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 Department of Interior was published in the Daily Digest section on pages D501-D503 on May 6, 2015.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
GLOBAL HEALTH PROBLEMS
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs concluded a hearing to examine global health problems, after receiving testimony from Deborah L. Birx, Ambassador-
at-Large, Coordinator, Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS, and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy, Department of State; Mark Dybul, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Geneva, Switzerland; Elton John, Elton John AIDS Foundation, New York, New York; and Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California.
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Department of Defense concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2016 for the Department of Defense, after receiving testimony from Ashton B. Carter, Secretary, and General Martin E. Dempsey, USA, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, both of the Department of Defense.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Daniel R. Elliott III, of Ohio, to be a Member of the Surface Transportation Board, and Mario Cordero, of California, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE BUDGET
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2015 for the Fish and Wildlife Service, and S. 1036, to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to provide certain Western States assistance in the development of statewide conservation and management plans or the protection and recovery of sage-grouse species, S. 855, to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to permit Governors of States to regulate intrastate endangered species and intrastate threatened species, S. 736, to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require disclosure to States of the basis of determinations under such Act, to ensure use of information provided by State, tribal, and county governments in decision making under such Act, S. 655, to prohibit the use of funds by the Secretary of the Interior to make a final determination on the listing of the northern long-eared bat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, S. 468, to provide a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to allow the Director of the Bureau of Land Management and the Chief of the Forest Service to remove Pinyon-Juniper trees to conserve and restore the habitat of the greater sage-grouse and the mule deer, S. 293, to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to establish a procedure for approval of certain settlements, S. 292, to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require publication on the Internet of the basis for determinations that species are endangered species or threatened species, S. 112, to amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of the Interior to publish and make available for public comment a draft economic analysis at the time a proposed rule to designate critical habitat is published, and S. 1081, to end the use of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System, after receiving testimony from Dan Ashe, Director, Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior; Gordon Cruickshank, Valley County Board of Commissioners Chairman, Valley County, Idaho, on behalf of the National Association of Counties; David Bernhardt, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Arlington, Virginia; and Donald Barry, Defenders of Wildlife, Washington, D.C.
MULTILATERAL AND BILATERAL INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND POLICIES OVERSIGHT
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy, and Environmental Policy concluded an oversight hearing to examine multilateral and bilateral international development programs and policies, after receiving testimony from Bathsheba N. Crocker, Assistant Secretary for International Organization Affairs, Isobel Coleman, Ambassador for UN Management and Reform, Judith G. Garber, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and Kurt Tong, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, all of the Department of State; and Brett D. Schaefer, The Heritage Foundation, and Reid Detchon, United Nations Foundation, both of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
S. 280, to improve the efficiency, management, and interagency coordination of the Federal permitting process through reforms overseen by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 1180, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to modernize the integrated public alert and warning system of the United States, with an amendment;
S. 750, to achieve border security on certain Federal lands along the Southern border, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 282, to provide taxpayers with an annual report disclosing the cost and performance of Government programs and areas of duplication among them, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 1109, to require adequate information regarding the tax treatment of payments under settlement agreements entered into by Federal agencies;
S. 1172, to improve the process of presidential transition, with amendments;
S. 434, to strengthen the accountability of individuals involved in misconduct affecting the integrity of background investigations, to update guidelines for security clearances, to prevent conflicts of interest relating to contractors providing background investigation fieldwork services and investigative support services;
H.R. 623, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the Department of Homeland Security to establish a social media working group, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 179, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14 3rd Avenue, NW, in Chisholm, Minnesota, as the ``James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office Building'';
S. 994, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1 Walter Hammond Place in Waldwick, New Jersey, as the
``Staff Sergeant Joseph D'Augustine Post Office Building'';
H.R. 651, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 820 Elmwood Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island, as the ``Sister Ann Keefe Post Office''; and
The nominations of David Michael Bennett, of North Carolina, Mickey D. Barnett, of New Mexico, Stephen Crawford, of Maryland, and James C. Miller, III, of Virginia, each to be a Governor of the United States Postal Service.
REAUTHORIZING THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a hearing to examine reauthorizing the Higher Education Act, focusing on the role of consumer information in college choice, after receiving testimony from Mark Schneider, American Institutes for Research, Deborah A. Santiago, Excelencia in Education, both of Washington, D.C.; Stacy Lightfoot, Public Education Foundation, Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Taleah Mitchell, Seattle, Washington.
ENSURING AN INFORMED CITIZENRY
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine ensuring an informed citizenry, focusing on examining the Administration's efforts to improve open government, after receiving testimony from Melanie Ann Pustay, Director, Office of Information Policy, Department of Justice; Nikki Gramian, Acting Director, Office of Government Information Services, National Archives and Records Administration; Joyce Barr, Assistant Secretary of State for Administration; Karen Kaiser, The Associated Press, New York, New York, on behalf of The Sunshine in Government Initiative; and Thomas Blanton, George Washington University National Security Archive, Washington, D.C.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Dale A. Drozd, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California, who was introduced by Senator Boxer, Lawrence Joseph Vilardo, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of New York, who was introduced by Senator Schumer, and LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall, who was introduced by Senator Gillibrand, and Ann Donnelly, who was introduced by Senator Schumer, both to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
IMPACT OF FEDERAL LABOR AND SAFETY LAWS ON THE U.S. SEAFOOD INDUSTRY
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the impact of federal labor and safety laws on the United States seafood industry, including S. 190, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure the safety of imported seafood, after receiving testimony from Steven M. Solomon, Deputy Associate Commissioner, Regulatory Affairs, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services; Portia Wu, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training; Mike Strain, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner, Baton Rouge; John Connelly, National Fisheries Institute, Washington, D.C.; and Frank B. Randol, Randol, Inc, Lafayette, Louisiana.
AGING IN PLACE
Special Committee on Aging: Committee concluded a hearing to examine aging in place, focusing on advances in technology that help seniors live independently, after receiving testimony from Maureen McCarthy, Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer, Veterans Health Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs; Laurie M. Orlov, Aging in Place Technology Watch, Port St. Lucie, Florida; Carol Kim, University of Maine, Orono; Marjorie Skubic, University of Missouri, Columbia; and Charles S. Strickler, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia.
