[Daily Digest]
[Pages D511-D514]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
NOMINATIONS
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee concluded 
a hearing to examine the nominations of Dudley Hoskins, of the District 
of Columbia, to be Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory 
Programs, and Scott Hutchins, of Indiana, to be Under Secretary for 
Research, Education, and Economics, both of the Department of 
Agriculture.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the nominations of Luke Lindberg, of South Dakota, 
to be Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, and 
Devon Westhill, of Florida, to be an Assistant Secretary, both of the 
Department of Agriculture.
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Department of Interior, 
Environment, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine 
proposed budget estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of 
the Interior, after receiving testimony from Doug Burgum, Secretary of 
the Interior.
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Energy and Water 
Development concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates 
for fiscal year 2026 for the Department of Energy, after receiving 
testimony from Christopher Wright, Secretary of Energy.
APPROPRIATIONS: SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Financial Services and 
General Government, concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget 
estimates for fiscal year 2026 for the Small Business Administration, 
after receiving testimony from Kelly Loeffler, Administrator, Small 
Business Administration.

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YEMEN
Committee on Armed Services: Committee received a closed briefing on an 
update on Yemen from Katherine Thompson, Performing the Duties of the 
Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs, Erik A. Olson, 
Senior Defense Intelligence Analyst for Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, 
and Christopher J. Almont, Senior Defense Intelligence Analyst for 
Iraq, Egypt, and the Levant, both of the Defense Intelligence Agency, 
General Michael E. Kurilla, USA, Commander, United States Central 
Command, and Vice Admiral Frank M. Bradley, USN, Commander, Joint 
Special Operations Command, all of the Department of Defense.
DOD INFORMATION NETWORK
Committee on Armed Services: Subcommittee on Cybersecurity concluded 
open and closed hearings to examine defense of the Department of 
Defense Information Network, after receiving testimony from Lieutenant 
General Paul T. Stanton, USA, Commander, Joint Force Headquarters--
Department of Defense Information Network, and Director, Defense 
Information Systems Agency.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Committee ordered 
favorably reported the following business items:
  S. 190, to enhance the operations of the North Pacific Research 
Board, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 318, to require a plan to improve the cybersecurity and 
telecommunications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 337, to amend title 49, United States Code, to clarify the 
authority of the Administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration relating to the shipping of household goods;
  S. 503, to direct the Federal Communications Commission to evaluate 
and consider the impact of the telecommunications network equipment 
supply chain on the deployment of universal service;
  S. 1092, to require certain products to be labeled with 'Do Not 
Flush' labeling, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1442, to amend title 49, United States Code, to allow for 
eligibility for projects for the installation of human trafficking 
awareness signs at rest stops, with an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute;
  S. 1523, to modify operations of the National Water Center of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute;
  S. 1626, to reauthorize the National Landslide Preparedness Act, with 
an amendment; and
  The nominations of David Fink, of New Hampshire, to be Administrator 
of the Federal Railroad Administration, David Fogel, of Connecticut, to 
be Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United 
States and Foreign Commercial Service, Robert Gleason, of Pennsylvania, 
to be Director of the Amtrak Board of Directors for a term of five 
years, and Pierre Gentin, of New York, to be General Counsel of the 
Department of Commerce, and promotions in the Coast Guard.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee ordered favorably 
reported the nominations of Jonathan Brightbill, of Virginia, to be 
General Counsel, Tina Pierce, of Idaho, to be Chief Financial Officer, 
and Conner Prochaska, of Texas, to be Director of the Advanced Research 
Projects Agency--Energy, all of the Department of Energy, and Ned 
Mamula, of Pennsylvania, to be Director of the United States Geological 
Survey, Department of the Interior.
EPA BUDGET
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal 
year 2026 for the Environmental Protection Agency, after receiving 
testimony from Lee Zeldin, Administrator, Environmental Protection 
Agency.
COVID-19 VACCINES
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations concluded a hearing to examine science 
and Federal health agencies, focusing on Myocarditis and other events 
associated with the COVID-19 vaccines, after receiving testimony from 
Hawaii Governor John Green, Honolulu; Peter A. McCullough, McCullough 
Foundation, Dallas, Texas; Jordan Vaughn, Microvascular Research 
Foundation, Birmingham, Alabama; Joel Wallskog, React 19, Oconomowoc, 
Wisconsin; Aaron Siri, Siri and Glimstad, LLP, New York, New York; and 
James A. Thorp, Gulf Breeze, Florida.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine the state of higher education, after 
receiving testimony from Andrew Gillen, Cato Institute, Washington, 
D.C.; Michael Lindsay, Taylor University, Upland, Indiana; Mark Brown, 
Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama; Mike Pierce, Student Borrower 
Protection Center, Atlanta, Georgia; and Russell Lowery-Hart, Austin 
Community College District, Austin, Texas.

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NOMINATIONS
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
the nominations of Stanley Woodward, Jr., of the District of Columbia, 
to be Associate Attorney General, Thomas Gaiser, of Ohio, to be an 
Assistant Attorney General, who was introduced by Senator Moreno, 
Joseph Edlow, of Maryland, to be Director of United States Citizenship 
and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, who was 
introduced by Senator Moody, and John Squires, of Florida, to be Under 
Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the 
United States Patent and Trademark Office, who was introduced by 
Senator Tillis, after the nominees testified and answered questions in 
their own behalf.
DEEPFAKES
Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and 
the Law concluded a hearing to examine AI-generated deepfakes, after 
receiving testimony from Mitch Glazier, Recording Industry Association 
of America, Christen Price, National Center on Sexual Exploitation, and 
Justin Brookman, Consumer Reports, all of Washington, D.C.; Suzana 
Carlos, YouTube, New York, New York; and Martina McBride, Nashville, 
Tennessee.
AMERICAN MANUFACTURING
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine fueling America's manufacturing comeback, including 
S. 305, to authorize small business loans to finance access to modern 
business software, S. 1555, to increase loan limits for loans made to 
small manufacturers, and S. 1593, to exempt small business concerns 
from duties imposed pursuant to the national emergency declared on 
April 2, 2025, by the President, after receiving testimony from Kelly 
Loeffler, Administrator, Small Business Administration.
LEGISLATION
Committee on Veterans' Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to 
examine S. 214, to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the 
rate of the special pension payable to Medal of Honor recipients, S. 
219, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot 
program to improve the ability of veterans to access medical care in 
medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs and in the 
community by providing veterans the ability to choose health care 
providers, S. 506, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to 
carry out a pilot program to coordinate, navigate, and manage care and 
benefits for veterans enrolled in both the Medicare program and the 
system of annual patient enrollment of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, S. 585, to amend title 38, United States Code, to establish a 
pre-transition health care registration process to facilitate 
enrollment in the patient enrollment system of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs by members of the Armed Forces who are separating from 
the Armed Forces, S. 599, to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
increase the mileage rate offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs 
through their Beneficiary Travel program for health related travel, S. 
605, to amend title 38, United States Code, to increase the maximum age 
for children eligible for medical care under the CHAMPVA program, S. 
635, to amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to recognize nurse registries for purposes of the 
Veterans Community Care Program, S. 649, to amend title 38, United 
States Code, to expand eligibility for Post-9/11 Educational Assistance 
to members of the National Guard who perform certain full-time duty, S. 
778, to amend title 38, United States Code, to require a lactation 
space in each medical center of the Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 
784, to expand and modify the grant program of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs to provide innovative transportation options to 
veterans in highly rural areas, S. 800, to modify the Precision 
Medicine for Veterans Initiative of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 
S. 827, to extend and modify the transportation grant program of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs, S. 879, to expand medical, employment, 
and other benefits for individuals serving as family caregivers for 
certain veterans, S. 1318, to direct the American Battle Monuments 
Commission to establish a program to identify American-Jewish 
servicemembers buried in United States military cemeteries overseas 
under markers that incorrectly represent their religion and heritage, 
S. 1320, to direct the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to take certain steps regarding research related to 
menopause, perimenopause, or mid-life women's health, S. 1383, to 
establish the Veterans Advisory Committee on Equal Access, S. 1441, to 
require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to award grants to nonprofit 
entities to assist such entities in carrying out programs to provide 
service dogs to eligible veterans, S. 1533, to amend title 38, United 
States Code, to make permanent and codify the pilot program for use of 
contract physicians for disability examinations, S. 1543, to amend 
title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department of 
Veterans Affairs the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition 
Administration, and S. 1591, to amend title 38, United States Code, to 
reorganize the acquisition structure of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs and to establish the Director of Cost Assessment and Program 
Evaluation in the Department, after receiving testimony from

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Thomas O'Toole, Acting Assistant Under Secretary for Health for 
Clinical Services, Veterans Health Administration, Kenneth Smith, 
Assistant Deputy Under Secretary, Operations Management, Office of 
Field Operations, Acting Executive Director, Education Services, 
Veterans Benefits Administration, and Phillip W. Christy, Acting 
Principal Executive Director and Chief Acquisition Officer, all of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs; and Morgan Brown, Paralyzed Veterans of 
America, Brian Dempsey, Wounded Warrior Project, and Jon Retzer, 
Disabled American Veterans, all 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.