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 in the Daily Digest section section on pages D1157-D1159 on Oct. 20.
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)
PRIVATE EQUITY ABUSE
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Subcommittee on Economic Policy concluded a hearing to examine protecting companies and communities from private equity abuse, after receiving testimony from Michael Frerichs, Illinois State Treasurer, Springfield; Shirley Smith, United for Respect, Eastpointe, Michigan; Peggy Malone, Crozer-Chester Nurses Association, Upland, Pennsylvania; and Eileen Appelbaum, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum, and David R. Burton, The Heritage Foundation, all of Washington, D.C.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Victoria Marie Baecher Wassmer, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief Financial Officer, Mohsin Raza Syed, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary, Amitabha Bose, of New Jersey, to be Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, and Meera Joshi, of Pennsylvania, to be Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, all of the Department of Transportation, Rear Admiral Nancy A. Hann, of Maryland, to be Director, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Corps and Director, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, Department of Commerce, and routine lists in the Coast Guard.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Max Vekich, of Washington, to be a Federal Maritime Commissioner, Christopher A. Coes, of Georgia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Transportation, and Laurie E. Locascio, of Maryland, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology, who was introduced by Senator Cardin, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
PFAS CHEMICALS
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a hearing to examine evaluating the Federal response to the persistence and impacts of PFAS chemicals on our environment, after receiving testimony from Radhika Fox, Assistant Administrator for Water, Environmental Protection Agency.
HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine health insurance coverage in America, focusing on the current and future role of Federal programs, after receiving testimony from Senators Warnock and Scott (FL); Linda J. Blumberg, Urban Institute, Douglas Holtz-
Eakin, American Action Forum, and Frederick Isasi, Families USA, all of Washington, D.C.; and Sara R. Collins, The Commonwealth Fund, New York, New York.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of R. Nicholas Burns, of Massachusetts, to be Ambassador to the People's Republic of China, who was introduced by Senator Markey, Rahm Emanuel, of Illinois, to be Ambassador to Japan, who was introduced by Senators Durbin and Hagerty, and Jonathan Eric Kaplan, of California, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore, who was introduced by Senator Hickenlooper, all of the Department of State, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Patricia Mahoney, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Central African Republic, Peter Hendrick Vrooman, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Mozambique, Peter D. Haas, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Julie Chung, of California, to be Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Brian Wesley Shukan, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Benin, Elizabeth Anne Noseworthy Fitzsimmons, of Delaware, to be Ambassador to the Togolese Republic, and David R. Gilmour, of the District of Columbia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, all of the Department of State, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Ernest W. DuBester, of Virginia, and Susan Tsui Grundmann, of Virginia, both to be Member, and Kurt Thomas Rumsfeld, of Maryland, to be General Counsel, all of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
DEVELOPMENT IN NATIVE COMMUNITIES
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine investing in economic sovereignty, focusing on leveraging Federal financing for new and sustained development in Native communities, after receiving testimony from Clint Hastings, Associate Program Manager for Native Initiatives, Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, and Fatima Abbas, Senior Advisor, Office of Recovery Programs, both of the Department of the Treasury; K. Denise Edwards, Acting Director, Office of Indian Economic Development and Chief of the Division of Economic Development, Department of the Interior; Casey Lozar, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Arlan Melendez, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Reno, Nevada; Kuhio Lewis, Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, Kapolei, Hawaii; Richard Frias, Native American Financial Officers Association, and Pete Upton, Native CDFI Network, both of Washington, D.C.; and Carl Marrs, Old Harbor Native Corporation, Old Harbor, Alaska.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Holly A. Thomas, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California, Jennifer L. Thurston, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of California, and Hernan D. Vera, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California, who were all introduced by Senator Padilla, Mary Katherine Dimke, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington, who was introduced by Senator Murray, and Charlotte N. Sweeney, to be United States District Judge for the District of Colorado, who was introduced by Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper, after the nominees testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
RESTORING THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on the Constitution concluded a hearing to examine restoring the Voting Rights Act, focusing on protecting the Native American and Alaska Native vote, after receiving testimony from Edward Buchanan, Wyoming Secretary Of State, Cheyenne; Jonathan M. Nez, President of the Navajo Nation, Window Rock, Arizona; Jacqueline De Leon, Native American Rights Fund, Boulder, Colorado; Nicole Borromeo, Alaska Federation of Natives, Anchorage; and Sara Frankenstein, Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson and Ashmore, LLP, Rapid City, South Dakota.
LOC MODERNIZATION OVERSIGHT
Committee on Rules and Administration: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to examine Library of Congress modernization efforts, after receiving testimony from Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and Director, Copyright Office, Mary B. Mazanec, Director, Congressional Research Service, and Jason Broughton, Director, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, all of the Library of Congress.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee order favorably reported the nominations of Guy T. Kiyokawa, of Hawaii, to be an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Enterprise Integration), and James D. Rodriguez, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training.
VETERANS' AFFAIRS LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine S. 1342, to establish an interagency committee on the development of green alert systems that would be activated when a veteran goes missing, S. 1779, to amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate copayments by the Department of Veterans Affairs for medicines relating to preventive health services, S. 1937, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a pilot program to furnish doula services to veterans, S. 1944, to improve Vet Centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 2283, to improve the Veterans Crisis Line of the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 2386, to amend the VA MISSION Act of 2018, to expand the peer specialist support program of the Department of Veterans Affairs to all medical centers of the Department, S. 2526, to authorize the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into agreements for the planning, design, and construction of facilities to be operated as shared medical facilities, S. 2533, to improve mammography services furnished by the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 2624, to authorize major medical facility projects for the Department of Veterans Affairs for fiscal year 2022, S. 2720, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a national clinical pathway for prostate cancer, S. 2787, to amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify the role of doctors of podiatric medicine in the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 2852, to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into contracts and agreements for the payment of care in non-Department of Veterans Affairs medical foster homes for certain veterans who are unable to live independently, S. 2924, to amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to transmit certain information to personnel of Vet Centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding members of the Armed Forces transitioning from service in the Armed Forces to civilian life, an original bill entitled, ``Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act'', an original bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish new requirements for State homes for veterans that receive per diem from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, an original bill entitled,
``Veterans Dental Care Eligibility Expansion and Enhancement Act'', an original bill entitled, ``Veterans State Eligibility Standardization Act'', and an original bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to reorganize the Chaplain Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs, after receiving testimony from Elizabeth Brill, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services and Deputy Chief Medical Officer, and David Carroll, Executive Director, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, both of the Veterans Health Administration, and Lawrencia Pierce, Assistant Director, Office of Outreach, Transition, and Economic Development, Veterans Benefits Administration, all of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and Marquis D. Barefield, Disabled American Veterans, and Tom Porter, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, both of Washington, D.C.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of the intelligence community.
