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1HHM ADOPTS CONFERENC] REPORT 



Following another series of crisis negotiating sessions between 

 the staffs, the conference report was reads- to be presented to the 



I louse and Senate after the Easter recess. Teague brought up the re- 

 port on April 29 in the House, after it had already cleared the Senate. 

 Representative Robert I Bauman (Republican of Maryland) asked a 

 number of critical questions about why the National Science Founda- 

 tion could not continue to provide science advice to the President, 

 instead of creating a new office. Teague, Mosher, Frey, Fuqua, Brown, 

 and McCormack all spoke out in favor of the new advisory structure 

 which had received strong bipartisan support throughout the long 

 and difficult negotiations. While enthusiastically supporting the final 

 product, Brown again stressed the need for greater long-term plan- 

 ning; he repeated his view that "failure by the Federal Government 

 in these areas could comprise its Achilles' heel." McCormack, in 

 supporting the conference report, mentioned that in the bill the 

 survev committee had been empowered to study the possibility of a 

 Cabinet-level department for fuels, energy, and materials. He pre- 

 dicted that the recommendations coming out of the survey "and 

 what Congress does with them two years hence could well be one of the 

 most important legislative events of our time." 



PRESIDENT SIGNS THE BILL ON MAY 11 



It was a gala celebration ceremony in the East Garden of the White 

 House on the balmy spring day of May 11, 1976. About 200 guests 

 attended, including former Presidential science advisers, members of 

 the scientific community, and those who had worked hard for the bill. 

 A large delegation of committee members was in attendance. The 

 audience sat in folding chairs in front of the President, who signed the 

 bill at a table on the lawn. Standing immediately behind the President 

 were Vice President Rockefeller, Senator Moss, Teague, and Mosher. 

 When the President signed the bill, Mosher was nearest to him, so 

 President Ford presented him with the first pen. Instead of keeping 

 the pen himself, Mosher gave it to Phil Ycager with a note indicating 

 that he was the person who really deserved that pen. In his remarks 

 at the ceremony, the President stated: 



I congratulate and thank the Members of Congress on the fine work represented 

 by this legislation. It is a good example of an effective cooperation between the 

 Congress and the executive branch, and I am most grateful. 



The culmination of many years of effort was a proud moment for 

 the committee. It represented a significant triumph for the committee 

 strategy used in patiently forging a structure which was so important 

 for the future of science and technology coordination, and leadership 

 at the highest level. 



