ADVANCED ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES 



923 



In opening four days of hearings, Thornton observed: 



We arc dealing with an opportunity to impact positively on a major source of 

 energy savings nationwide. We arc dealing with activities which involve people-to- 

 pcople contact and trust and if anv program is to be effective, it must reach a broad 

 spectrum of the American public. 



McCormack allowed Thornton to preside over these hearings, and 

 helped kick them off with this observation of his own: 



This subcommittee then is committed to the proposition that this Nation must 

 develop an energy conservation ethic in its citizens. * * * We are dealing with individ- 

 uals in their homes, in the privacy of their own decisions in the morning, in the day- 

 time and in the evening- how much light they have in their houses, whether or not 

 they insulate their homes, what temperature they have on in their homes, how they 

 drive their cars, what kind of cars they drive, what kind of appliances they will use, 

 what thev do for recreation, all this effort to help the conservation ethic in this 

 country.*** This legislation is designed to help people understand what we can 

 do without damaging our standard of living, what we can do without reducing the 

 number of jobs in this country, without causing unemployment. 



GOLDWATER FEARS A MASSIVE BUREAUCRACY 



Gold water was negative on the proposal, expressing fear that 

 such legislation "often leads to yet another massive, unresponsive, and 

 uncontrollable Federal bureaucracy. It is the camel's-nose-in-the-tent 

 routine all over again." But most members of the McCormack sub- 

 committee expressed enthusiasm for Thornton's initiative. ERDA and 

 the FEA testified they felt the legislation was duplicative and pre- 

 mature, which reminded Hechler of a parody of an old song: "any- 

 thing Thornton can do, the administration can do better" — or "hang 

 your clothes on a hickory limb, but don't go near the water. ' ' Thornton 

 summoned State and local officials, representatives of consumer groups, 

 conservationists, and those familiar with the operation of the agricul- 

 tural extension service, building a good record in support of his bill. 



PRESIDENT CARTER SIGNS THORNTON BILL 



In marking up the bill several amendments were added by the 

 subcommittee to insure that maximum use be made of existing exten- 

 sion programs, and that activity by other local groups not be nega- 

 tively impacted by passage of the new legislation. The full committee 

 then approved the bill on May 11. In his separate views, Goldwater 

 remarked that the bill had been vastly improved and he would support 

 it, providing the Federal Government put its conservation house in 

 order. Goldwater deplored the fact that we simply did not know what 

 our overall Federal energy conservation program today was doing. 



The House passed the Thornton bill on August 2, 1976, and thanks 

 to the House Rules Committee it was merged in with the ERDA 

 authorization bill to match a comparable action in the Senate. Just 



