107 



July 15, 1977: Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1977 was sent to the 

 Congress by President Carter. All the science advisory, coordinat- 

 ing and study units in the Executive Office of the President were 

 affected by the plan. 



August 4, 1977: S. 826 was signed by President Carter and enacted 

 into law (Public Law 95-91) creating the Department of Energy. 

 The major provisions of the law called for the transfer to the 

 new Department all functions of the Federal Energy Administra- 

 tion, the Federal Power Commission, and the Energy Research 

 and Development Administration; selected and generally similar 

 functions from the Interior Department; and elements from the 

 Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Interstate 

 Commerce Commission, the Naval Petroleum Reserves of the De- 

 partment of Defense, and the Department of Commerce. 



September 20, 1977: Public Law 95-110 abolished the Joint Com- 

 mittee on Atomic Energy. The committee's functions and respon- 

 sibilities were reassigned to several House and Senate standing 

 committees. 



October 7, 1977: Enactment of Public Law 95-124, the "Earthquake 

 Hazards Reduction Act of 1977," required the President to estab- 

 lish a national earthquake hazards reduction program and out- 

 lined a number of objectives including: The development of 

 earthquake resistant construction; the implementation, in all 

 areas of high or moderate seismic risk, of a system for predicting 

 earthquakes; the development of model codes to coordinate infor- 

 mation about seismic risk with land-use policy decisions and 

 building activity; and the development of basic and applied re- 

 search programs leading to better understanding of the control 

 or alternation of seismic phenomena. The President was to desig- 

 nate, within 30 days of enactment, the Federal department re- 

 sponsible for development of the outlined program. 



October 19, 1977: The period for congressional action on Reorgani- 

 zation Plan No. 1 of 1977 ended at midnight this date. The House 

 had rejected a resolution of disapproval on October 14; the 

 Senate did not vote on the resolution. 



February 24, 1978: President Carter signed Executive Order 12039 

 setting an effective date of February 26, 1978, for the following 

 actions: the responsibilities for the preparation of the annual sci- 

 ence and technology report and the five-year forecast of current 

 and emerging problems were transferred from the Director of 

 OSTP to the Director of NSF. The Intergovernmental Science, 

 Engineering, and Technology Advisory Panel (ISETAP) and the 

 Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Tech- 

 nology (FCCSET), which were created under Public Law 94-282 

 (May 11, 1976) were dissolved and then reestablished as Execu- 

 tive Office advisory bodies abolishing their statutory basis. The 

 President's Committee on Science and Technology (PCST) was 

 abolish and its functions were transferred to the President. The 

 Executive Order did not mention the section of Public Law 94- 

 282 which directed the President to transmit the interim and 

 final reports (surveying the overall Federal science, engineering, 

 and technology effort) to the Congress within 60 days of receipt 

 to be accompanied by appropriate comments, observations, and 

 recommendations. 



