666 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE OX SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



The year 1972 was a very successful one for the task force. Grad- 

 ually, the documents produced (three separate reports containing the 

 "briefing" papers and an analysis thereof), plus a 1724-page publica- 

 tion entitled "An Inventory of Energy Research" gained renown for 

 the task force. The "Inventory" had actually been compiled by the 

 AEC Oak Ridge National Laboratory, thanks to a grant from the Na- 

 tional Science Foundation. Published by the task force as a committee 

 print, it helped build the task force reputation for timeliness, accuracy, 

 and usefulness. 



ENERGY HEARINGS BY DAVIS SUBCOMMITTEE 



At a meeting of subcommittee chairmen on February 1, 1972, 

 Davis obtained Miller's permission to escalate the task force activity 

 by holding public hearings. Davis explained in a later memorandum 

 to Miller on February 23: 



These hearings would be an extension of and build upon the work done so far by 

 the Task Force on Energy headed by Mike McCormack. * * * I feel that hearings on 

 energy research and development will be valuable to the committee and the Congress, 

 and will generate a valuable public record of information from the scientific and 

 technological community on this subject. 



As promised to Miller, the public hearings were actually staged by the 

 SRD Subcommittee, but it was clear that the task force was dominant 

 in planning and implementing the effort. 



In opening the seven days of hearings, during May, Davis stated: 



The fact that we face a potentially devastating energy crisis has, during the past 

 year or two, come to the attention of more and more people in this country, including 

 those of us serving as Members of Congress. 



Davis had high praise for McCormack, whom he again identified as 

 "the only scientist also sitting as a Member of the House of Repre- 

 sentatives." For his part, McCormack complimented all the members 

 of his task force, summarized their work and accomplishments, and 

 then added: 



I am optimistic that these hearings will be useful in evaluating our energy 

 K & D. efforts in the context of a national energy R. & D. policy. I hope we can 

 determine some of the components of that policy, the questions yet to be answered 

 and the means by which such a policy can be implemented. 



May 1972 marked a change in Chairman Miller's interest in the 

 task force. On November 19, 1971, during a "special order" address 

 by McCormack, interspersed with high praise from a number of 

 colleagues, Miller had been somewhat restrained: 



I want to congratulate Mr. McCormack as chairman of the Task Force for the 

 constructive and fine work he is doing and assure him we will give him our full 

 support. 



