D) I ISION ON I 111 SPA< E SHI [TLE 279 



Just before the vote was announced, several people asked Chair- 

 man Miller, who was one of the tellers: "Have you voted vet? You 

 had better vote!" Miller quickly went through the line supporting the 

 Shuttle, although there was some question whether he had cast his 

 vote at the same time as Karth had, when the teller vote commenced. 

 In any case, both Miller and Karth announced their total votes as 53, 

 which meant that on a tie vote the Karth amendment failed by an 

 eyelash. 



iilton's recommit motion 



Now occurred another crisis affecting the fate of the Shuttle. 

 Mosher, who opposed additional funds for the Shuttle, would have 

 been the senior minority member authorized to offer the motion to 

 recommit the bill but for the fact that Fulton, the senior Republican 

 on the committee, had left his sick bed to be present for the Shuttle 

 debate. Had Mosher been allowed to present his recommit motion, 

 it was his intention to include the Karth-Mosher amendment in that 

 motion. There was some question whether Fulton's strength would 

 allow him physically to remain until the end of the debate, but Fulton 

 was a stubborn man. 



By offering the recommittal motion, Fulton saved the Shuttle, 

 since Fulton's motion reduced the total authorization bill by only $30 

 million in the Apollo and space flight operations areas. Chairman 

 Miller and Minority Leader Ford startled the House by announcing 

 that they both were going to support the modest cut contained in 

 the motion to recommit. 



Ford then paid his compliments to Karth and Mosher for their 

 opposition to the Shuttle, indicated he had conferred with both oppo- 

 nents several weeks prior to the debate, and "I must admit that many 

 of their arguments were persuasive." Ford pointed out that the re- 

 commit motion "will do no harm to the program and yet will not 

 hamstring the agency as to any new decisions for the future." He 

 gave the distinct impression that the White House would not object 

 to a net increase of $270 million over the President's budget, and 

 certainly would be happier if the Karth-Mosher attack on the Shuttle 

 were rebuffed. 



The recommit motion breezed through on a voice vote, and then 

 a surprising amount of opposition arose on final passage of the author- 

 ization, which survived by a vote of 229-105. Three committee mem- 

 bers- Karth, Mosher and Koch — voted against the final passage of the 

 NASA authorization bill in 1970. 



