1030 



HISTORY OF THE COMMITT] I ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



The committee, led by McCormack and Goldwater, sponsored 

 and piloted through to enactment the Solar Photovoltaic Energy 

 Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1978. The bill pro- 

 vided tor a 10-year program, doubling the total production of photo- 

 voltaic systems each year. In 1978, the committee added $101.5 million 

 to the President's budget request of $291.8 million for solar R. & D. 

 operating expenses, and also voted add-ons for geothermal and 

 conservation. 



Beginning in 1973, McCormack's Subcommittee on Energy had 

 teamed up with the Space Science and Applications Subcommittee for 

 a joint hearing on the possibilities for solar satellite power. In sub- 

 sequent years, Fuqua's Space Science and Applications Subcommittee 

 had carried the ball, usually in conjunction with one of the energy 

 subcommittees. A solar satellite power system bill passed the House 

 in 1978, but failed in the Senate, and the committee voted out a new 

 SSPS bill in 1979. 



In 1979, Fuqua endorsed the President's goal to generate 20 percent 

 of the Nation's energy by solar means by the year 2000. The committee 

 continued to give strong support to solar and conservation initiatives 

 in 1979. The House passed a wind energy R. & D. bill in December 1979 



Chapter XX 



From 1975 through 1978, Brown headed the Subcommittee on 

 Environment and the Atmosphere. One of the first steps the sub- 

 committee took was to help beef up the environment and safety 

 programs of ERDA, after which the subcommittee went to work on 

 their first authorization bill for the Environmental Protection Agency 

 (EPA). The subcommittee adopted an amendment by Hayes requiring 

 a 5-year research plan, which proved to be an excellent management 

 tool. The Brown subcommittee conducted a wide-ranging series of 

 oversight hearings in such areas as depletion of the ozone layer through 

 use of aerosols, sulfates in the atmosphere, waste disposal polluting 

 the oceans, chronic exposure to low-level pollutants, and environ- 

 mental research centers. 



The subcommittee's first enactment was the Resource Recovery 

 Act, which was incorporated into legislation being developed by the 

 House Interstate and Commerce Committee. This legislation included 

 the R. & D. portions developed in the Brown subcommittee relating 

 to the use of waste to generate energy. Next, the subcommittee turned 

 to the National Weather Modification Policy Act of 1976, which 

 authorized the Secretary of Commerce to pull together data on scien- 

 tific knowledge and technological developments concerning weather 

 modification. President Ford signed the bill into law on October 13, 

 1976. 



