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IIIMORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



There is such a wonderful flurry of aggressive activity that immediately precedes 

 each of these hearings, that perhaps we should hold the hearings more frequently. 



But there was still some skepticism over whether NASA would 

 meet the timetable outlined, as evidenced by this exchange between 

 Roush and Boyd C. Myers, Deputy Associate Administrator for 

 Operations: 



Mr. Roush. Do I understand, Mr. Myers, that by the end of fiscal year 1967 you 

 will either have spent or obligated the total sum of $28,900,000? 



Mr. Myers. By the end of fiscal year 1967 we will have either committed or 

 obligated almost all of that; yes, sir. 



Mr. Roush. Well, we have had that same story every year. I'm reminded of my 

 wife's statement to me. I keep telling her each year the Congress is going to adjourn 

 in July or August, and I told her the same thing this year, and she said why should I 

 believe you, you have been wrong every year so far. 



A clue as to the mood of the opponents of the Center was contained 

 in Wydler's comment to the full committee in 1966: 



Although I am fully accepting the idea that the Electronics Research Center is 

 going to be built in the Kendall Square site, I do believe that, as usual, their estimates 

 of when they are going to be building this Electronics Research Center are totally 

 unrealistic * * *. 



The history of the intenelationships between NASA and the 

 committee reveals a lack of candor on the part of NASA so far as the 

 Electronics Research Center is concerned. In 1969, NASA testified that 

 844 employees were onboard at the Center in March. Bruce T. Lundin, 

 Deputy Associate Administrator for Research and Technology, testi- 

 fied at that time: 



NASA strongly believes that continued growth in the facilities and staff of the 

 Electronics Research Center is essential to the technical strength of much of what we 

 must do in the future. 



Lundin then asked to authorize 56 additional positions and 

 $8,008,000 to build a new Computer'Instrumentation Research Labora- 

 tory. He remarked that construction underway was 45-percent com- 

 pleted. Center personnel began to move from leased space to the new 

 building at the end of 1969. 



But by 1969, a new President had taken office. In sifting through 

 his budget priorities for the next year, it is understandable that Presi- 

 dent Nixon should have a somewhat different view of the project which 

 had come into being under the sponsorship of the Democratic adminis- 

 trations immediately prior to his own. 



On December 29, 1969, NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine 

 addressed the staff" at the Cambridge Center, announced the closing of 

 the Center, and remarked: 



We are simply faced with the hard fact that NASA cannot afford to continue to 

 invest broadly in electronics research as we have in the past. 



