NATURAL RESOl K( ES AND THE ENVIRONMENT 983 



jurisdiction. When the full committee took up the bill on May 19, 

 Wydler successfully sponsored an amendment to authorize EPA to 

 conduct research on ocean waste disposal in the New York bight, for 

 which EPA was given $500,000. Brown wisely chose to let his sub- 

 committee staff director, Spensley, negotiate a compromise with the 

 Merchant Marine Committee for which he had worked during the 

 previous Congress. Thereafter, the Wydler amendment was unani- 

 mously adopted, and also accepted by the Merchant Marine Committee 

 and the conference committee. 



The floor debate on October 14, 1977, revealed none of the behind- 

 the-scenes jurisdictional fight or staff negotiations which had preceded. 

 The bill itself passed the House by 359 to 1. Included was a significant 

 provision to set a mandatory deadline of December 31, 1981, for ending 

 the ocean dumping of sewage sludge. The President signed the bill into 

 law on November 4, 1977. 



By 1978, the jurisdictional brush had been forgotten. A similar 

 bill, even though it did not actually pass in 1978, was jointly referred 

 to the Science and Merchant Marine Committees. Although nothing 

 was said during the House debate by the Merchant Marine Committee 

 about the spirit of cooperation between the two committees, Brown 

 was effusive in his remarks: 



This bill shows how well committees of this House can work together. * * * It is 

 a particular pleasure to bring legislation before the House which bears the stamp of 

 cwo committees and be able to say that each committee has made significant improve- 

 ments on the original proposal and that both committees mutually support the work 

 of the other. * * * Today, in the spirit of friendly cooperation and coordination, we 

 are offering a joint committee amendment in the nature of a committee substitute 

 which incorporates the best of both versions. 



CLIMATE RESEARCH 



Building on the initiative by Hayes in 1976, Brown moved in late 

 1976 to push forward legislation to establish a national climate pro- 

 gram. As a member of the House Agriculture Committee and repre- 

 senting a district with a great deal of farming, Brown explained: 



This was motivated by a perception of the enormous potential savings in disaster 

 relief and lost agricultural production which could be achieved by a better understand- 

 ing and monitoring of climate fluctuations. 



Brown outlined his plans in a letter to President-elect Carter, and 

 in January 1977, met with representatives of the transition team. He 

 then invited all agencies concerned to contribute to the program de- 

 velopment, and to designate suitable liaison staff. Spensley recalls: 



We were invited down to meet with some of the members of the President's 

 Office of Science and Technology Policy. George Brown, myself and a couple of other 

 staff members went down and met in the Executive Office Building. * * * And, lo and 

 behold, one of the staff members we met with went straight to OMB and got 

 them to write a letter in opposition to our initiative. 



