Congress to Address Numerous Issues in Committee Hearings This Week

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Both the House and Senate are in session this week, with each expected to debate and consider high-profile legislation. The House is set to vote on the fiscal year (FY) 2008 Defense Department authorization, while the Senate will spend considerable time debating possible changes to U.S. immigration policy. In addition to legislation, both the House and Senate are again planning to hold a number of important committee hearings. These include one by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on a bill which would grant the District of Columbia a voting member of the House, as well as a House Science and Technology Committee hearing on the current state of global warming. Here, courtesy of GovTrack, is a quick rundown of all of this week’s House and Senate hearings:

May 15, 2007

House

• House Agriculture
  Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, hearing to review industry response to the safety of fresh and fresh-cut produce -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• House Science and Technology
  Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, hearing on Federal STEM Education Programs: Educator's Perspectives -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• House Ways and Means
  Subcommittee on Income Security, hearing on challenges Facing the Child Welfare System -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.

  Senate

• Senate Armed Services
  Business meeting to consider pending military nomination. [SR-222] -- May 15, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources
  To hold hearings to examine the short-term energy outlook for summer 2007, focusing on oil and gasoline. [SD-366] -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources -- National Parks
  To hold hearings to examine S.553, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Eightmile River in the State of Connecticut as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, S.800, to establish the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area in the State of New York, S.916, to modify the boundary of the Minidoka Internment National Monument, to establish the Minidoka National Historic Site, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land and improvements of the Gooding Division of the Minidoka Project, Idaho, S.1057, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the New River in the States of North Carolina and Virginia as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, S.1209, to provide for the continued administration of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, in accordance with the laws (including regulations) and policies of the National Park Service, S.1281, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain rivers and streams of the headwaters of the Snake River System as additions to the National Wild and Scenic River System, H.R.161, to adjust the boundary of the Minidoka Internment National Monument to include the Nidoto Nai Yoni Memorial in Bainbridge Island, Washington, H.R.247, to designate a Forest Service trail at Waldo Lake in the Willamette National Forest in the State of Oregon as a national recreation trail in honor of Jim Weaver, a former Member of the House of Representatives, and H.R.376, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of including the battlefields and related sites of the First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the Civil War as part of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a separate unit of the National Park System. [SD-366] -- May 15, 2007 at 2:30 p.m.
  S. 553: A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the Eightmile River in the State of Connecticut as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes
  S. 800: A bill to establish the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area in the State of New York, and for other purposes
  S. 916: A bill to modify the boundary of the Minidoka Internment National Monument, to establish the Minidoka National Historic Site, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land and improvements of the Gooding Division of the Minidoka Project, Idaho, and for other purposes
  S. 1057: A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain segments of the New River in the States of North Carolina and Virginia as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
  S. 1209: A bill to provide for the continued administration of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, in accordance with the laws (including regulations) and policies of the National Park Service, and for other purposes
  S. 1281: A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain rivers and streams of the headwaters of the Snake River System as additions to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
  H.R. 161: Bainbridge Island Japanese American Monument Act of 2007
  H.R. 247: To designate a Forest Service trail at Waldo Lake in the Willamette National Forest in the State of Oregon as a national recreation trail in honor of Jim Weaver, a former Member of the House of Representatives
  H.R. 376: To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of including the battlefields and related sites of the First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the Civil War as part of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a separate unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.
• Senate Environment and Public Works
  To hold hearings to examine green buildings, focusing on benefits to health, the environment, and the bottom line. [SD-406] -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions -- Retirement and Aging
  To hold hearings to examine Alzheimer's disease, focusing on current and future breakthrough research. [SD-628] -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
  To hold hearings to examine equal representation in Congress, focusing on providing voting rights to the District of Columbia. [SD-342] -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Intelligence (Select)
  To hold hearings to examine the nomination of John A. Rizzo, of the District of Columbia, to be General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency. [SD-106] -- May 15, 2007 at 2:30 p.m.
• Senate Judiciary
  To hold hearings to examine the Department of Justice politicizing the hiring and firing of United States Attorneys, focusing on preserving prosecutorial independence. [SD-226] -- May 15, 2007 at 10 a.m.

  May 16, 2007

  House

• House Education and Labor
  Full Committee, hearing on Evaluating the Effectiveness of MSHA's Mine Safety and Health Programs -- May 16, 2007 at 10:30 a.m.
• House Foreign Affairs
  Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, briefing on Africa's Water Crisis and the 2006 UNDP Human Development Report -- May 16, 2007 at 2:30 p.m.
• House Foreign Affairs
  Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, hearing on Africa's Water Crisis and the U.S. Response -- May 16, 2007 at 3 p.m.
• House Judiciary
  Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security and International Law, hearing on Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Becoming Americans-U.S. Immigration Integration -- May 16, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
• House Oversight and Government Reform
  Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization and Procurement, hearing on Federal Government Energy bill -- May 16, 2007 at 2 p.m.
• House Science and Technology
  Full Committee, 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 III: Mitigation of Climate Change -- May 16, 2007 at 10 a.m.

  Senate

• Senate Aging
  To hold hearings to examine Medicare Advantage marketing and sales, focusing on who has the advantage. [SD-106] -- May 16, 2007 at 10:30 a.m.
• Senate Appropriations -- Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
  To hold hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2008 for the National Institutes of Health: A New Vision for Medical Research. [SD-116] -- May 16, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
• Senate Appropriations -- Defense
  To hold hearings to receive testimony from sundry public witnesses. [SD-192] -- May 16, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Appropriations -- Financial Services and General Government
  To hold hearings to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2008 for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. [SD-192] -- May 16, 2007 at 3 p.m.
• Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
  Business meeting to consider “Foregin Investment an original bill to make technical corrections to Title III of SAFETEA-LU; H.R.1675, to suspend the requirements of the Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding electronic filing of previous participation certificates and regarding filing of such certificates with respect to certain low-income housing investors, H.R.1676, to reauthorize the program of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for loan guarantees for Indian housing, S.254, to award posthumously a Congressional gold medal to Constantino Brumidi, and the nominations of David George Nason, of Rhode Island, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Mario Mancuso, of New York, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration, Michael W. Tankersley, of Texas, to be Inspector General, Export-Import Bank, Robert M. Couch, of Alabama, to be General Counsel of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Janis Herschkowitz, of Pennsylvania, and Nguyen Van Hanh, of California, each to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Consumer Cooperative Bank. [SD-538] -- May 16, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
  H.R. 1675: Preservation Approval Process Improvement Act of 2007
  H.R. 1676: Native American Home Ownership Opportunity Act of 2007
  S. 254: A bill to award posthumously a Congressional gold medal to Constantino Brumidi
• Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  Business meeting to consider pending calendar business. [SR-253] -- May 16, 2007 at 2:30 p.m.
• Senate Environment and Public Works -- Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
  To hold hearings to examine the state of mercury regulation, science, and technology. [SD-406] -- May 16, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Finance
  To hold hearings to examine the efficacy of United States preference programs. [SD-215] -- May 16, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Joint Economic Committee
  To hold hearings to examine the explosive costs of elder care and determine if they are hurting family finances and business competition. [SH-216] -- May 16, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
• Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
  Business meeting to markup S.1256, to amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize loan programs under that Act. [SR-428A] -- May 16, 2007 at 2 p.m.
  S. 1256: A bill to amend the Small Business Act to reauthorize loan programs under that Act, and for other purposes
• Senate Veterans' Affairs
  To hold hearings to examine the nomination of Michael K. Kussman, of Massachusetts, to be Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs. [SD-562] -- May 16, 2007 at 10 a.m.

  May 17, 2007

  House

• House Education and Labor
  Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness, hearing on Preparing Teachers for the Classroom: The Role of the Higher Education Act and No Child Left Behind -- May 17, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• House Energy and Commerce
  Subcommittee on Telecommunication and the Internet, hearing on a proposed measure addressing Broadband Mapping and Data Collection -- May 17, 2007 at 2 p.m.
• House Foreign Affairs
  Full Committee, hearing on Russia: Rebuilding the Iron Curtain -- May 17, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• House Foreign Affairs
  Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight, hearing on Declining Approval for American Foreign Policy in Muslim Countries: Does It Make It More Difficult To Fight al Qaeda -- May 17, 2007 at 2 p.m.
• House Judiciary
  Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, hearing on the following bills: H.R. 1943, Stop AIDS in Prison Act of 2007; and H.R. 1199, Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007 -- May 17, 2007 at 1 p.m.
  H.R. 1943: To provide for an effective HIV/AIDS program in Federal prisons
  H.R. 1199: To extend the grant program for drug-endangered children
• House Judiciary
  Subcommittee Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, hearing on Comprehensives Immigration Reform: Impact of Immigration on States and Localities -- May 17, 2007 at 3 p.m.
• House Natural Resources
  Subcommittee on Water and Power, hearing on the following bills: H.R. 716, Santa Rosa Urban Water Reuse Plan Act; H.R. 236, North Bay Water Reuse Program Act of 2007; H.R. 1503, Avra/Black Wash Reclamation and Riparian Restoration Project; and H.R. 1725, Rancho California Water District Recycled Water Reclamation Facility Act of 2007 -- May 17, 2007 at 10 a.m.
  H.R. 716: To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Santa Rosa Urban Water Reuse Plan
  H.R. 236: To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to create a Bureau of Reclamation partnership with the North Bay Water Reuse Authority and other regional partners to achieve objectives relating to water supply, water quality, and environmental restoration
  H.R. 1503: To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Avra/Black Wash Reclamation and Riparian Restoration Project
  H.R. 1725: To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Rancho California Water District Southern Riverside County Recycled/Non-Potable Distribution Facilities and Demineralization/Desalination Recycled Water Treatment and Reclamation Facility Project
• House Science and Technology
  Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, hearing on Developing Untapped Potential: Geothermal and Ocean Power Technologies -- May 17, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• House Science and Technology
  Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, hearing on Building and Maintaining a Healthy and Strong NASA Workforce -- May 17, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• House Veterans' Affairs
  Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, hearing on Veterans Entrepreneurship and Self Employment -- May 17, 2007 at 2 p.m.

  Senate

• Senate Armed Services
  To hold hearings to examine the United States European Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2008 and the Future Years Defense Program. [SH-216] -- May 17, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
• Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs -- Securities, Insurance and Investment
  To hold hearings to examine consolidation of National Association of Securities Dealers and the regulatory functions of the New York Stock Exchange, focusing on working towards improved regulation. [SD-538] -- May 17, 2007 at 2:30 p.m.
• Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
  To hold hearings to examine violence in the media. [SR-253] -- May 17, 2007 at 10 a.m.
• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs -- Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
  To hold hearings to examine the federal government's security clearance process, focusing on evaluating progress and identifying obstacles to improvement. [SD-342] -- May 17, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
• Senate Indian Affairs
  To hold an oversight hearing to examine law enforcement in Indian Country. [SR-485] -- May 17, 2007 at 9:30 a.m.
• Senate Intelligence (Select)
  Closed business meeting to markup an original bill authorizing funds for fiscal year 2008 for the intelligence community. [SH-219] -- May 17, 2007 at 2:30 p.m.
• Senate Judiciary
  Business meeting to consider S.1027, to prevent tobacco smuggling, to ensure the collection of all tobacco taxes, S.221, to amend title 9, United States Code, to provide for greater fairness in the arbitration process relating to livestock and poultry contracts, S.376, to amend title 18, United States Code, to improve the provisions relating to the carrying of concealed weapons by law enforcement officers, S.1079, to establish the Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, S.Res.138, honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez, S.Res.132, recognizing the Civil Air Patrol for 65 years of service to the United States, and S.Res.130, designating July 28, 2007, as “National Day of the American Cowboy”, and possible authorization of subpoenas in the connection with investigation into the replacement of U.S. attorneys. [SD-226] -- May 17, 2007 at 10 a.m.
  S. 1027: A bill to prevent tobacco smuggling, to ensure the collection of all tobacco taxes, and for other purposes
  S. 221: A bill to amend title 9, United States Code, to provide for greater fairness in the arbitration process relating to livestock and poultry contracts
  S. 376: A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to improve the provisions relating to the carrying of concealed weapons by law enforcement officers, and for other purposes
  S. 1079: A bill to establish the Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, and for other purposes
  S. Res. 138: A resolution honoring the accomplishments and legacy of Cesar Estrada Chavez
  S. Res. 132: A resolution recognizing the Civil Air Patrol for 65 years of service to the United States
  S. Res. 130: A resolution designating July 28, 2007, as "National Day of the American Cowboy"

  May 18, 2007

  House

• House Judiciary
  Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law, hearing on Comprehensive Immigration Reform: The Future of D669Undocumented Immigrant Students -- May 18, 2007 at 9 a.m.
• House Transportation and Infrastructure
  Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, hearing on Assuring the National Guard Is as Ready at Home as It Is Abroad -- May 18, 2007 at 10 a.m.

  Senate

• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs -- Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
  To hold hearings to examine growth trends in health care premiums for active and retired federal employees. [SD-342] -- May 18, 2007 at 10:30 a.m.