SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 1963-69 I59 



and parliamentary tricks to turn Fulton off and get back to the subject. 

 He did it neatly and effectively: 



Mr. Daddario. Dr. DuBridge, I am always pleased when Mr. Fulton comes to this 

 committee because he livens up the situation. That is very helpful. But in this par- 

 ticular instance, it is completely irrelevant to this morning's discussion. 



Mr. Fulton. Oh, this is science we are talking about, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Daddario. Yes; it is. 



Mr. Fulton. And you, I believe, were talking about the irrelevancy called 

 politics. And you and I are not politicians here, we are scientists; aren't we? 



Mr. Daddario. Well, the point was made by Dr. DuBridge during the course of 

 this discussion, in his prepared text, that he would want the National Science Founda- 

 tion Director to be separate and apart from the political game. We made no comment 

 on it because I believe that is how it is. 



Mr. Fulton. I question that. 



Mr. Daddario. I understand, you already have. But the important point is that 

 it is still irrelevant to the proposition of how science ought to be administered and 

 managed. I have made my feelings clear about the matter 



Mr. Fulton. Yes. 



Mr. Daddario [continuing]. About which the gentleman from Pennsylvania has 

 injected into this discussion. I don't believe that it either adds or subtracts from the 

 morning's events. I was pleased to have it put out because it did liven things up a bit, 

 even though irrelevant. 



The hearings of the Daddario subcommittee continued for ten 

 sessions during July and October 1969. They were part of the compre- 

 hensive effort which the Science Committee carried forward during 

 the early 1970's, exerting the leadership required to reestablish a 

 coordinated scientific policy at the White House level. The committee's 

 efforts were climaxed by legislation which was finally approved by 

 President Ford, largely as a result of the initial efforts by the Daddario 

 subcommittee followed by the full Science Committee after 1973. 



TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT 



One of the concepts most closely identified with Congressman 

 Daddario in the public eye is his plea for an "early warning" system 

 for technology, and his vigorous effort to establish an Office of Tech- 

 nology Assessment. 



Buried in a subcommittee progress report rather randomly titled 

 "Inquiries, Legislation, Policy Studies Re: Science and Technology — 

 Review and Forecast," the kernels of the concept first surfaced publicly 

 in 1966. The committee report referred to the "dangerous side effects 

 which applied technology is creating, or is likely to create, for all 

 humanity," adding that "these effects apparently are so strong — and 

 quite possibly so dangerous — as to pose a genuine threat to man and 

 his physical, mental, and spiritual environment." The report noted a 

 few illustrations, such as chemicals and the balance of nature in agri- 

 culture, the supermobility of people through automobiles, combined 



