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 D1072-D1074 on Oct. 7, 1997.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded hearings on the nomination of Sally Thompson, of Kansas, to be Chief Financial Officer, Department of Agriculture, and Joseph B. Dial, of Texas, to be a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Ms. Thompson was introduced by Senator Roberts, and Mr. Dial was introduced by Senator Gramm.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded hearings on the nominations of Terry D. Garcia, of California, to be Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, and Raymond G. Kammer, of Maryland, to be Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, both of the Department of Commerce, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf. Mr. Garcia was introduced by Senator Boxer and Mr. Kammer was introduced by Representative Morella.
WATER AND POWER DEVELOPMENT
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Subcommittee on Water and Power concluded hearings on the following bills:
H.R. 848, to extend the deadline under the Federal Power Act applicable to the construction of the AuSable Hydroelectric Project in New York, H.R. 1184, to extend the deadline under the Federal Power Act for the construction of the Bear Creek hydroelectric project in the State of Washington, and H.R. 1217, to extend the deadline under the Federal Power Act for the construction of a hydroelectric project located in the State of Washington, after receiving testimony from Kristina Nygaard, Assistant General Council, Hydroelectric Licensing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission;
S. 725, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Collbran Reclamation Project to the Ute Water Conservancy District and the Collbran Conservancy District in Colorado, after receiving testimony from Kristina Nygaard (listed above); Larry Clever, on behalf of the Ute Water Conservancy District and the Collbran Conservancy District, and Kathryn Hall, both of Grand Junction, Colorado; Rex Weimer, Collbran, Colorado; and Bruce C. Driver, Boulder, Colorado;
S. 1230, to provide for Federal cooperation in non-Federal reclamation projects and for participation by non-Federal agencies in Federal projects, after receiving testimony from Larry Libeu, San Jacinto, California, on behalf of the National Water Resources Association, the Eastern Municipal Water District, and the Western Coalition of Arid States;
S. 841, to authorize construction of the Fort Peck Reservation Rural Water System in the State of Montana, after receiving testimony from Caleb Shields, Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, Poplar, Montana; and
S. 777, to authorize the construction of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System and to authorize assistance to the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, for planning and construction of the water supply system, after receiving testimony from Senator Harkin; Representative Thune; Mayor William Weber, Luverne, Minnesota; Mayor Herman Otten, Tea, South Dakota; Randy Van Dyke, Clay County Rural Water System, Spencer, Iowa; and Pamela A. Bonrud, Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Testimony was also received on S. 725, S. 777, S. 841 and S. 1230
(all listed above), from Eluid Martinez, Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior.
SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE REFORM
Committee on Finance: Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy and Subcommittee on Health Care concluded joint hearings with the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs' Subcommittee on Securities to examine investment based alternatives to the current pay-
as-you-go method of financing Social Security and Medicare, receiving testimony from Thomas R. Saving, Private Enterprise Research Center/
Texas A&M University, College Station; and Martin Feldstein, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, on behalf of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Hearings were recessed subject to call.
NATO ENLARGEMENT
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings to examine the strategic rationale for the admission of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to NATO, after receiving testimony from Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State.
TAX TREATIES
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded hearings on the Taxation Convention with Austria (Treaty Doc. 104-31), Tax Convention with Ireland (Treaty Doc. 105-31), Taxation Convention with Luxembourg
(Treaty Doc. 104-33), Tax Convention with South Africa (Treaty Doc. 105-9), Tax Convention with Swiss Confederation (Treaty Doc. 105-8), Taxation Convention with Thailand (Treaty Doc. 105-2), Taxation Agreement with Turkey (Treaty Doc. 104-30), and the Protocol Amending Tax Convention with Canada (Treaty Doc. 105-29), after receiving testimony from Kenneth J. Kies, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation; Joseph H. Guttentag, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Tax; and Robert N. Mattson, IBM, White Plains, New York, on behalf of the National Foreign Trade Council and the U.S. Council for International Business.
CAMPAIGN FINANCING INVESTIGATION
Committee on Governmental Affairs: Committee resumed hearings to examine certain matters with regard to the committee's special investigation on campaign financing, receiving testimony from Harold M. Ickes, former Deputy Chief of Staff to the President.
Hearings continue tomorrow.
PROPERTY RIGHTS PROTECTION
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee held hearings on proposals to establish a uniform and more efficient Federal process for protecting property owners' rights guaranteed by the fifth amendment, including related measures S. 781, S. 1204, and provisions of H.R. 1534 and H.R. 992, receiving testimony from Mayor Hal Daub, Omaha, Nebraska; Mayor Larry Curtis, Ames, Iowa; Jeff Garvin, Garvin & Tripp, Fort Myers, Florida; Nancie G. Marzulla, Defenders of Property Rights, Washington, D.C.; John J. Delaney, Linowes and Blocher, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Hearings were recessed subject to call.
NOMINATION
Committee on Labor and Human Resources: Committee concluded hearings on the nomination of Charles N. Jeffress, of North Carolina, to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, after the nominee, who was introduced by Senator Faircloth and Representative Ballenger, testified and answered questions in his own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the following bills:
S. 987, to authorize a cost-of-living adjustment in the rates of disability compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of such veterans and to revise and improve certain veterans compensation, pension, and memorial affairs programs, with amendments;
S. 714, to make permanent the Native American Veteran Housing Loan Pilot Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with amendments;
S. 986, to make certain improvements in the housing loan programs for veterans and eligible persons, with amendments;
An original bill to establish a VA medicare reimbursement demonstration project. (As approved by the committee, the bill incorporates Title III of S. 986, listed above.);
S. 309, to prohibit the establishment or collection of parking fees by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs at any parking facility connected with a Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility operated under a health-care resources sharing agreement with the Department of Defense;
S. 464, to allow revision of veterans benefits decisions based on clear and unmistakable error;
S. 623, to deem certain service in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and Philippine Scouts to have been active service for purposes of benefits under programs administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, with amendments;
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 amendments;
S. 801, to provide for improved and expedited procedures for resolving complaints of unlawful employment discrimination arising within the Department of Veterans Affairs, with amendments; and
S. 999, to specify the frequency of screening mammograms provided to women veterans by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
