This week, the House of Representatives (the Senate was in recess) held a couple of hearings of interest to development and humanitarian community. On Wednesday, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia heard testimony from administration officials regarding the upcoming U.S. military-to-civilian transition in Iraq, and on Thursday, the full House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing (with testimony from actor Richard Gere) on religious freedom, democracy and human rights in Asia, with a particular focus on Tibet, Myanmar (Burma) and North Korea.