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HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



In an interview, Casey recalled his many efforts to persuade 

 NASA to increase its efforts to educate the public about space, and 

 also redirect its activities toward problems on Earth. As Casey put it: 



I told them at NASA: " You had better be prepared to get into the other prob- 

 lems we are faced with — such as waste treatment." They said: "We are not garbage 

 men or sewer men." Some of those ones who gave me that back talk are not there 

 any more. And they did not leave voluntarily. 



"NASA and the aerospace industry need to bring the message of 

 the contributions of our national space program more forcefully to the 

 public," declared Teague in a 1972 interview in the North American 

 Rockwell publication "Skyline." Teague also sparked a move to ex- 

 pand the Visitors Information Center at the Kennedy Space Center, 

 which was achieved through a committee-sponsored amendment to 

 the NASA authorization bill. General Electric Co. produced a special 

 color-illustrated publication of "For the Benefit of All Mankind" to 

 spread the word about space spinoffs. Fuqua, Frey, Winn, Cronin, and 

 Ketchum were among the leaders supporting Teague's efforts on the 

 committee demanding more aggressive NASA efforts in the public 

 affairs area. They remained dissatisfied with the results. 



When Teague became chairman of the full committee in 1973, one 

 of his first moves was to ask staff director Swigert to generate a full- 

 scale inquiry into NASA's public affairs activities. Swigert assigned 

 principal responsibility for the task to Thomas N. Tate, a committee 

 staff member who had served in the operations and marketing area of 

 North American Rockwell Corp. In assigning Tate to the task, Swigert 

 noted: 



The Chairman has the feeling that the American public is not adequately in- 

 formed about the Space Program — its capabilities and relevancy to the current prob- 

 lems — (it is a feeling I also share). Because of your prior experience, I would like to 

 assign you this task. The first step, it seems logical, is to examine NASA's Public 

 Information Program. * * * After the NASA evaluation, incorporate your recom- 

 mendations into a broad program encompassing all the available public information 

 facilities of contractors, industry associations and NASA for presentation to the 

 Chairman. 



In a yearlong study in conjunction with some trips to NASA field 

 installations, aerospace contractors, and others, the committee staff 

 presented its conclusions on July 3, 1974. Tate, in transmitting the 

 report, outlined six options open to Chairman Teague, all the way 

 from holding a public hearing to private consultations with NASA on 

 the conclusions and recommendations. Operating with his customary 

 directness, Teague instead handed the staff study to Dr. George M. 

 Low and Rocco Petrone, two NASA officials who happened to be 

 riding on a plane with him. Teague said to them: "Here, answer this." 



