This Week's Senate Committee Schedule

Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and the Senate Judiciary Committee will get another crack at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as he appears to testify on Tuesday. Leahy last week sent Gonzales a sneak peak at some of the questions he intends to ask to get "clarification" on some of Gonzales's hazy recollections of what went down in the political firings of eight federal prosecutors.

The word I get is that Leahy will at first stick with questions easy for Gonzales to be truthful about, such as "what day of the week follows Tuesday?"

John Kerry (D-MA) will chair a meeting of the Foreign Relations Committee called "Pakistan's Future: Building Democracy, Or Fueling Extremism?" Not that Team Bush cares, but it's possible the subject of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts might come up.

Barack Obama's S. 453, a bill "to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections" will be examined in the Judiciary Committee while the Rules and Administration Committee will have a hearing to get testimony relevant to S. 1487, the Ballot Integrity Act.

Finally, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will look at "Protecting Children on the Internet." Those providing testimony will include Miss America 2007 Lauren Nelson and, while I'm not sure what expertise Ms. Nelson brings to the table, it will be better than what we would get if Republicans still ran the committee -- in which case, former Republican Congressman Mark Foley would probably be asked to chair the proceedings.

Here's the full Senate Committee schedule for the week:

Budget

Jul 26, 2007 at 10 a.m. Business meeting to consider the nomination of Jim Nussle, of Iowa, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Jul 24, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold hearings to examine the protection of children on the internet.

Jul 25, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. To hold hearings to examine United States trade relations with China. (Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism Subcommittee)

Jul 26, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold hearings to examine preparation taken for digital television transition.

Jul 26, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. To continue hearings to examine the Railroad Safety Enhancement Act. (Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee)

Energy and Natural Resources

Jul 25, 2007 at 11:30 a.m. Business meeting is to consider Republican Subcommittee appointments and the following nominations:

• Kevin M. Kolevar to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability), Department of Energy.
• James L. Caswell to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior.
• Lisa E. Epifani to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy (Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs), Department of Energy.
• Clarence H. Albright to be Under Secretary of Energy, Department of Energy.
• Brent T. Wahlquist to be the Director of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Department of the Interior.

Jul 26, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. To hold hearings to examine the following legislation:

• S.300, to authorize appropriations for the Bureau of Reclamation to carry out the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program in the States of Arizona, California, and Nevada
• S.1258, to amend the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to authorize improvements for the security of dams and other facilities
• S.1477, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out the Jackson Gulch rehabilitation project in the State of Colorado
• S.1522, to amend the Bonneville Power Administration portions of the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2000 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2008 through 2014
• H.R.1025, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of implementing a water supply and conservation project to improve water supply reliability, increase the capacity of water storage, and improve water management efficiency in the Republican River Basin between Harlan County Lake in Nebraska and Milford Lake in Kansas.

(Water and Power Subcommittee)

Environment and Public Works

Jul 24, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. To hold hearings to examine economic and international issues, focusing on global warming policy. (Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection Subcommittee)

Jul 25, 2007 at 2 p.m. To hold an oversight hearing to examine the Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Justice programs. (Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee)

Jul 26, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold hearings to examine the case for the California waiver, including an update from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Finance

Jul 23, 2007 at 5 p.m. Business meeting to consider S.J.Res.16, approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.

Jul 24, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold an oversight hearing to examine the government tax policy in farm country.

Jul 25, 2007 at 10 a.m. Business meeting to consider the following nominations:

• David H. McCormick, of Pennsylvania, to be an Under Secretary, and Peter B. McCarthy, of Wisconsin, to be an Assistant Secretary, both of the Department of the Treasury
• Kerry N. Weems, of New Mexico, to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Tevi David Troy, of New York, to be Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Charles E. F. Millard, of New York, to be Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Foreign Relations

Jul 24, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold hearings to examine the nominations of Michael W. Michalak, of Michigan, to be Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and Eric G. John, of Indiana, to be Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand.

Jul 24, 2007 at 2:15 p.m. To hold hearings to examine the nomination of Henrietta Holsman Fore, of Nevada, to be Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.

Jul 24, 2007 at 4 p.m. To hold a closed briefing regarding Gulf Security dialogue.

Jul 25, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. To hold hearings to examine S.732, to empower Peace Corps volunteers.

Jul 25, 2007 at 2:15 p.m. Pakistan's Future: Building Democracy, Or Fueling Extremism?

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

Jul 25, 2007 at 10 a.m. Business meeting to consider the following legislation:

• S. 625: A bill to protect the public health by providing the Food and Drug Administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products
• S. 1183: A bill to enhance and further research into paralysis and to improve rehabilitation and the quality of life for persons living with paralysis and other physical disabilities, and for other purposes
• S. 579: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the development and operation of research centers regarding environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer
• S. 898: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to fund breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease research while providing more help to caregivers and increasing public education about prevention

The committee will also examine the following nominations:

• Diane Auer Jones, of Maryland, to be Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education, Department of Education
• David C. Geary, of Missouri, to be a Member of the Board of Directors of the National Board for Education Sciences
• Miguel Campaneria, of Puerto Rico, to be a Member of the National Council on the Arts.

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Jul 24, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold hearings to examine the nomination of Jim Nussle, of Iowa, to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Jul 25, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold hearings to examine the nomination of Dennis R. Schrader, of Maryland, to be Deputy Administrator for National Preparedness, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.

Jul 25, 2007 at 3 p.m. To hold hearings to examine the implementation of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act. (Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security Subcommittee)

Indian Affairs

Jul 26, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. Hearing on the nomination of Charles W. Grim to be Director of the Indian Health Service

Intelligence

Jul 24, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. To hold closed hearings to examine certain intelligence matters.

Jul 26, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. To hold closed hearings to examine certain intelligence matters.

Judiciary

Jul 24, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. To continue oversight hearings to examine the Department of Justice. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is to testify.

Jul 26, 2007 at 10 a.m. Business meeting to consider the following legislation:

• S. 1060: A bill to reauthorize the grant program for reentry of offenders into the community in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, to improve reentry planning and implementation, and for other purposes
• S. 453: A bill to prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections
• S. 1692: A bill to grant a Federal charter to Korean War Veterans Association, Incorporated
• An original bill entitled, "School Safety and Law Enforcement Act"

The committee will also examine the nomination of Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, of Puerto Rico, to be United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico.

Rules and Administration

Jul 25, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. Hearing to receive testimony on S. 1487, the Ballot Integrity Act

Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Jul 25, 2007 at 10 a.m. To hold an oversight hearing to examine Gulf Coast disaster loans, focusing on the future of the disaster assistance program.

Veterans' Affairs

Jul 24, 2007 at 2 p.m. Business meeting to markup the nomination of Charles L. Hopkins, of Massachusetts, to be an Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs Enforcement

Jul 25, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. To hold an oversight hearing to examine Department of Veterans Affairs health care funding