988 



HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



The administration had never been enthusiastic about helping the 

 States set up climate programs, and had indeed fought specifically 

 against that provision in the Senate. Once the bill became law, the 

 administration continued to fight against some of its provisions. 



In his letter to Secretary Kreps, Brown also stated: 



I see climate services and impact assessments (as described in the various reports 

 accompanying the legislation) as the real areas of pioneering in this Program. It is a 

 chance to use technology to increase the socioeconomic resilience oi our society. 



Passage of the national climate program legislation was another 

 unique example of initiative by the Science Committee in impacting 

 public policy. The challenge of effective oversight in this and other 

 areas passed from Brown to Ambro at the opening of 1979- 



OCEAN POLLUTION BILL 



In June 1976, sewage, plastics, and balls of tar rolled up onto the 

 ocean beaches of southern Long Island, forcing their closing. Period- 

 ically, oil spills and fish kills have threatened to create marine deserts 

 in various areas. Meanwhile, billions of tons of chemical compounds, 

 industrial wastes, and sewage are unceremoniously dumped into the 

 oceans on which human beings rely for food, recreation, and transport. 



The Brown subcommittee began to approach this problem initially 

 from the narrow standpoint of oil spills, and the development of re- 

 covery technology as outlined in legislation introduced by Represent- 

 ative Robert W. Edgar (Democrat of Pennsylvania). In June 1977 the 

 subcommittee had two days of hearings on oil spills. On August 2 and 

 3, 1977, the subcommittee broadened its inquiry to cover environ- 

 mental research and development concerning the oceans. The subcom- 

 mittee turned to experts like Dr. Ferris Webster of the Woods Hole 

 Oceanographic Institution, who was chairing a study by the National 

 Research Council to examine the health and vitality of NOAA's ocean 

 R. & D. program. Six other prominent oceanographers from different 

 institutions analyzed the scope and quality of NOAA's research efforts, 

 with prescriptions for improvement. 



POLLUTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE CONFUSION 



The subcommittee discovered that 54 separate Federal entities 

 were involved in ocean pollution-related research, development, and 

 monitoring — including 8 Cabinet Departments, 9 independent agencies, 

 and 37 other units of government. Meanwhile, the Senate Commerce 

 Committee was warring with the Public Works Committee over juris- 

 diction, and there was the customary tussle between the Oceanography 

 Subcommittee of the House Merchant Marine Committee and Brown's 



