The Small Business Watchdog

Each week while Congress is in session the Office of Advocacy will post a highlights schedule of congressional hearings and committee markups that we think will be of interest to stakeholders in the small business community.  For further information on the hearings in question please contact the relevant congressional committee.

Tuesday, February 2

2:30 p.m.         Full Committee Hearing
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, “Prohibiting Certain High-Risk Investment Activities by Banks and Bank Holding Companies.” The hearing will focus on the president’s proposal to impose restrictions on the size and scope of financial firms to rein in excessive risk taking and to protect taxpayers.
 Location:        538 Dirksen Bldg.
Webcast:          http://banking.senate.gov

Wednesday, February 3

10 a.m.            Subcommittee Hearing
Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee of House Science and Technology Committee hearing titled “Key Issues and Challenges Facing NASA: Views of the Agency’s Watchdogs.”
Location:       2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Witnesses:
Paul K. Martin, inspector general, NASA
Cristina T. Chaplain, director, Acquisition and Sourcing Management Issues, Government Accountability Office
Retired Vice Adm. Joseph W. Dyer, chairman, Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, NASA
Webcast:          http://science.house.gov/

10 a.m.            Subcommittee Hearing
Health Subcommittee of House Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing titled “Review of VA Contract Health Care: Project HERO [Health Care Effectiveness through Resource Optimization].”
Location:         334 Cannon Bldg.
Webcast:          http://veterans.house.gov/

10 a.m.            Full Committee Hearing
House Education and Labor Committee hearing on the Obama administration’s labor agenda, efforts made over the past year at the Labor Department, and the department’s plans to strengthen the economy.
Location:         2175 Rayburn Bldg.
Webcast:          http://edlabor.house.gov/

2 p.m.              Subcommittee Hearing
Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of House Appropriations Committee  hearing on the Economic Development Administration.
Location:         H-309 Capitol Bldg.
Witnesses scheduled:
David Bradford, mayor, City of Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Chuck Wemple, manager, Economic Development Program, Houston-Galveston Area Council, Texas
John Brown, executive director, Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission, Weirton, W.Va.
Michael King, executive director, North Country Council, Bethlehem, N.H.
Debbie Flood, president, Melron Corp., Schofield, Wis.
Les Wyatt, president, Arkansas State University
Webcast:          http://appropriations.senate.gov/

2 p.m.              Subcommittee Hearing
Technology and Innovation Subcommittee of House Science and Technology Committee hearing titled “Passenger Screening R&D: Responding to President Obama’s Call to Develop and Deploy the Next Generation of Screening Technologies.”
Location:         2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Witnesses:
Brad Buswell, deputy undersecretary of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate
Penrose Albright, principal associate director of global security, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Bert Coursey, program, Coordinated National Security Standards Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Sandra Hyland, senior principal engineer, BAE Systems
Webcast:          http://science.house.gov/

2 p.m.              Subcommittee Oversight Hearing
Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee of House Veterans’ Affairs Committee oversight hearing titled “Implementation and Status Update on the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act (PL 110-389)
Location:         334 Cannon Bldg.
Webcast:          http://veterans.house.gov/

3 p.m.              Business Meeting
HIT Policy Committee Workgroups of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will hold meetings to discuss issues related to their specific subject matter, e.g., meaningful use, the NHIN, privacy and security policy, adoption/certification, or strategic planning. The meetings will be open to the public via dial-in access only.
For further information: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-1235.htm. All workgroup meetings will be available via Webcast; for instructions on how to listen via telephone or Web visit http://healthit.hhs.gov. Please check the ONC Web site for additional information as it becomes available.

3:30 p.m.         Full Committee Hearing
Senate Finance Committee hearing on the president’s health care proposals.
Location:         215 Dirksen Bldg.
Webcast:          http://finance.senate.gov/

Thursday, February 4

10 a.m.            Full Committee Hearing
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, “Implications of the ‘Volcker Rules’ for Financial Stability.” President Obama called his new proposal to limit the size and risk of big U.S. banks the ‘Volcker Rule’, named for former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.
Location: 538 Dirksen Bldg.
Witnesses scheduled:  
Gerald Corrigan, managing director, Goldman Sachs
Simon Johnson, professor of entrepreneurship, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
John Reed, former CEO, Citigroup
Hal Scott, professor of international financial systems, Harvard Law School
Barry Zubrow, executive vice president and chief risk officer, JPMorgan Chase
Webcast:          http://banking.senate.gov/public/

10 a.m.            Subcommittee Hearing
Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health Subcommittee of Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on current science on public exposures to toxic chemicals.
Location: 406 Dirksen Bldg.
Witnesses scheduled:
Stephen Owens, assistant administrator for pesticides and toxic substances, Office of Prevention, EPA
Henry Falk, acting director, National Center for Environmental Health and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
John Stephenson, director, Natural Resources and Environment Issues, Government Accountability Office
Linda Birnbaum, director, National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences
Molly Jones Gray, participant, Biomonitoring Study
Ken Cook, president, Environmental Working Group
Charles McKay, Division of Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Hartford Hospital
Tracey J. Woodruff, associate professor and director, Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Webcast:          http://epw.senate.gov

10 a.m.            Subcommittee Hearing
Management, Investigations, and Oversight Subcommittee  of House Homeland Security Committee hearing “Furthering the Mission or Having Fun: Lax Travel Policies Costs’ DHS Millions.” The hearing will focus on Inspector General audit of the amount of taxpayer dollars the department spent on conferences, retreats, and other offsite activities, in addition to the lack of internal controls governing policies, oversight, and reporting of conference planning and spending practices.
Location:         311 Cannon Bldg.
Witnesses:       
Elaine Duke, undersecretary of Homeland Security for management
Carl Mann, assistant inspector general for inspections, Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security
Webcast:          http://homeland.house.gov/

10 a.m.            Subcommittee Hearing
Aviation Subcommittee of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing on the airline safety and pilot training programs of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Location:         2176 Rayburn Bldg.
Webcast:          http://transportation.house.gov/

2:30 p.m.         Full Committee Hearing
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing titled “Financial Services and Products: The Role of the Federal Trade Commission in Protecting Consumers.”
Location: 253 Russell Bldg.
Webcast:          http://commerce.senate.gov

Friday, February 5

10 a.m.            Full Committee Joint Hearing
House Small Business Committee and House Financial Services Committee joint hearing on lending programs for small businesses.
Location: 2128 Rayburn Bldg.
Webcast:          http://www.house.gov/smbiz/