VERONAUTICS AND TRANSPORTATION 773 



Air Force and for United Airlines. He had also directed flight training, 

 engineering and flight operations for United Airlines, following which 

 he served in a number of supervisory and regulatory positions in the 

 Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration. 



ORGANIZING THE SUBCOMMITTEE 



The Milford subcommittee had little time to get organized and 

 briefed before plunging into the NASA authorization hearings early 

 in February 1975. In opening the hearings, Milford noted: 



The formation of our subcommittee reflects a basic fact: during recent years our 

 predecessor subcommittee -Aeronautics and Space Technology -had increasingly 

 devoted more time and attention to aeronautical R. & D. Strong efforts were made to 

 bring about more emphasis by NASA on major problems in aviation. 



The reorganization of the House adopted last October clearly expressed Con- 

 gressional intent that all civil aviation R. & D. should receive greater visibility, 

 more attention and emphasis. 



Milford stressed that the results of NASA aeronautical R. & D. would 

 tlow first and foremost to U.S. industry before being made available 

 internationally. 



Wydler for his part stated that one of the objectives was to " keep 

 up the momentum in our program." He added: 



We have striven mightily, as your statement points out, to keep some emphasis 

 and attention on the problems of aeronautics in our country, and I think we have 

 had a measure of success in that regard. In my humble judgment, the subcommittee 

 has been the catalyst of great Federal efforts in aeronautics and it has been all to the 

 good of our Nation. 



Wydler observed that the aeronautics program was probably the por- 

 tion of the NASA effort "which the public in general can understand 

 the best and appreciate the most." 



In addition to its first hearings, the Milford subcommittee sched- 

 uled joint field trips with the Space Science and Applications Sub- 

 committee to Lewis and Langley Research Centers. 



Interestingly enough, the Milford subcommittee in making its 

 first recommendation on the NASA aeronautics authorization in 1975 

 added $44.5 million to the budget for construction, with no add-ons 

 for R. & t). The subcommittee argued convincingly that space had 

 hogged most of the construction funds down through the years, and 

 as a result aeronautical facilities were becoming both obsolete and 

 obsolescent. In the full committee markup, Winn expressed reserva- 

 tions about the $44.5 million increase above the budget, noting: 



I am just afraid that some of us who have gone on the floor in the last two or 

 three years to defend the Science and Technology full committee recommendations 

 may have a little trouble with the way we are increasing through the various sub- 

 committees. 



