NO II II. I.IKI AN Ol.l) FOSSIL 11 1 1 



833 



synthetic fuels, but rather a carefully limited demonstration of a critical 

 number of lirst-of-a-kind plants. 



TIME RUNNING OUT ON CONGRESSIONAL SESSION 



Time was starting to run out on the loan guarantee proposal. 

 Buffeted from many sides, while Ottinger and Hcchler were arguing for 

 an expansion of ERDA's existing synthetic fuels demonstration pro- 

 gram, the loan guarantees began to gather opposition from some con- 

 gressional leaders who viewed the plan as the kind of can of worms 

 difficult to perfect at the very end of the session. The coalition of oppo- 

 nents included Representatives Phillip Burton (Democrat of Cali- 

 fornia), chairman of the Democratic Study Group; John Mclcher 

 (Democrat of Montana), chairman of the Interior Public Lands Sub- 

 committee; Patsy Mink (Democrat of Hawaii), chairman of the 

 Interior Mining Subcommittee; and influential conservative Republi- 

 cans John Ashbrook of Ohio and Steven D. Symms of Idaho. 



Late in August, Teague, in an effort to get the legislation moving, 

 put together a compromise $3-5 billion package which melded as many 

 as possible of the recommendations of other committees and his own. 

 He tried without success to get the Committee on Rules to move the bill 

 to the floor. He got the backing of the Banking and Ways and Means 

 committees to support the compromise, but the Commerce Committee 

 balked. Rules Committee Chairman Ray J. Madden (Democrat of 

 Indiana) insisted that his committee would not grant a rule unless 

 Commerce as well as the other three committees directly asked for one. 

 Teague had his compromise package printed in the Congressional 

 Record, because he knew there was insufficient time to get full approval 

 of the compromise, even by the Science Committee. Further dimming 

 the prospects of the bill's passage was the announcement of the Senate 

 Banking Committee Chairman, Senator William Proxmire (Democrat of 

 Wisconsin) that he did not propose to act on the House bill without 

 extensive hearings. The House and one-third of the Senate were eager 

 to clear the decks of legislation and get out to campaign in September. 



TEAGUE THREATENS FILIBUSTER 



With the clock ticking and the Rules Committee refusing to budge, 

 Teague decided that only a very unusual development w r ould now bring 

 the bill to the House floor. It was a move of desperation. He wrote a 

 letter to Speaker Albert on September 1, 1976: 



I sincerely regret that I feel the necessity to write this letter. I think that I have 

 been given a flat " No" on a hearing before the Rules Committee on H.il. 12112, the 

 Synthetic Fuels Loan Guarantees Bill, that I discussed with you yesterday.* 



