The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Senate Committee Meetings” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Daily Digest section on pages D848-D850 on July 28, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Carolyn H. Becraft, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Ruby Butler DeMesme, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Patrick T. Henry, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Army, and 5,101 military nominations in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force.
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded hearings on the nominations of Ritajean Hartung Butterworth, of Washington, and Diane D. Blair, of Arkansas, each to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Kelley S. Coyner, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration, Department of Transportation, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Ms. Butterworth was introduced by Senators Gorton and Hutchinson, Ms. Blair was introduced by Senator Bumpers, and Ms. Coyner was introduced by Senator Robb.
CABLE RATES
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee held hearings to examine the regulation of cable television rates, focusing on the impact of the proposed March 31, 1999 expiration of the Federal Communication Commission's authority to regulate the rates charged for cable programming services as directed by the 1996 Telecommunications Act, and the status of federal and congressional efforts to create viable competition to cable television, receiving testimony from Senator Feingold; Representatives DeFazio and Tauzin; Charles Ergen, Echostar Communications Corporation, and Gene Kimmelman, Consumers Union, both of Washington, D.C.; Leo J. Hindery, Jr., Tele-
Communications, Inc., Englewood, Colorado; and James O. Robbins, Cox Communications, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia.
Hearings were recessed subject to call.
ALASKA REGION OPERATING COSTS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee held hearings to examine the Government Accounting Office report on the increase in the costs for fiscal years 1993 through 1998 to operate the Forest Service Alaska region, receiving testimony from James K. Meissner, Associate Director, Energy, Resources, and Science Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, General Accounting Office; and Roger C. Viadero, Inspector General, and Thomas J. Mills, Director, Pacific Northwest Research Station, and James A. Caplan, Acting Regional Forester, Alaska Region, both of the Forest Service, all of the Department of Agriculture.
Hearings were recessed subject to call.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported S. 442, to establish a national policy against State and local government interference with interstate commerce on the Internet or interactive computer services, and to exercise Congressional jurisdiction over interstate commerce by establishing a moratorium on the imposition of exactions that would interfere with the free flow of commerce via the Internet, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (As approved by the committee, the amendment provides for a two-year moratorium on the imposition of state and local taxes on the Internet.)
SUBSTANCE ABUSE
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee concluded hearings on S. 1147 and provisions of H.R. 2409, measures to provide for nondiscriminatory coverage for substance abuse treatment services under private group and individual health coverage, focusing on scientific evidence with regard to substance abuse and addiction and the effectiveness of certain prevention and treatment strategies, after receiving testimony from Senator Wellstone; Representative Ramstad; Alan I. Leshner, Director, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Department of Health and Human Services; David C. Lewis, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, on behalf of the Physician Leadership on National Drug Policy; Robert M. Morse, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Ted Suhl, The Lord's Ranch, Warm Springs, Arkansas; Richard G. Frank, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Willis D. Gradison, Jr., Health Insurance Association of America, Washington, D.C.; John Saylor, AMR Corporation, Fort Worth, Texas; and June Gertig, Herndon, Virginia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
S. 2273, to provide a cost-of-living allowance adjustment in compensation, dependency and indemnity compensation, and other VA benefits, effective December 31, 1998;
S. 1021, to strengthen current laws relating to veterans' preference in Federal employment, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 2358, to provide a scientific basis for VA to assess the association between illness and exposure to toxic agents and environmental or other wartime hazards during the Persian Gulf War, to extend VA authority to provide medical care services to Persian Gulf War veterans, to extend and modify VA authority to evaluate the health status of spouses and children of Gulf War veterans, and to require an assessment of the feasibility of establishing an independent entity to evaluate veterans' post-conflict illnesses;
S. 1385, to expand the list of diseases presumed to be service connected with respect to radiation-exposed veterans, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and
S. 1822, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize provision of care to veterans treated with nasopharyngeal radium irradiation, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (As approved by the committee, the amendment incorporates provisions of S. 1822, S. 2115, 2181 S.)
Also, committee reconsidered their action of October 7, 1997, and again ordered favorably reported S. 730, to make retroactive the entitlement of certain Medal of Honor recipients to the special pension provided for persons entered and recorded on the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard Medal of Honor Roll, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. (As approved by the committee, the amendment incorporates provisions of S. 730, S. 1743, S. 1745, and S. 2108.)
CALIFORNIA NURSING HOMES
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded hearings to examine the quality of care in California nursing homes, focusing on certain allegations of abuse and neglect and the adequacy of the Health Care Financing Administration's enforcement of federal care requirements for nursing homes, after receiving testimony from William J. Scanlon, Director, Health Financing and Systems Issues, Health, Education, and Human Services Division, General Accounting Office; Michael Hash, Deputy Administrator, Health Care Financing Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; Charlene Harrington, University of California, San Francisco; Andrew M. Kramer, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Boulder; Dennis Stone, American Medical Directors Association, Columbia, Maryland, on behalf of the California Association of Health Facilities; and Paul R. Willging, American Health Care Association, and Sheldon L. Goldberg, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, both of Washington, D.C.
