rASK FORCJ AND SIBCOMMITT! ! ON I\1R(,V, i^i -, ^-73 



subcommittee launched three days of hearings on "Short-Term Energy 

 Shortages and Policy Options." McCormack announced at the outset: 



The public expects the Congress to see to it that adequate provisions are made 

 to avoid unnecessary shortages and, at the very least, to he certain that all essential 

 services have adequate fuel and electricity. Contingency plans should exist to handle 

 any critical situation within this area that may develop during the next 12 months. 



Not until 1975 did the committee officially gain jurisdiction over 

 energy research and development. Even under the expanded 1975 juris- 

 diction, it is a question whether an inquiry into gasoline and home 

 heating oil shortages fell within the purview of the committee. But 

 the McCormack hearings attracted wide attention because they dealt 

 with hot issues which were on everybody's mind. Increasingly, 

 McCormack was making a name for himself as the man concerned 

 about energy. 



Out in St. Louis, McCormack teamed up his subcommittee with 

 Symington's Space Science and Applications Subcommittee for the 

 first of several joint hearings on "Energy Research and Development 

 and Space Technology." Returning to Washington, D.C., the joint 

 hearings continued as McCormack laid the foundation for expanding 

 his subcommittee jurisdiction by linking his inquiries to both the 

 present interest and future potential of NASA and NSF. Since both 

 those agencies were clearly within the committee's jurisdiction, no- 

 body could raise a question about predatory ventures across the borders. 

 Meanwhile, McCormack never lost an opportunity to campaign for 

 greater emphasis on the NSF's research applied to national needs pro- 

 gram (RANN), which enabled NSF to expand its activities in the 

 energy area — particularly in solar energy. NASA, through its energy- 

 related work in developing aeronautics, satellites, and other space 

 systems, told the McCormack subcommittee that NASA's capabilities 

 and technologies "can be put to work on terrestrial problems of 

 generation, conversion, and conservation of energy." 



In June and July of 1973, McCormack's subcommittee stepped up 

 us activity. Reports were starting to move off the press, including 

 "The Federal Government and Energy R. & D. : A Historical Back- 

 ground" and "Energy Facts." Also, Kirk Hall of the staff prepared a 

 brief set of energy conservation tips. It was published, attracting the 

 attention of Representative Henry S. Reuss (Democrat of Wisconsin). 

 Congressman Reuss, at that time Chairman of the Subcommittee on 

 Conservation and Natural Resources of the House Government Oper- 

 ations Committee, held four joint hearings with McCormack during 

 the summer of 1973 on the subject of energy conservation. In opening 

 the hearings, Reuss stated: 



I particularly want to praise this excellent little booklet which, while it has the 

 format of all our committee prints and reports, is surely something that every Ameri- 

 can ought to carry with him and practice. 



