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 D1327-D1328 on Dec. 2.
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 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Alanna McCargo, of Virginia, to be President, Government National Mortgage Association, and Elizabeth de Leon Bhargava, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary, both of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Arun Venkataraman, of the District of Columbia, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service.
LEGISLATION
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to examine S. 1229, to modify the procedures for issuing special recreation permits for certain public land units, S. 1269, to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to complete an interagency report on the effects of special recreation permits on environmental justice communities, S. 1616, to provide exceptions from permitting and fee requirements for content creation, regardless of distribution platform, including digital or analog video and digital or analog audio recording activities, conducted on land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, S. 1874, to promote innovative approaches to outdoor recreation on Federal land and to increase opportunities for collaboration with non-Federal partners, S. 2258, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Parks, Jobs, and Equity Program to support job creation, economic revitalization and park development for communities impacted by COVD-19, S. 2886, to amend title 54, United States Code, to authorize the donation and distribution of capes, horns, and antlers from wildlife management activities carried out on National Park System land, S. 2887, to codify the existing Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program of the National Park Service, S. 3264, to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to develop long-distance bike trails on Federal land, and S. 3266, to improve recreation opportunities on, and facilitate greater access to, Federal public land, after receiving testimony from Senator Lujan; Chris French, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture; Mark Lambrecht, Assistant Director, National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships, Bureau of Land Management, and Reginald Chapple, Acting Assistant Director for Partnerships and Civic Engagement, National Park Service, both of the Department of the Interior; Fred Ferguson, Vista Outdoor, Anoka, Minnesota; and Jessica Turner, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, Washington, D.C.
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the nominations of Loren L. AliKhan, and John P. Howard III, both to be an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and Adrienne Jennings Noti, to be an Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, after the nominees, who were introduced by Representative Holmes Norton, testified and answered questions in their own behalf.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Lisa M. Gomez, of New Jersey, to be an Assistant Secretary of Labor, James D. Rodriguez, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training, Maria Rosario Jackson, of the District of Columbia, to be Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts, Shelly C. Lowe, of Arizona, to be Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Susan Harthill, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
S. 2340, to improve the safety and security of the Federal judiciary, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute; and
The nominations of Mary Katherine Dimke, to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington, 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, Gabriel P. Sanchez, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, Samantha D. Elliott, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Hampshire, Linda Lopez, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California, Katherine Marie Menendez, to be United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota, Jinsook Ohta, to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California, David Herrera Urias, to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico, and Gregory K. Harris, to be United States Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, Philip R. Sellinger, to be United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Brandon B. Brown, of Louisiana, to be United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, and Ronald C. Gathe, Jr., of Louisiana, to be United States Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, all of the Department of Justice.
