VoterWatch’s Congress Daily: Monday, April 14, 2008

While today is a relatively slow day on the Hill, tomorrow will be full of Congressional activity.  Currently, there are 10 Senate committee hearings scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, 2008.  While there are no Senate hearings scheduled for today, two House hearings are currently posted. 

At 5:00 p.m., the House Committee on Appropriations will be meeting.  Currently, the committee’s web site provides an out-of-date schedule (the previous week’s meetings), but the following information regarding this committee hearing is available from the daily schedule of House committee meetings:

Select Intelligence Oversight Panel.  On the National Reconnaissance Office and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.  Scott Large, Director, National Reconnaissance Office; Robert Murrett, Director, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.  H-140 Capitol.

At 5:00 p.m. there is also a full committee meeting scheduled to address H.R. 2634 -Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation.  The last major action that occurred surrounding this bill was on April 10, 2008 (placed on the Union Calendar). 

According to THOMAS, the bill’s purpose is, “To provide for greater responsibility in lending and expanded cancellation of debts owed to the United States and the international financial institutions by low-income countries, and for other purposes.”

That’s all for today.  Come back tomorrow for a full disclosure of committee activity. VoterWatch’s Congress Daily will have more information on the day’s House and Senate committee hearings/meetings before 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. 

Part Two: What Are We Missing?

At VoterWatch, we have spent some time analyzing a second week of C-SPAN coverage to explore what is being covered in terms of House and Senate committee hearings.  Overall, about 15% of the House and Senate meetings for the week of March 31-April 4, 2008, were covered by C-SPAN.  This is down from the last analysis, which showed a 28% coverage rate for the week of February 4-10, 2008.  In sum, the current analysis - much like the first - shows that we are missing comprehensive C-SPAN coverage of about 70-75% of committee hearings. 

Of course, some content is offered on committee web sites, but there is no, real consistency or reliability.  We’ve been making calls to each committee, so over the next few weeks, we’ll have an updated report that highlights what is offered online in terms of text (transcript), audio and video.  Below, please find the second round of analysis.



Closed Hearings (Not included in analysis):
- Thursday April 3, 2008, House Committee on Appropriations, Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative
- Tuesday April 1, 2008, House Select Committee on Intelligence, Cyber Technology
- Wednesday April 2, 2008, House Select Committee on Intelligence, Hot Spots
- Wednesday April 2, 2008, House Select Committee on Intelligence, Budget
- Thursday April 3, 2008, House Select Committee on Intelligence, FY09 Budget

Monday, March 31, 2008
(No proportion of coverage to report)

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
(No proportion of coverage to report)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
There were no Congressional meetings on Monday, March 31, 2008

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
14% of House/Senate Committee Meetings Covered

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming, Oil Price Issues (C-SPAN; also aired on C-SPAN 2 and C-SPAN 3)
- House Appropriations, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, Fiscal Year 2009 FBI Budget (C-SPAN)
- House Appropriations, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Funding for the Arts (C-SPAN)
- Senate Committee on Armed Services, New Army Doctrine (C-SPAN; also aired on C-SPAN 2 and C-SPAN 3)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Committee on Appropriations, Rural Development
- House Committee on Appropriations, National Archives
- House Committee on Appropriations, Department of Homeland Security
- House Committee on Appropriations, Addressing the Challenges of Protecting the Nation’s Physical and Cyber Infrastructure
- House Armed Services Committee, Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Authorization Budget Request
- House Armed Services Committee, Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Authorization Budget Request
- House Armed Services Committee, Holistic Approaches to Cybersecurity Enabling Network Centric Operations
- House Committee on Homeland Security, “The Future of Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security”
- Committee on House Administration, The “National Voter Registration Act, Section 7: The challenges that public assistance agencies face.”
- Committee on House Administration, Full Committee Meeting
- House Committee on the Judiciary, Joint Hearing on Paying With Their Lives: The Status of Compensation for 9/11 Health Effects
- House Committee on the Judiciary, Joint Hearing on Paying With Their Lives: The Status of Compensation for 9/11 Health Effects
- House Committee on the Judiciary, Hearing on H.R. 4044
- House Committee on Rules, United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008
- House Committee on Infrastructure, A Growing Capitol Complex and Visitor Center: Needs for Transportation, Security, Greening, Energy, and Maintenance
- House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Treatment and Research
- House Committee on Ways and Means, Hearing on the 2008 Medicare Trustees Report
- Senate Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Forest Service Budget
- Senate Committee on Armed Services, Readiness of the Armed Forces in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2009 and the Future Years Defense Program
- Senate Committee on Armed Services, Testimony on ballistic missile defense programs in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2009 and the Future Years Defense Program.
- Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Full Committee Meeting
- Senate Committee on Finance, Anti-Terrorism Financing: Progress Made and the Challenges Ahead
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, The Situation in Iraq
- Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Serious OSHA Violations
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Rape as a Weapon of War: Accountability for Sexual Violence in Conflict

Wednesday, April 2, 2008
14% of House/Senate Committee Meetings Covered

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Economic Outlook (C-SPAN; also aired on C-SPAN 3)
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Political Developments in Iraq (C-SPAN; also aired on C-SPAN 3)
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Security Situation in Iraq (C-SPAN; also aired on C-SPAN 2 and C-SPAN 3)
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Homeland Security Oversight (C-SPAN 2; also aired on C-SPAN 3)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Committee on Appropriations, Food and Drug Administration
- House Committee on Appropriations, Outside Witnesses
- House Committee on Appropriations, Legal Services Corporation
- House Committee on Appropriations, Department of Energy – Weapons Activities and Naval Reactors
- House Committee on Appropriations, Office of Personnel Management
- House Committee on Appropriations, Cargo, Container and Supply Chain Security
- House Committee on Appropriations, Indian Health Service
- House Committee on Appropriations, Defense Budget
- House Committee on Appropriations, International Peacekeeping Activities and International Organizations
- House Committee on Appropriations, Highway and Transit Programs: Urgent Funding Needs
- House Committee on Appropriations, National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission
- House Committee on Financial Services, Proposed UIGEA Regulations: Burden without Benefit?”
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Strategic Chaos and Taliban Resurgence in Afghanistan
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs, United Nations Peacekeeping Operations: An Underfunded International Mandate – the Role of the United States
- House Natural Resources Committee, Full Committee Hearing
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, The Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 2008
- House Committee on Rules, H.R. 4847: United States Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2007
- House Committee on Science and Technology, International Science and Technology Cooperation
- House Committee on Infrastructure, National Flood Plain Remapping: The Practical Impact
- House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Vision Issues
- Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, From the Wright Brothers to the Right Solutions: Curbing Soaring Aviation Emissions
- Senate Committee on Appropriations, Labor HHS Hearing
- Senate Committee on Appropriations, Energy and Water Hearing
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, “Oversight on the Listing Decision for the Polar Bear Under the Endangered Species Act.”
- Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Nuclear Terrorism: Assessing the Threat to the Homeland

Thursday, April 3, 2008
17% of House/Senate Committee Meetings Covered

* It was difficult to match one of the House Appropriations committee meetings with C-SPAN’s available descriptions for April 3, 2008.  While the selection has most likely been matched correctly, in the event that it was not, the proportion of events covered remains the same

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Airline Safety Oversight, Part 1 (C-SPAN)
- House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Airline Safety Oversight, Part 2 (C-SPAN)
- Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, U.S. Financial Markets and Sale of Bear Stearns (C-SPAN; C-SPAN 2; C-SPAN 3)
- House Committee on Appropriations, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies,
Fiscal Year 2009 Justice Department Budget (C-SPAN)
- House Committee on Appropriations/Homeland Security, Protecting Presidential Candidates (C-SPAN 2; aired April 4th, but hearing occurred April 3rd)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Committee on Appropriations, Natural Resources Conservation Service Budget
- House Committee on Appropriations, Census
- House Committee on Appropriations, Department of Energy: Nuclear Nonproliferation
- House Committee on Appropriations, General Services Administration
- House Committee on Appropriations, Public Witnesses
- House Committee on Appropriations, Bureau of Indian Affairs & Office of Special Trustee
- House Committee on Appropriations, Veterans Affairs Information Technology
- House Armed Services Committee, Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Authorization Budget Request
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Subcommitee Markup of H.R. 3799, “Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act”
- House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Managing Diversity of Senior Leadership in the Federal Workforce and Postal Service
- House Committee on Science and Technology, NASA’s Exploration Initiative: Status and Issues
- House Committee on Small Business, Role of Credit Cards in the Financing of Small Firms
- House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, AMVETS, MOPH, GSW, FRA, TREA, MOAA, NASDVA Legislative Presentation
- Senate Committee on Appropriations, Transportation Subcommittee Hearing
- Senate Committee on Appropriations, CJS Subcommittee Hearing
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, International Fisheries: Management and Enforcement
- Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Full Committee Meeting
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, “Examining Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at U.S. Colleges and Universities”
- Senate Committee on Finance, Outside the Box on Estate Tax Reform: Reviewing Ideas to Simplify Planning
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Iraq 2012: What Can It Look Like, How Do We Get There?
- Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Managing Diversity of Senior Leadership in the Federal Workforce and the Postal Service
- Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, The New FEMA: Is the Agency Better Prepared for a Catastrophe Now Than It Was in 2005?
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Nominationl
- Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Legislative presentations from AMVETS, etc.
- Senate Special Committee on Aging, Scrambling for Health Insurance Coverage: Health Security for People in Late Middle

Friday, April 4, 2008
0% of House/Senate Committee Meetings Covered

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
C-SPAN did not cover the one hearing that occurred on April 4, 2008

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- Joint Economic Committee, The Employment Situation: March 2008

C-SPAN Analysis: What Are We Missing?

Exciting things are happening here at VoterWatch, as we work toward the launch of a pilot program that will assist us in further promoting government transparency and citizen engagement!

In preparation for VoterWatch’s upcoming program, we’ve spent some time analyzing C-SPAN’s coverage of Congressional hearings.  Since our primary interest is in creating a video record of what occurs in House and Senate meetings, access to footage is paramount.  Unfortunately (and as many of you know), our government doesn’t offer adequate access to video, audio, and transcripts, as the quality and availability of these items greatly differ among committees.

Since C-SPAN is the main hub for Congressional footage, we decided to examine one week of network coverage to see exactly what the C-SPAN channels are covering—and what they’re not.  While we are not attempting to fault C-SPAN for missing hearings (after all, covering all of the committees is an arduous and expensive task), we think it’s important to understand what we’re not seeing.

We’ll be expanding on this examination next week, as we explore a second week of coverage.  For now, please read on for an analysis of the week of February 4-10, 2008!


Analysis

Overall, C-SPAN covered 28% of all committee hearings held during the week of February 4-10, 2008.  This does not include the four closed hearings that occurred.  The four closed committee hearings were:

- One Hearing, Wednesday, February 6, 2008, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Iran meeting)

- One Hearing, Wednesday, February 6, 2008, House Committee on Appropriations (Defense Subcommittee meeting)

- Two Hearings, Thursday, February 7, 2008, House Committee on Appropriations (both Defense Subcommittee meetings)

Any events that were repeated are counted only one time (on the day that they occurred during the week of analysis) and any event that was aired from a previous date is not included.  Programming (hearings only) from all three networks—C-SPAN, C-SPAN2 and C-SPAN3—is included. 

Here is the analysis, complete with daily proportions of coverage:


Monday, February 4, 2008
(No proportion of coverage to report; C-SPAN aired two committee meetings from January 29, 2008)

There were no Congressional meetings on Monday, February 4, 2008


Tuesday, February 5, 2008
75% of House/Senate Committee Meetings Covered

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- Senate Finance Committee, Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Proposal (2/5; C-SPAN; Also aired on C-SPAN 2)
- Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, National Security Assessment (2/5; C-SPAN; Also aired on C-SPAN 2 and 3)
- Senate Budget Committee, Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Proposal (2/5; C-SPAN; Also aired on C-SPAN 2)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Review of Veterans’ Disability Compensation: Rehabilitating Veterans


Wednesday, February 6, 2008
38% of House/Senate Committee Hearings Covered

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- Senate Committee on Armed Services, Fiscal Year 2009 Defense Budget Proposal (2/6; C-SPAN; Aired twice)
- House Armed Services Committee, Fiscal Year 2009 Defense Budget Proposal (2/6; C-SPAN and C-SPAN 3)
- Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Funding the Highway Trust Fund (2/6; C-SPAN 2)
- Senate Finance Committee, Fiscal Year 2009 HHS Budget Proposal (2/6; C-SPAN 2 and 3)
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Situation in Kenya (2/6; C-SPAN 2)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Energy’s budget for fiscal year 2009
- Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, Full Committee Business Meeting
- Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, Perspectives on the Surface Transportation Commission Report
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Briefing on Sudan
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Nominations
- House Natural Resources Committee, Legislative Hearing on H.R. 2176 and H.R. 4115
- House Committee on Rules, Legislative Hearing on H.R. 4137 and H.Res. 955
- House Armed Services Committee, Testimony on Fiscal Year 2009 National Defense Budget Request from the Department of Defense


Thursday, February 7, 2008
12% of House/Senate Committee Hearings Covered

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Judiciary Committee, Justice Department Oversight (2/7; C-SPAN; Aired twice)
- House Select Intelligence Committee, National Security Assessment (2/7; C-SPAN and C-SPAN 3)
- House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Fiscal Year 2009 Veterans Affairs Budget Proposal (2/7; C-SPAN 2)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Committee on Appropriations, Quality of Life
- House Committee on Appropriations, Department of Interior Budget
- House Committee on Appropriations, Capitol Visitor Center Oversight
- House Committee on Appropriations, Department of Transportation Budget
- House Armed Services Committee, Testimony on Beneficiary Advocacy Overview
- House Committee on the Budget, The President’s Fiscal Year 2009 Budget
- House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Proposal
- House Financial Services Committee, Diversity in the Financial Services Sector
- House Financial Services Committee, Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. Obligations Under the Merida Initiative
- House Committee on Homeland Security, Other Transaction Authority: Flexibility at the Expense of Accountability?
- House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Agency Budgets and Priorities for FY 2009
- House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, The President’s FY09 Federal Aviation Administration Budget
- House Committee on Ways and Means, Hearing on the President’s Fiscal Year 2009 Budget
- Senate Committee on the Armed Services, Testimony on Business Transformation and Financial Management at the Department of Defense
- Senate Committee on the Armed Services, Testimony on the final report of the Commission on the National Guard and Reserves
- Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Reforming the Regulation of the Government Sponsored Enterprises
- Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, Nominations Hearing
- Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Hearing to Receive Testimony on the Energy Market Effects of the Recently-Passed Renewable Fuel Standard
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Nominations
- Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, The Immediate and Underlying Causes and Consequences of Kenya’s Flawed Election
- Senate Committee on the Judiciary, The Founding Fathers’ Papers: Ensuring Public Access to our National Treasures
- Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Hearing on the Nomination of Robert G. McSwain, to Be Director of the Indian Health Service


Friday, February 8, 2008
50% of House/Senate Committee Hearings Covered

C-SPAN COVERED THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Committee on Administration, Contested Florida Election (2/8; C-SPAN; Aired twice)
- House Committee on Foreign Affairs, U.S. Policy Toward Iraq (2/8; C-SPAN; Aired twice)

C-SPAN DID NOT COVER THE FOLLOWING CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS:
- House Financial Services Committee, Negative Implications of the President’s Signing Statement on the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act
- House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Government Accountability Office’s Review of the Federal Protective Service: Preliminary Findings