Hearings! Last week of hearings before Senate does not recess for 2 weeks!

[TayTay]

The Senate is not in recess. It is holding 2 weeks in which Senators can go home and have "in-state" visits in order to take constiuency queries and so forth.

No one should even think about making recess appointments, cuz they're not going to be in recess. Someone will convene the Senate for 'pro forma' sessions every 2-3 days. President Bush will be unable to appoint anyone he wants without the okay of the Senate. Cuz, they are very definitely not on recess. ("We work for a living in the Us Senate, honest. We don't get no stinkin recesses.")

Anyway, some hearings this week before the work shifts to in-state working, telecommuting days that do not mean the Senate is not on top of everything and ready to spring into non-action at a moment's notice. ok?

[TayTay]

1. Commerce Committee

The FY 2009 Budget Proposal to Support U.S. Basic Research

Science, Technology, and Innovation
website: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=1936
Chaired by Sen. Kerry

Tuesday, March 11, 2008
10:00 AM
SR - 253

The Committee will explore the importance of basic research to U.S. competitiveness. The hearing will examine research and development budgets at agencies in the Committee’s jurisdiction, particularly the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as interagency science programs addressing climate change, nanotechnology, and information technology.

Witnesses

Panel 1
Dr. John Marburger III
Director
Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President

Dr. Arden L. Bement Jr.
Director
National Science Foundation

Dr. James M. Turner
Acting Director
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Department of Commerce

Oh boy, science hearings. Not as great as fisheries, but close. This is important and of great relevance to the future of the United States as we struggle to maintain a lead in research and science and continue to be the world leader in innovation. Of course, that means the Bush Admin will not come up with the money. Sigh!

Someone needs to come up with a way to get Repubs to like science. Sometimes I wonder if they, as a group, were somehow frightened by test tubes or something at a young age and now just can't stand the idea of research going on anywhere. Maybe it was that high school biology course that mzde you dissect a frog. Maybe that was just so traumatic, they developed a lifetime dislike of science and biology and all that "brainy" stuff. It's so sad.

[ladym55]

11. At least JK is chair

You know, we DESPERATELY need to invest in basic science research in this country ... research of all kinds. :( With JK running the show, at least I know that the speakers will get a fair hearing and he will be an advocate.

[TayTay]

2. Finance Committee hearings, one "estate taxes"

Alternatives to the Current Federal Estate Tax System

March 12, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Member Statements:
Max Baucus, MT
Charles Grassley, IA
Webstie: http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing031208.htm


Witness Statements:

Professor Lily Batchelder, New York University, School of Law, New York, NY

Professor Joseph Dodge, Florida State University, College of Law, Tallahassee, FL

Professor David Duff, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, Toronto, Canada

See what happens when Democrats Rule the Congress? We get terms like: Federal Estate Tax System. We do not get fake discussions on 'the death tax.' Remember when the Repubs argued this in the Congress before and the Dems challenged them to say which 'family farms' were being put out of business because of the non-existent 'death tax' they had to pay and the Repubs couldn't come up with even one? Remember when the Dems offered to shield income up to $5 million and the Repubs said no, so the Dems said $10 million and the Repubs still said no?

Repubs will protect their base of the uber-rich at all costs and then lie about what they are doing in order to pretend that their policies help out 'the riff-raff.' Sad.

[TayTay]

3. Finance Committee: Customs Reauthorization

Customs Reauthorization: Strengthening U.S. Economic Interests and Security

March 13, 2008, at 10:00 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Website: http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing031308.htm

Member Statements:
Max Baucus, MT
Charles Grassley, IA

Witness Statements:

Mr. Samuel H. Banks, Executive Vice President, Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services, Washington, DC

Ms. Antoinette M. Tease, P.L.L.C., Registered Patent Attorney, Intellectual Property and Technology Law, Billings, MT

Ms. Charlene N. Stocker, Chairwoman, American Association of Exporters and Importers, Proctor and Gamble, Cincinnati, OH

Repeat after me, this is just as interesting as Fisheries hearings. Really. This hearing is about a whole lot of money and how we deal with the rest of the world in terms of equalizing fair trade. It's important. It's critical. It's about line 40c of Form 1022 of the Federal Code on, ahm, er, zzzzzzzzzz. No, really, this is important.

Seriously, this has come up in the Primaries this year, but in different language. It is important for jobs, for our balance of trade and for putting out a policy that lets the US have a more level playing field in terms of how we conduct our trade policy.

Mr. Greg P. Brown, Counsel, Ford Global Technologies, Dearborn, MI

[TayTay]

4. Foreign Relations: NATO

NATO: ENLARGEMENT AND EFFECTIVENESS

HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Time: 2:30 P.M.
Place: SD-419 The Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Biden
Website: http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080311p.html


Witnesses:

Panel 1:
+The Honorable Daniel Fried
Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC

+General John Craddock
U.S. European Command and Supreme
Allied Commander, Europe
NATO Headquarters
Mons, Belgium

Panel 2:
+Dr. Ronald D. Asmus
Executive Director
Transatlantic Center
German Marshall Fund
Brussels, Belgium

+Dr. Philip H. Gordon
Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy
Brookings Institution
Washington, DC

+Mr. Bruce Jackson
President
Project on Transitional Democracies
Washington, DC

Finally, the SFRC debates whether or not size does matter. Ah, when it comes to NATO. AH, er, that is to say whether or not enlargment and enhancement is a good thing, a necessary thing or ahm, if it is not the size of the tool, but how you use it that counts. Ahm, no, ah, that's not it. Size and effectiveness both matter. Equally. Ah, nevermind. (Think of Fisheries. We want a lot of healthy fish. Yeah, that's it. Numerous good healthy fish. That's it. NATO is like a fishery. We want more of their product deployed effectively. Whew!)

Gee, I wonder if anyone told Sen. Obama this hearing was going to occur. He should attend. After all, there was a big fuss made a little while ago over whether ot not he was holding hearings about Europe and NATO and the size of troop deployments. (On second thought, given my problems discussing it above, no wonder he didn't call the hearing.)

[Inuca]

6. Oh! Tay....

:blush:

[TayTay]

7. Oh dear.

Ahm, I know not what to say.

Primaries ate my brain.

That's as good an explanation as I can muster.

Sorry!

[Inuca]

8. Just in case it was not clear....

I laughed out loud :-)

[globalvillage]

9. LOL

:rofl:

[TayTay]

5. SFRC: Vietnam

THE UNITED STATES AND VIETNAM:
EXAMINING THE BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP

HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Time: 2:30 P.M.
Place: SD-419 The Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Boxer
website: http://foreign.senate.gov/hearings/2008/hrg080312p.html


Witnesses:

Panel 1:
+The Honorable Christopher Hill
Assistant Secretary
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC

Panel 2:
+Ms. Janet Nguyen
Member
Board of Supervisors
Orange County, CA

Panel 3:
+Ms. Sophie Richardson
Advocacy Director
Asia Division
Human Rights Watch
Washington, DC

+Ms. Ann Mills Griffith
Executive Director
National League of POW/MIA Families
Arlington, VA

+Mr. Do Hoang Diem
Chairman
Vietnam Reform Party
Orange County, CA

Wow, 3 panels of witnesses. Good thing this one is scheduled for after lunch. It could go long. This is could be a polite hearing on how we are doing with Vietnam on trade, diplomatic relations and so forth. Human Rights issues should come up because Vietnam has been in the news lately on that issue.

[MH1]

10. "ready to spring into non-action at a moment's notice"

:rofl:

Reminds me of working on a website with a link to information for Congress. There was a thought to label the link "Congress In Action." Then the thought occurred that "Congress Inaction" would be more appropriate. ;)