360 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



attempted to inspire NASA to take a greater interest in technology 

 utilization. The committee was far ahead of NASA in its faith in the 

 program. It is unfortunate that the Senate, as well as the top adminis- 

 trators of NASA, did not completely share this high degree of 

 enthusiasm. 



PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAM 



"Your statement is most interesting," Teague told the Director 

 of the technology utilization program during a 1970 committee 

 hearing. The witness beamed and responded: "Thank you, very much." 

 Teague brought him down from the summit immediately by observing: 

 "But we haven't gotten across to the public very well." 



Throughout the 1960's during which Teague chaired the Sub- 

 committee on Manned Space Flight, he carried on a running battle 

 with NASA over what he regarded as poor leadership of its public 

 affairs program. One of Teague's targets was Julian Scheer, who had 

 been brought in by Administrator Webb to direct NASA's Office of 

 Public Affairs. Teague and other committee members felt strongly 

 that insufficient emphasis was being placed by NASA on publicizing 

 the spinoff benefits of the space program. It galled the committee 

 that NASA would not take the initiative to produce a publication 

 such as the committee itself compiled, entitled "For the Benefit of All 

 Mankind" — which broke all committee records for popularity. 

 Teague also had a personal feud with Scheer, growing out of sharp 

 differences over invitations to space launches at the Cape. Teague 

 had a host of friends strongly supporting the space program, and he 

 knew when the program would gain even stronger support by the 

 presence of certain individuals at the launches. 



In 1969, Teague led a unanimous effort in the committee to 

 slash the authorization for the headquarters Office of Public Affairs 

 by $1.5 million, on the grounds that "the management and super- 

 vision of these activities at the headquarters level leaves much to be 

 desired." The committee report stipulated that "none of this re- 

 duction shall be levied against public affairs accounts at the field 

 center level." Even though the move was aimed directly at Scheer, 

 the slash was not sustained by' the Senate or conference committee. 

 Scheer resigned his post in February 1971. 



In August 1971, John P. Donnelly was appointed Assistant 

 Administrator for Public Affairs. A former vice president for corpo- 

 rate communications of Whittaker Corp., one of Donnelly's first 

 moves was to pay a courtesy call on Chairman Miller to whom he 

 subsequently wrote a note: 



