572 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



lined in 1974 for a burn treatment center at the National Institutes 

 of Health. 



The leadoff witness in the 1976 hearings was Howard D. Tipton, 

 appointed by President Ford as the first head of the National Fire 

 Prevention and Control Administration. Noting that Tipton has been 

 executive director of the National Commission, Symington stated: 



So even though we changed the name of the game, the captain still runs the team. 



The subcommittee was critical of the slow progress, and Fuqua 

 said: 



I am somewhat disappointed that we have not accomplished more. Maybe that is 

 impatience on my part, no reflection on you and your people, Mr. Tipton. However, 

 I am very much in support of this and I hope we can have maybe more progress than we 

 have had before. 



Tipton candidly indicated: 



I have to say that without budgetary constraints my personal feeling is yes, there 

 should be a significant effort, but I must also recognize the role that I play here in the 

 administration and the concern for fiscal policy. 



DOUBLING THE AUTHORIZATION 



When the subcommittee marked up the authorization bill on 

 March 3, the budgeted requests were roughly doubled to recommend 

 about $20 million annually for the entire effort. There was some discus- 

 sion about the proposed Fire Academy. Fuqua's amendment was 

 adopted, to require that Academy construction plans be given to the 

 respective House and Senate committees, subject to disapproval by 

 Congress within 60 days. Although cynics might suspect that Congress 

 was interested in site selection for reasons of patronage or "pork," 

 the committee made it clear in its authorization report that a "modest 

 but central facility" was envisioned. The description was expanded 

 to this definition: "adequate but not excessive facility." Translated in- 

 to the vernacular, Fuqua informed the subcommittee: "We don't want 

 them building any Taj Mahal." Still, the intense State and local inter- 

 est in the location of the Academy was well defined when Symington 

 presented the bill on the House floor in March, as he stated: 



Interest in the Fire Academy is keen because about sixty Members of the House 

 have written to the Fire Administration recommending sites for the Academy. I hope 

 the fifty-nine Members who are disappointed when the site is selected will not think 

 worse of the Fire Administration. 



There was no serious opposition to the authorization bill, al- 

 though Moshcr told the House: 



I believe it is true that the Administration is not happy with the additional 

 amount of money represented in this bill. Nevertheless, our committee was unani- 

 mously in support of the legislation we are proposing today, including the minority 

 side, and I do personally support the bill. 



