Coming This Week

Tuesday, September 16

9:30 a.m.—The House Budget Committee convenes a hearing on "Iraq’s Budget Surplus." (Iraq has tens of billions of dollars in its coffers and is spending quite little on reconstruction projects.)

10 a.m.—The House holds a hearing on recent regulatory actions regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart III, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, testify.

10 a.m.—FBI Director Robert Mueller III testifies before the House Judiciary Committee. Topics to be covered include the FBI’s anthrax investigation, allegations of improper collection of information on reporters, the Bureau’s approach to the mortgage fraud crisis, and the expanded investigative and intelligence gathering powers resulting from the proposed Attorney General Guidelines concerning the FBI’s domestic operations.

2:30 p.m.—The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on "The Visa Waiver Program: Mitigating the program risks to ensure the safety of all Americans."

Wednesday, September 17

2 p.m.—The House Foreign Affairs Committee convenes a hearing called, "Exporting Toxic Trash: Are We Dumping Our Electronic Waste on Poorer Countries?"

2 p.m.—The House Homeland Security Committee examines, "Waste, Abuse & Mismanagement: Calculating the Cost of the Homeland Security Department’s Failed Contracts."

Thursday, September 18

10 a.m.—The House Energy and Commerce Committee holds a hearing on "Science Under Siege: Scientific Integrity at the Environmental Protection Agency."

The House Homeland Security Committee holds a hearing on "Mismanagement, Missteps, and Missed Benchmarks: Why the Virtual Fence Has Not Become a Reality."

The House Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on "Recent Interior Department Inspector General Investigations on Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Collections."

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee looks into, "Gaming the Tax Code: Public Subsidies, Private Profits, and Big League Sports in New York," examining whether giving tax-free bonds to help build new stadiums for the New York Yankees and New York Mets and a new arena for the New Jersey Nets advances the public interest.

2 p.m.—The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee holds a hearing on "Emerging Contaminants in U.S. Waters."

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