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 D274-D275 on March 16.
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)
EXPOSURE TO AIRBORNE HAZARDS
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Personnel concluded a hearing to examine the health effects of exposure to airborne hazards, including toxic fumes from burn pits, after receiving testimony from Terry M. Rauch, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Readiness Policy and Oversight, Raul Mirza, Division Chief of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Clinical Public Health and Epidemiology, Army Public Health Center, Colonel Adam J. Newell, USAF, Chief of Medical Readiness, Air Force Medical Readiness Agency, and Captain Brian L. Feldman, USN, Commander, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, all of the Department of Defense; Steven Patterson, former Environmental Science Officer, Combined Joint Task Force 101 Headquarters, Afghanistan, 2008-2009; Anthony M. Szema, Northwell Health Foundation; Tom Porter, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; and Rosie Torres, Burn Pits 360.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Jerome H. Powell, of Maryland, to be Chairman, Lael Brainard, of the District of Columbia, to be Vice Chairman, and Philip Nathan Jefferson, of North Carolina, to be a Member, all of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Sandra L. Thompson, of Maryland, to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
CLEAN WATER STATE REVOLVING LOAN FUND
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to examine the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund formula, after receiving testimony from Jonathan L. Ramseur, Specialist in Environmental Policy, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress; Laura Watson, Washington State Department of Ecology, Olympia, on behalf of the Environmental Council of the States' Water Committee; and Thomas W. Sigmund, NEW Water, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Cleveland, both on behalf of the National Association of Clean Water Agencies.
PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICE INFLATION
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine prescription drug price inflation, focusing on the urgent need to lower drug prices in Medicare, after receiving testimony from Rena Conti, Boston University Questrom School of Business Department of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston, Massachusetts; Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum, and Stephen J. Ezell, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, both of Washington, D.C.; and Steffany Stern, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
VIOLENT EXTREMISM AND TERRORISM
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine violent extremism and terrorism, focusing on the threat to houses of worship and public spaces, after receiving testimony from Ryan T. Young, Executive Assistant Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice; and Stephanie Dobitsch, Deputy Under Secretary for Intelligence Enterprise Operations, Office of Intelligence and Analysis, Christopher Logan, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Grant Programs Directorate, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Marcus T. Coleman Jr., Director, Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, all of the Department of Homeland Security.
FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR NATIVE BUSINESS OVERSIGHT
Committee on Indian Affairs: Committee concluded an oversight hearing to examine Federal support for Native business capacity building and success, after receiving testimony from Wizipan Garriott, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior; Janie Simms Hipp, General Counsel, Department of Agriculture; Wahleah Johns, Director, Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, Department of Energy; Gary Hennigh, City of King Cove, Anchorage, Alaska; Lexie Holden, Intertribal Agriculture Council, Billings, Montana; JT Willie, Navajo Nation, Window Rock, Arizona; and J. Kukui Maunakea-Forth, MA'O Organic Farms, Wai'anae, Hawai'i.
SMALL BUSINESS FRANCHISING
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a hearing to examine small business franchising, focusing on an overview of the industry, Small Business Administration's role, and legislative proposals, including S. 420, to amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, S. 1120, to establish minimum standards of disclosure by franchises whose franchisees use loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, and S. 2162, to require the Small Business Administration to publish loan default rates by franchise brand, after receiving testimony from Senator Cortez Masto; Robert W. Emerson, University of Florida Warrington College of Business, Gainesville; Aaron Yelowitz, University of Kentucky, Lexington, on behalf of the Cato Institute; Leanne Stapf, The Cleaning Authority, Columbia, Maryland, on behalf of the International Franchise Association; and Bryan Tipton, Tipton Investments, Nicholasville, Kentucky.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of the intelligence community.
