SCIENCE, RESEARCH \NTJ TECHNOLOGY, 1970-79 573 



President Ford on July 7, 1976, sent a tough veto message to 

 Congress which did not mention the doubling of the budget, but 

 strongly objected to the congressional "veto" provision which Fuqua 

 had inserted in the bill. The President blasted the bill "because it 

 contains a provision that would seriously obstruct the exercise of the 

 President's constitutional responsibilities over executive branch oper- 

 ations." Teague, Fuqua, Symington, and Mosher all agreed that the 

 best course of action was to drop the offending provision, and when 

 that was done the bill was quickly passed and signed into law 



During 1977, when Thornton became chairman of the subcom- 

 mittee, several fire-related issues arose. National attention was focused 

 on the Beverly Hills Supper Club lire, which resulted in the loss of 162 

 lives. Area Congressmen asked the committee to stage investigative 

 hearings. Thornton decided against separate hearings because the 

 matter was in the jurisdiction of the Interstate and Foreign Commerce 

 Committee. Some congressional interest was also expressed in bills 

 which would extend Federal grants to local fire departments. Thornton 

 indicated that existing legislation had indicated "its intent that the 

 basic support of fire departments should remain the responsibility of 

 States and localities." 



FLIPPO AND HOLLENBECK URGE AGGRESSIVE ACTION 



The subcommittee had two days of hearings in February 1978 on 

 extending the authorization for the aeencv which was renamed the 

 U.S. Fire Administration. Thornton turned the gavel over to Flippo, 

 who not only presided over the hearings but also acted as floor manager 

 for the authorization bill when it reached the House floor. Both 

 Flippo and Hollenbeck were sharply critical of the lackadaisical sup- 

 port given to the Fire Administration by the executive branch. Flippo 

 said from the chair during the subcommittee hearings: 



It seems to me that we are nearing a turning point. The Congress must decide 

 whether it intends to pursue solutions to the problems of the destructive force of 

 fire — solutions which are commensurate with the tremendous losses imposed by fire 

 in this country — or if the Congress will abandon what I believe to be an essential 

 effort. 



Hollenbeck added: 



It appears to me that the lack of visible support for the Federal fire program is 

 itself symptomatic of the fact that people of this country are generally unaware of 

 the enormous toll that fire takes. * * * I think the moment is near at hand for Congress 

 to decide whether it seriously intends to mount a coordinated national attack to 

 assist States in combating the epidemic of fire, or whether it will merely continue to 

 pay lip service to fire prevention in this country. 



35-120 



