996 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



OTHER ACTIVITIES OF BROWN SUBCOMMITTEE 



Among the other activities of the subcommittee were the 

 following: 



Hearings during July 197" to determine what lands are available 

 for environmental research reserves, how they are managed, and 

 what protection they have against being put to other uses. 



—Oversight hearings, in June 1978, on "Environmental Respon- 

 sibility Within the Department of Energy." In a letter of 

 transmittal, Brown stated: "We conclude that although the 

 Department is trying to integrate environmental considerations 

 into its decision-making process, there is a great variability 

 within the Department as to the success of that effort." 



— Oversight hearings on "Environmental Monitoring," held in 

 September 1977, and June and July 1978. The purpose of the 

 hearings was to review applicable monitoring programs, and to 

 investigate the feasibility of developing a prototype program. 



— Oversight hearings on ' ' Interagency Regulatory Liaison Group. 

 The Group had been formed by the President to coordinate the 

 efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupa- 

 tional Safety and Health Administration, the Consumer Product 

 Safety Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration. 

 This was the first time the four agencies had appeared together, 

 as a formal group, before the U.S. Congress. They were 

 obviously pleased at the opportunity to tell what they considered 

 to be a "success story." One of the major findings of the hearings 

 was the need for long-term research programs to generate 

 sound, credible scientific information, instead of ad hoc, short- 

 term, quickie solutions to meet regulatory needs. • 



NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTH CARE COSTS 



Early in 1978, the subcommittee members met and decided that 

 the issues they considered most important all centered around the 

 relation between the health of human beings and the environment. 

 One of the most important initiatives in working toward this goal 

 was the organization and planning of the "National Conference on the 

 Environment and Health Care Costs." The conference was jointly 

 sponsored by Brown and Representative Paul G. Rogers (Democrat of 

 Florida). As chairman of the Subcommittee on Health and the En- 

 vironment of the House Commerce Committee, Rogers had worked 

 closely with Brown on a number of joint programs. 



A coalition of interested groups helped plan the conference, which 

 was held in the House Cannon Office Building caucus room on 

 August 15, 1978. Participating in the coalition were the Urban- 



