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HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



Still another device to aid firefighters was described to the subcom- 

 mittee as "a portable breathing apparatus which will combine a 

 lighter, longer duration air supply with a better sling harness and a 

 face mask design based on NASA experience in human factors 

 engineering." 



Conscious of and sensitive toward the increasing pressure of the 

 committee to beef up applications and technology utilization, NASA 

 Administrator Fletcher decided in 1975 to lead off his testimony with 

 a series of demonstrations of spinoffs from NASA's work. The presen- 

 tation was far broader than technology utilization. The first witness, 

 Dr. Helen Christy Cannon, Medical Officer of the Alaska Area Native 

 Health Service of HEW, gave a very dramatic series of illustrations 

 with the use of videotape to show how an applications technology 

 satellite had brought diagnosis and medical advice quickly into remote 

 or isolated areas in Alaska. Other presentations illustrated how NASA 

 technology was assisting agriculture, education, medicine, and many 

 other fields. 



For the first time in 1975, Chairman Fuqua's Subcommittee on 

 Space Science and Applications assumed the leadership for technology 

 utilization. Two pleasant surprises greeted Fuqua on February 25, 1975. 

 First, Edward Z. Gray showed up sporting rather lengthy seniority so 

 far as technology utilization directors go — it was his second consecu- 

 tive year in that position. Second, NASA had budgeted $7 million for 

 technology utilization — an increase of $1.5 million over their prior 

 year expenditure. Gray brought to the subcommittee's attention a new 

 cataract removal device, the use of safety criteria for storage of liquid 

 natural gas, and the use of flat conductor cables in housing — to men- 

 tion only a few. Chairman Fuqua then posed that key question which 

 is music to the ears of every witness: 



If you had some more money, say another million dollars, what would you do 

 with it? 



Gray took the bait quickly, mentioned the biomedical applications 

 centers, plus the backlog of applications pending for additional assist- 

 ance. He supplied some hard and persuasive data which prompted 

 Fuqua to observe at the close of the hearings: 



I think that this is one area that we need to be doing more in. 



True to his word, Fuqua helped engineer a $2 million increase for 

 technology utilization through his subcommittee. The Senate rather 

 woodenly declined to take any interest in the area beyond the NASA 

 budget of $7 million. As a matter of fact, the Senate Committee on 

 Aeronautical and Space Sciences engaged in some mighty tortured 

 reasoning in an attempt to justify why they wouldn't go along with 

 the House plea for greater emphasis: 



