968 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



Foley also offered an amendment, as he had in 1975, to withhold 

 any funds authorized by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenti- 

 cide Act until the Committee on Agriculture, which he chaired, had 

 acted. The Foley amendment was accepted, as it had been the prior 

 year. Once the Kctchum and Foley amendments went through, the 

 EPA authorization was passed. But many Members shared the feeling 

 of Winn who told his colleagues in 1976: 



Manv people perceive F.PA as a stumbling block or nemesis in the search for 

 new energy sources. It would be better for the EPA to work with energy producers 

 in resolving environmental questions rather than to become a perennial bane. We 

 would like to hear of the EPA accelerating new energy sources instead of delaving 

 them. 



SOLID WASTE 



In January 1976, Brown circularized his subcommittee members 

 and asked for their ideas and suggestions on R. & D. in the area of 

 solid waste, along with energy which could be recovered from solid 

 waste. Considerable advance planning went into four hearing days 

 which started on April 6. Once again this was an area which involved 

 shared jurisdiction with the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Com- 

 mittee. As Brown remarked in a report: 



The term "solid waste" included in its meaning garbage, yard trash, commercial 

 wastes, demolition debris, mining, agricultural and industrial wastes, and sludges 

 from pollution control facilities. * * * Resource recovery refers to the reclaiming of 

 materials and energy from wastes so that thev can be recycled back into the economy. 



The hearings focused on legislation introduced by Representative 

 Robert F. Drinan (Democrat of Massachusetts), who was the leadoff 

 witness. Blouin and Harkin also testified, and Scheuer submitted a 

 brief statement. Harkin told the subcommittee about the resource 

 recovery operation in his hometown of Ames, Iowa, which was pro- 

 viding 20 percent of the fuel needed for the municipal powerplant. 

 Although the Ames plant received refuse from most areas of the 

 county, one of the problems encountered in 1979 was that the plant 

 had been built too large, and there was simply insufficient garbage 

 within the county to justify operating it seven days a week. 



At the subcommittee markup session on July 22, Brown mentioned 

 that he had had several conversations with Representative Fred B. 

 Rooney (Democrat of Pennsylvania) about the comparable legislation 

 which was being developed in the Commerce Committee. Brown 

 mentioned: 



There are certain problems in this bill as a result of the fact that it is a joint 

 operation between this committee and the Commerce Committee, and we always 

 have difficult problems of jurisdiction. I want to report that cooperation between 

 the staffs, based upon everything that I have been told, has been excellent, and this 



