This is a busy hearings week.

Must have something to do with the Senate coming back into session for two weeks, then going back out for two weeks for the Easter break. There are a lot of committee hearings.

I will list these by committee. The chance of any Kerry-sighting is dramtically increased for hearings in which he is Ranking Member for the Dems.

Multilateral Development Banks:
Promoting Effectiveness and
Fighting Corruption
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HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 28, 2006

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Time: 9:30 AM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Lugar

Witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Clay Lowery
Assistant Secretary for International Affairs
Department of the Treasury
Washington, DC
The Honorable Cynthia Shepard Perry
U.S. Executive Director of the African
Development Bank
Washington, DC
Panel 2
Dr. William Easterly
Professor of Economics
Co-Director of the Development Research Institute
New York University
New York, NY
Dr. Ruth Levine
Acting President
Director of Programs and Senior Fellow
Center for Global Development
Washington, DC
Dr. Adam Lerrick
The Friends of Allan H. Meltzer Chair in Economics
Director of the Gailliot Center for Public Policy
Tepper School of Business
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA

*******************************

Oh boy, banking stuff. I don't speak good finance, it's rusty and I have a wicked accent that makes it hard to understand what I'm attempting to say. (Anyone here speak finance? Mulitlateral lending? Sigh) Chance of a JK sighting: 15% or so.

U.S.-India Atomic Energy Cooperation:
The Indian Separation Plan and the
Administration’s Legislative Proposal
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MEMBERS BRIEFING
CLOSED BRIEFING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 26, 2006

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Time: 9:30 AM
Place: S-407 The Capitol
Presiding: Senator Lugar

Briefers:
The Honorable R. Nicholas Burns
Under Secretary for Political Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC
The Honorable Robert Joseph
Under Secretary for Arms Control and
International Security
Department of State
Washington, DC

*******************************

Closed hearing, I know, but then they will all come out and make a statement and that's good. Sen KErry should be there as he went to India in Jan as a rep of SFRC, for Sen. Lugar. Maybe he will grace the news conference after this event.

U.S.-Burma Relations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 29, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time: 2:30 PM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Murkowski Sen. Kerry is Dem Ranking Member for this Sub-Comm)

Witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
United States Senate
Panel 2
Dr. Michael J. Green
Senior Adviser and Japan Chair
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Washington, DC
Dr. Sean Turnell
Co-Founder and Editorial Board Member
Burma Economic Watch
Macquarie University
Sydney, Australia
Ms. Thin Thin Aung
Joint General Secretary
Women’s Rights and Welfare Association of Burma
New Delhi, India
Panel 3
Eric G. John
Deputy Assistant Secretary
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC

***************************
Not guaranteed to show, but I give it a fair shot that he appears during part of this, pending floor business. And other hearings for other sub-committees in which he is also RM.

Senator Murkowski is not ready for prime-time. She is a lightweight. I wonder if she is going to ask the witnesses to tell her how the Burmese situation is going to affect international fishing rights in ALaska. She has fishing rights on the brain. It's all she ever asks about. I think it's because she is still learning Daddy's old job and just isn't up to the big questions yet.

The Hidden Cost of Oil
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HEARING
before the

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, March 30, 2006

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time: 9:30 AM
Place: 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Presiding: Senator Lugar

Witnesses:
Milton R. Copulos
President
National Defense Council Foundation
Alexandria, VA
Dr. Hillard Huntington
Executive Director
Energy Modeling Forum
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Additional Witnesses May Be Added
************************************

Again, not a guaranteed show here, but geez, this is a good place to talk about what the good Senator talked about in his recent speeches about the Middle East. That speech in Dec at the Council on Foreign Relations was all about how oil and the money it brings in is keeping bad old repressive regimes in place in the Middle East and preventing genuine reform movements from making progress. Geez, I'd show up to talk about that on the record in a hearing. (Pending other hearings in other committees, of course.)

Sens. Allen and Coleman accuse the UN of hiking the hidden costs of oil so they can trade food for French wine and good Cuban cigars. Sen. Chafee tries very hard not to say anything remotely controversial, because he is in a really tight re-election spot and no matter what he says, it makes some group in RI hate him even more. Poor bastard.

U.S. – China Economic Relations Revisited

March 29, 2006, at 10:00 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Member Statements:
Charles Grassley, IA
Max Baucus, MT

Witness Statements:

Panel

*******************

Is it me or is the Senate Finance Comm just not ready to commit on this one. No witnesses. This sounds like either they couldn't get anyone or they are just still mentally on vacation after the Spring Break and just can't think about heavy-duty stuff like our Economic Policies toward China right now.

Sen. Kerry was well and truly pissed at China for ignoring Itellectual Property rights and for their Human Rights record. This sort of came up in '04 and again last year. However, the Rethugs know that the Chinese hold $800 billion of the US debt and they don't want to piss them off or the Chinese might send over a few people in dark suits and sunglasses who suddenly start looking for their money back -- or else. (Gulp.) This could be interesting, if it isn't postponed. Then again, I can get the transcript. Sen. Kerry is not on the International Trade sub-comm, but geez, he has spoken about this. I heard him on C-Span. Honest.

For completeness sake.*********************

U.S. – China Economic Relations Revisited

March 29, 2006, at 10:00 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Member Statements:
Charles Grassley, IA
Max Baucus, MT

Witness Statements:

Panel I

The Honorable Karan K. Bhatia, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Timothy D. Adams, Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Franklin L. Lavin, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.


Panel II

The Honorable D. Robert Hormats, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs (International), Goldman Sachs & Co, New York, NY

Mr. John Frisbie, President, U.S.-China Business Council, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Joe Papovich, Senior Vice President International, Recording Industry Association of America, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Gary Joachim, Vice President, American Soybean Association, Owatona, MN

Dr. C. Fred Bergsten, Director, Institute of International Economics, Washington, D.C

Importance of Basic Research to United States' Competitveness
Technology, Innovation, and Competitiveness Hearing
Wednesday, March 29 2006 - 10:00 AM - Dirksen 562


Webcast: Click here to view a live webcast of this hearing.
Description: The Senate Commerce Committee's Technology, Innovation, and Competitiveness Subcommittee has scheduled a hearing on the Importance of Basic Research to United States' Competitiveness for Wednesday, March 29, 2006, at 10:00 am in room 562 of the Dirksen Building. This hearing will explore how basic research in the physical sciences impacts both long-term economic development in the United States and the ability of American industry to remain globally competitive.

Subcommittee Chairman John Ensign (R-Nev.) will preside.
Technology, Innovation & Competition, Sub-Committee, Sen. Kerry is the Dem Ranking Member.

Panel 1:

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

Dr. Arden Bement
Director, National Science Foundation

Dr. William Jeffrey
Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Panel 2:

Dr. Steven Knapp
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Leonard Pietrafesa
Chairman, Science Advisory Board, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Mr. Philip Ritter
Senior Vice President and Manager of Public Affairs, Texas Instruments, Inc.

Dr. Adam Drobot
Chief Technology Officer, Telcordia, Inc.

*********************

"Imagine if we had a president who liked Science?" Yeah, that would be so cool. Right now we have a President who thinks anyone who likes science is a nerd in broken glasses with a 'Kick Me' sign on his back. Sigh! There is a bill that will make it to the floor on this. Sens. Ensign and Kerry are cooperating on it. They will probably floor manage it when the time comes. I will watch this, cuz this issue really concerns me.

Sen. Kerry is Ranking Dem Member for this sub-comm. And he speaks pretty good science. (He does us proud in the regard.) I know this is too much to ask for, but I would like an update on how that Brain Research project at MIT is going. Have they found the cure for Rethuglicanism yet. It's that nasty brain-wasting disease and I have high hopes that it can be eradicated some day, like polio.

Competition and Convergence
Full Committee Hearing
Thursday, March 30 2006 - 2:30 PM - D-562

Webcast: Click here to view a live webcast of this hearing.
Description: Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Co-Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) have scheduled a Full Committee hearing on Competition and Convergence on Thursday, March 30, at 2:30 p.m. in room 562 of the Dirksen Building. Witnesses will be announced when available.

Panel 1:

Mr. Kyle McSlarrow
President and CEO, National Cable & Telecommunications Association

Mr. Earl Comstock
President and CEO, CompTel

Mr. Walter McCormick
President and CEO, United States Telecom Association

The Honorable Steve Largent
President and CEO, Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association

Jerry Ellig
Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University

Mark Cooper
Director of Research, Consumer Federation of America

**************************************

Ahm, Telecom stuff. GV, Karynnj, anyone else who speaks reasonable telecom: Ahm what is this about?

Thanks!

Some of the witnesses seem involved with internet, cellular service and cable - so it could be interesting. (Maybe concern that the big companies in each will expand into multiple areas?)

http://foreign.senate.gov/index.html for webast.

Yes, I think the taller Sen from MA will show. This dovetails nicely with what was said at the National Security PR event yesterday.