726 HISTORY or THE COMMITTEE ON S< !EN< I AM) TECHNOLOGY 



The following interchange then occurred between Mosher and 

 Teague: 



Mr. Mosher. Mr. Chairman, as I understand it, the approval of your motion 

 docs not condition in any way or prejudice in any way further discussion of the 

 minority staff and that sort of thing? 



The Chairman. It does not. The Chair will do everything in his power to com- 

 pletely comply with the new rules concerning staffing as soon as we know what 

 they arc. As of this moment, I don't think we do. 



Mr. Mosher. Wc appreciate that policy on your part. 



THE STRUGGLE OVER APPOINTMENTS 



Between 1975 and 1978, the minority gradually tilled their 

 statutory quota of up to 16 professional and clerical staff members. 

 This was not achieved without a struggle. Both Teague and Swigert 

 fought a rearguard action along several fronts. The minority staff 

 continued to be integrated through the task team leaders, and only 

 gradually did they begin to assume a separate identity. There were 

 a few debates about qualifications of individual staff being recom- 

 mended. Also, there was always an issue of how many minority 

 staff could be allocated to the statutory (standing) committee staff 

 as against the investigative staff. The advantage of being assigned 

 to the standing staff was that there seemed to be a greater degree of 

 permanency (the standing staff was hired by the committee and paid 

 for by the House without the need for a special expense resolution 

 from the House Administration Committee) and the salary levels 

 could be higher on the standing staff. The investigative staff, funded 

 by annual resolutions through the House Administration Committee, 

 was not as desirable an assignment because there was a salary ceiling, 

 hiring was determined by the chairman, and therefore status and 

 permanency were not as great. Teague resisted what he considered 

 a too-rapid expansion of the minority staff and their understandable 

 desire to obtain more standing committee slots rather than investi- 

 gative positions. 



Prior to 1978, the various minority staff members were scattered 

 throughout the subcommittees and other administrative areas of the 

 committee staff. From the start, there was an effort by the minority 

 to consolidate its efforts at a central location, in order to achieve 

 coordinated direction. Not until June of 1978, however, was this goal 

 achieved with the assignment of Room 2320 of the Rayburn Building 

 to the minority. Minority staff was still assigned to w^ork directly 

 with subcommittees, but after June of 1978 the minority members had 

 a central office to call their own. 



