\IRO\.\l HCS WD TRANSPORT. \ M<>\ 



797 



At the committee Democratic Caucus on February 1, 1979, 

 Harkin argued that jurisdiction over legislation relating to electric 

 vehicles and automotive research should logically go to his subcom- 

 mittee. After some discussion as to how this would affect the splitting 

 up of the Department of Energy testimony among several subcom- 

 mittees, it was finally decided that it made more sense to place both 

 authorizing and oversight jurisdiction over ground transportation in 

 the Harkin subcommittee. This paved the way for Harkin's subcom- 

 mittee to take a far more active role in the area of ground transporta- 

 tion than had Milford, who had concentrated on aeronautics and 

 aviation. 



During the early months of 1979, the Harkin subcommittee faced 

 the same time constraints as other subcommittees with authorization 

 deadlines. This necessitated speedy action on the FAA R. & D. bill, 

 the aeronautics portion of the NASA bill, and the transportation con- 

 servation authorization in the Department of Energy. After February 

 hearings, Harkin assembled his subcommittee on March 2, 1979 to 

 mark up all three items, before reporting the FAA and NASA bills to 

 the full committee on March 14. 



At the subcommittee markup session, Goldwater, a persistent 

 advocate of fiscal responsibility, made an eloquent plea for greater 

 emphasis on R. & D. as well as better oversight. He pointed out: 



Both the NASA and FAA budgets for aeronautical R. & D. are in decline during 

 recent years. * * * This decline comes in spite of our recognition here in the Congress 

 that greatly expanded work in air breathing technology is urgently needed if the 

 U.S. is to maintain its traditional world leadership in aeronautics, its most important 

 source of foreign exchange in manufactured goods. 



I would urge that we take a more critical view of the United States position in 

 the world. I think all would agree that from most standpoints our position is deterior- 

 ating. I would suggest that a major reason for this decline is our reduced recognition 

 and lack of effort in research and technology in many fields, especially aeronautics. 



The subcommittee adopted an $8 million increase offered by Harkin 

 for additional experimentation on the variable cycle engine, which 

 brought the total NASA budget for aeronautics from $300.3 million 

 to $308.3 million. In presenting the bill to the House, Harkin was not 

 optimistic: 



The Committee on Science and Technology has repeatedly urged the adminis- 

 tration and the Congress to increase the resources devoted to aeronautical R&D. 

 We have often pointed to the many long-term benefits of investment in this area, 

 which are reflected in billions of dollars in sales of U.S. aircraft both here and abroad, 

 and in millions of jobs for Americans. It is unfortunate indeed that the administra- 

 tion has not seen fit to put forward a single new start for the coming year. 



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