rASK FORCE AND SUBCOMMITTE1 ON ENERGY, 19 665 



and consumption, indicating where research and development fit into 

 the overall energy policy issue. McCormack also recruited another of 

 his staff members. Kirk Hall, who later joined the committee staff, to 

 assist the task force. From the minority side, Joseph Del Riego pitched 

 in to help also. Warren H. Donnelly of the Environmental Policy 

 Division, Congressional Research Service, was consistently helpful in 

 augmenting the staff. 



In addition to the highly successful Monday afternoon briefings, 

 the task force took two field trips and visited nine major energy instal- 

 lations from coast to coast. The first trip in October 1971 was an 

 inspection of the Princeton University Plasma Physics Laboratory, 

 where research on controlled thermonuclear fusion had been in prog- 

 ress since 1951. On the same trip, the task force visited the FMC Corp. 

 in Princeton, N.J. to look at pilot plants and R. & D. in coal gasifica- 

 tion and liquefaction. 



A January 1972 field trip took the task force to Chicago, several 

 locations in California and Austin, Tex. to see at first hand what was 

 developing in geothermal, fission and fusion, and new uses for coal 

 and other forms of energy. 



AN IMPORTANT VISIT TO TEXAS 



Whatever the task force learned throughout these field trips 

 could not equal what McCormack added to his excellent standing 

 with Teague as a result of the January visit to the University of Texas. 

 Teague was deeply interested in the energy work progressing at the 

 Center for Plasma Physics and Thermonuclear Research at Austin, 

 Tex. As noted above, he had mentioned this at the July 13 meeting 

 when he bulldozed the way clear with Miller to allow the original 

 establishment of the task force. The fact that McCormack swung his 

 task force down through Austin on the return trip from California, 

 after stopping in Chicago — scarcely a very direct route to Washington, 

 D.C. — seemed to have had an influence on an important decision which 

 Teague made at the end of 1972. But this is getting a little ahead of the 

 story. 



As 1972 progressed, two membership changes were made on the 

 task force. At the request of Esch, Mosher stepped aside to allow him 

 to become a task force member. But Mosher, who by this time had 

 replaced Fulton as the ranking minority member of the full committee, 

 thereby remained as an ex officio member of the task force. Due to the 

 pressure of other duties, Symington gave up his slot to Hanna. These 

 changes made little difference in the work or character of the task 

 force, however, as McCormack continued to be the real leader. 



