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 D813-D814 on July 20, 2017.
The Department oversees more than 500 million acres of land. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the department has contributed to a growing water crisis and holds many lands which could be better managed.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Appropriations: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
An original bill (S. 1609) entitled, ``Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2018''; and
An original bill (S. 1603) entitled, ``Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018''.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Armed Services: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
The nominations of General Paul J. Selva, USAF, for reappointment to the grade of general and reappointment to be Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, David Joel Trachtenberg, of Virginia, to be a Principal Deputy Under Secretary, Owen West, of Connecticut, to be an Assistant Secretary, Ryan McCarthy, of Illinois, to be Under Secretary of the Army, and Charles Douglas Stimson, of Virginia, to be General Counsel of the Department of the Navy, all of the Department of Defense; and
3,878 nominations in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
HOUSING FINANCE REFORM
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine housing finance reform, focusing on maintaining access for small lenders, after receiving testimony from Brenda Hughes, First Federal Savings, Twin Falls, Idaho, on behalf of the American Bankers Association; Tim Mislansky, Wright-Patt Credit Union, Dayton, Ohio, on behalf of the Credit Union National Association; Jack E. Hopkins, CorTrust Bank, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on behalf of the Independent Community Bankers of America; Chuck Purvis, Coastal Federal Credit Union, Raleigh, North Carolina, on behalf of the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions; Wes Hunt, Community Mortgage Lenders of America, Gainesville, Georgia; and William Giambrone, Platinum Home Mortgage, Grayslake, Illinois, on behalf of the Community Home Lenders Association.
FIRSTNET
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet concluded a hearing to examine an update on FirstNet, after receiving testimony from Mark L. Goldstein, Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office; Curtis Brown, Virginia Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and Public Safety, Richmond; Michael Poth, First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), Reston, Virginia; Chris Sambar, AT&T Inc., Dallas, Texas; and Damon Allen Darsey, University of Mississippi Medical Center Center for Emergency Services, Jackson.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Brenda Burman, of Arizona, to be Commissioner of Reclamation, who was introduced by Senator Flake, and Susan Combs, of Texas, who was introduced by Senator Cornyn, and Douglas W. Domenech, of Virginia, who was introduced by Representative Radewagen, both to be an Assistant Secretary, all of the Department of the Interior, and Paul Dabbar, of New York, to be Under Secretary for Science, David S. Jonas, of Virginia, to be General Counsel, and Mark Wesley Menezes, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary, who was introduced by Senator Cassidy, all of the Department of Energy, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
AMERICA'S CRUMBLING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife concluded a hearing to examine innovative financing and funding, focusing on addressing America's crumbling water infrastructure, after receiving testimony from Andrew Kricun, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority, Camden, New Jersey, on behalf of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies; Josh Ellis, Metropolitan Planning Council, Chicago, Illinois; and Mike Frazee, Rogers, Arkansas.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Finance: Committee ordered favorably reported the nomination of David J. Kautter, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Kay Bailey Hutchison, of Texas, to be United States Permanent Representative on the Council of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with the rank and status of Ambassador, who was introduced by Senators Cornyn and Cruz, Kelly Knight Craft, of Kentucky, to be Ambassador to Canada, who was introduced by Senator McConnell, Robert Wood Johnson IV, of New York, to be Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who was introduced by Senator Corker, Lewis M. Eisenberg, of Florida, to be Ambassador to the Italian Republic, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Republic of San Marino, who was introduced by Senator Rubio, and Kathleen Troia McFarland, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore, who was introduced by former Senator Lieberman, all of the Department of State, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Christopher A. Wray, of Georgia, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Beth Ann Williams, of New Jersey, to be an Assistant Attorney General, John W. Huber, to be United States Attorney for the District of Utah, Justin E. Herdman, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, and John E. Town, to be United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, all of the Department of Justice, and Trevor N. McFadden, of Virginia, to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Thomas G. Bowman, of Florida, to be Deputy Secretary, Brooks D. Tucker, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary
(Congressional and Legislative Affairs), and James Byrne, of Virginia, to be General Counsel, all of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and Michael P. Allen, of Florida, Amanda L. Meredith, of Virginia, and Joseph L. Toth, of Wisconsin, each to be a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee held closed hearings on intelligence matters, receiving testimony from officials of the intelligence community.
Committee recessed subject to the call.
