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 D583-D584 on June 8.
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)
JUNK FEES
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security concluded a hearing to examine protecting consumers from junk fees, after receiving testimony from Vicki G. Morwitz, Columbia Business School, New York, New York; Todd Zywicki, George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, Arlington, Virginia; and Sally Greenberg, National Consumers League, Washington, D.C.
ESCALATING WILDFIRES
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the Federal response to escalating wildfires and to evaluate reforms to land management and wildland firefighter recruitment and retention, after receiving testimony from Jeffery Rupert, Director, Office of Wildland Fire, Department of the Interior; Jaelith Hall-Rivera, Deputy Chief, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture; Cardell D. Johnson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office; and Kelly Norris, Wyoming Forestry Division, Cheyenne.
CONSOLIDATION AND CORPORATE OWNERSHIP IN HEALTH CARE
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine consolidation and corporate ownership in health care, focusing on trends and impacts on access, quality, and costs, after receiving testimony from Zack Cooper, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; R. Shawn Martin, American Academy of Family Physicians, Leawood, Kansas; Karen E. Joynt Maddox, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Chris Thomas, Community Hospital, Grand Junction, Colorado; and Caroline Pearson, Peterson Center on Healthcare, New York, New York.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on Foreign Relations: Committee ordered favorably reported the following business items:
S. 920, to reauthorize the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000;
S. 1074, to require a strategy for countering the People's Republic of China, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. 308, to end the treatment of the People's Republic of China as a developing nation, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute;
S. Res. 174, condemning the human rights record of the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and the brutal killing of Eswatini activist Thulani Maseko on January 21, 2023, with amendments;
S. Res. 156, calling on the Government of the Russian Federation to release United States citizen Paul Whelan, with amendments;
S. Res. 158, condemning the deportation of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation and the forcible transfer of children within territories of Ukraine that are temporarily occupied by Russian forces, with amendments;
S. Res. 126, recognizing the vital importance of the Mekong River to Southeast Asia and the role of the Mekong-United States Partnership in supporting the prosperity of the region, with amendments; and
The nominations of Bryan David Hunt, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Sierra Leone, Heather Roach Variava, of Iowa, to be Ambassador to the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Matthew D. Murray, of Maryland, for the rank of Ambassador during his tenure of service as United States Senior Official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC), Jennifer M. Adams, of Virginia, to be Ambassador to the Republic of Cabo Verde, and Jennifer L. Johnson, of New York, to be Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia, all of the Department of State, and routine lists in the Foreign Service.
FASTA
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee concluded a hearing to examine FASTA implementation and optimizing the efficient use of Federal property, after receiving testimony from after receiving testimony from Nina Albert, Commissioner, Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration; David Marroni, Acting Director, Physical Infrastructure, Government Accountability Office; and Nick Rahall, Board Member, Public Buildings Reform Board.
YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee concluded a hearing to examine the American youth mental health crisis, focusing on causes and solutions, after receiving testimony from Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services; Katy Neas, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Education, Office of Special and Rehabilitative Education Services; Charlene Russell-Tucker, Connecticut Commissioner of Education, Hartford; Josh Garcia, Tacoma School District, Tacoma, Washington; and Joy D. Osofsky, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans.
BUSINESS MEETING
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee ordered favorably reported the nominations of Ana de Alba, of California, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, and Irma Carrillo S. Ramirez, of Texas, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit.