\ERONA1 ins VND TRANSPORTATION 759 



On October 9, 1974, the subcommittee met to conduct a freewheeling 

 markup session to finalize the language ot the reports. Hechler told the 

 subcommittee: 



I want co make sure all members oi che subcommittee realize that as of 11:00 

 Lis: night our subcommittee goi some wonderful new jurisdiction. I think all mem- 

 bers of the subcommittee ought to give some thought as to the implication of che 

 Hansen Committee and its recommendations which were written into House rules 

 last night so far as our subcommittee is concerned. * * * We have taken from the 

 Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee full jurisdiction over all R. & D. that 

 relates to civil aviation 



BROWN AND THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE 



Before 1975, ground transportation was excluded from the juris- 

 diction generally carved out for the subcommittee which handled 

 Aeronautics and Space Technology, including advanced research. This 

 issue was confronted when Brown introduced legislation, cosponsored 

 by McCormack and Symington, to authorize NASA to conduct re- 

 search and to develop ground propulsion systems which would serve 

 to reduce the level of energy consumption. Subsequently, 101 co- 

 sponsors stepped forward to endorse the Brown bill, including two- 

 thirds of the members of the Science Committee. The bill could have 

 gone to any one of four subcommittees: Science, Research and Develop- 

 ment; Space Science and Applications; Energy; or Aeronautics and 

 Space Technology. Teague finally made the decision to refer the bill 

 to Symington's Subcommittee on Space Science and Applications, 

 where hearings were held in February and June 1974. 



Brown's inspiration for drafting the new legislation grew not 

 only out of the requirements of the Clean Air Act, but the realization 

 that the internal combustion engine "is the largest source of air pollu- 

 tion in the United States." Brown's concept was to charge NASA with 

 developing an alternative which would not be adverse to public health, 

 would expend less energy, and would operate at higher efficiency. As 

 the lead-off witness before the Symington subcommittee, Brown 

 pointed out that Japan and Germany were really beating American 

 manufacturers to the punch with light-weight, high-powered engines 

 which were more fuel-efficient and less polluting. He noted that Mr. 

 Honda "had a sixth grade education, and none of the resources avail- 

 able to General Motors to help him develop these things." He added: 



If this legislation did no more than prod our own industry to move rapidly it 

 would be a useful piece of legislation. 



Bergland (the future Secretary of Agriculture) expressed some im- 

 patience with the lack of enthusiasm of the administration for a bill 



