IN THE BEGINNING, THE SELECT COMMITTEE 25 



months and perhaps a year, if we come up to a point where we have to come 

 back to a committee and say, "Well, we have gone so far, and we ask for a few more 

 million dollars." This is a ridiculous provision. 



The dominoes began to fall. Representative B. F. Sisk (Democrat 

 of California) joined the concert: 



I, too, was concerned about this language when I found it in the Senate discussion 

 of the matter. Does the gentleman agree with me that this is in direct contradiction 

 to the language we placed in the original authorization bill for the agency? 



Ford decisively responded: "It seems to me it is about 95 percent 

 in opposition to the basic legislation for the space agency." 



Everybody rushed to get into the act. Representative Walter Judd 

 (Republican of Minnesota) eloquently declared: 



The gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hays) and I were in England in the late 

 summer of 1944 when Hitler sent across his first V-2's. That was just two months or so 

 after our Expeditionary Force had left England to land in Normandy. It was said in 

 all quarters that had Hitler been able to launch his V-2 just 4 months earlier, he 

 might have won the war. Are we here today to take chances on four, six, eight 

 months, or a year of delay in this most important field 5 



Ford warmed to his task: 



If this language which is in disagreement is included, before the Space Agency 

 can hire one clerk, one single clerk to do some typing, they have to come to Congress 

 and get an authorization by the Congress on an annual basis. 



Against the flood of oratory, there was only one Congressman 

 (not on the House select committee) who dared to stand up and fight 

 for the annual authorization. He was Representative Albert Thomas 

 (Democrat of Texas) chairman of the Independent Offices Subcommittee 

 which handles NASA appropriations. Thomas lifted his glasses high 

 on top of his forehead and twanged away: 



What is wrong with them coming over and letting the Congress determine? 

 After all, we do the legislating. Is there anything wrong in the Congress legislating? 

 Whose duty is it to legislate, the executive's or that of the legislative branch? 



But Thomas was at this point like King Canute trying to sweep 

 back the ocean. Ford and his allies won the day to knock out the 

 provision requiring annual NASA authorizations, by a decisive vote 

 of 236 to 126. 



The aftermath of the House action was sudden. 



Dr. Sheldon reached Chairman McCormack in New Hampshire 

 where he was vacationing. According to Sheldon: 



It's the only time ever that McCormack really chewed me out. He was furious. 

 It turns out that he had made an agreement, in private, with Lyndonjohnson to accept 

 the change and had failed to tell any of us. Lyndonjohnson then called Sam Rayburn, 

 and said, "This has to be undone." 



Speaker Rayburn moved his big guns out to reverse the August 

 20 decision in the House. The Senate voted 86-0 to stand firm in its 

 position and the conferees reassembled. A compromise was reached, 



