometric identification in the maritime environment of aliens unlawfully attempting to enter the United States; H.R.3815, the “Homeland Security Open Source Information Enhancement Act of 2007”; H.R.4806, the ”Reducing Over-Classification Act of 2007”; H.R.5170, the “Next Generation Radiation Screening Act of 2008”; H.R.5531, the ”Next Generation Radiation Screening Act of 2008”; H.R.5743, the “Scientific Transformations through Advancing Research (STAR) Act”; H.R.5935, the “American Steel First Act of 2008”; H.R.5983, the “Homeland Security Network Defense and Accountability Act of 2008”; H.R.6098, the “Personnel Reimbursement for Intelligence Cooperation and Enhancement of (PRICE) Homeland Security Act”; and H.R.6193, the “Improving Public Access to Documents Act of 2008.” 311 Cannon

House (Select) Intelligence (1 p.m.): Terrorism Human Intelligence, Analysis and Counterintelligence Subcommittee closed hearing on “National Applications Office.” H-405, U.S. Capitol

House Judiciary (10 a.m.): Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee holds a hearing on ”From the Department of Justice to Guantanamo Bay: Administration Lawyers and Administration Interrogation Rules, Part III.” 2141 Rayburn.

House Judiciary (9:30 a.m.): Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Subcommittee holds a markup of H.R.4789, the “Performance Rights Act,” to provide parity in radio performance rights under title 17, United States Code. 2237 Rayburn

House Judiciary (1 p.m.): Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on H.R.1889, the ”Private Prison Information Act of 2007,” to require prisons and other correctional facilities holding federal prisoners under a contract with the federal government to make the same information available to the public that federal prisons and correctional facilities are required to do by law. Witnesses TBA. 2237 Rayburn

House Natural Resources (10:30 a.m.): Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee holds a hearing on a H.R.6311, the “Non-Native Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act,” to prevent the introduction and establishment of nonnative wildlife species that negatively impact the economy, environment, or human or animal species' health. Witnesses TBA. 1334 Longworth

House Oversight and Government Reform (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on “Governance and Financial Accountability of Rural Electric Cooperatives: The Pedernales Experience.” 2154 Rayburn.

House Oversight and Government Reform (2 p.m.): Federal Workforce, Postal Service, and the District of Columbia Subcommittee holds a hearing on “An Examination of Locality Pay.” 2154 Rayburn.

House Science and Technology (10 a.m.): Energy and Environment Subcommittee and Research and Science Education Subcommittee hold a joint hearing on “The State of Hurricane Research and H.R.2407, the National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2007.” 2318 Rayburn.

House Science and Technology (1 p.m.): Investigation and Oversight Subcommittee markup to consider authorization of a subpoena for documents related to the Energy Department's FutureGen project. 2318 Rayburn

House Small Business (10 a.m.): Holds a hearing on ”How the Air Transportation Crisis is Hurting Entrepreneurs and the Economy,” focusing on how increases in airfares and flight delays are impacting travelers and small firms. 1539 Longworth.

House Transportation and Infrastructure (2 p.m.): Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee holds a hearing on ”Protecting and Restoring America's Great Waters - Part I: Coasts and Estuaries.”

House Veterans Affairs: Health Subcommittee holds a hearing on draft legislation. Witnesses TBA. 334 Cannon

House Veterans Affairs (1 p.m.): Economic Opportunity Subcommittee holds a markup of H.R.6225, the ”Injunctive Relief for Veterans Act of 2008”; H.R.6224, the ”Pilot College Work Study Programs for Veterans Act of 2008”; H.R.6221, the “Veteran-Owned Small Business Protection and Clarification Act of 2008”; H.R.6272, the “SMOCTA (S ervice Members Occupational Conversion and Training Act) Reauthorization Act of 2008; H.R.4255, the “United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Program Act of 2007”; H.R.6070, the “Military Spouses Residency Relief Act”; H.R.2910, the ”VETS Act of 2007”; H.R.3298, the “21st Century Servicemembers Protection Act”; and H.R.2721, the to amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop, and the Secretary of Defense to distribute to members of the Armed Forces upon their discharge or release from active duty, information in a compact disk read-only memory format that lists and explains the health, education, and other benefits for which veterans are eligible under the laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 334 Cannon

House Ways and Means (10 a.m.): Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee holds a hearing on Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) in our retirement system. 1100 Longworth.