mo fi 1 1 i.iki \\ oi.n fossii rrn 



827 



the Congress to perfect and hopefully vote into law. Committee leaders 

 like Fuqua, McCormack, Thornton, Downing, Winn, and Mosher were 

 dedicated to the proposition that workable loan guarantee legislation 



was an essential supplement to the ERDA authorization bill in order to 

 move toward a solution oi the energy crisis. In the absence of such 

 legislation, a majority of the committee agreed with Federal Energy 

 Administrator Frank Zarb that other energy operations amounted to 

 little more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. 



On February 1". 1976, Teague assembled 434 copies oi the overview 

 portion of a 4-volume report by the President's Interagency Task Force, 

 entitled '"Recommendations tor a Synthetic Fuels Commercialization 

 Program." He sent these overview summaries to every Member of the 

 House, with a note which read in part: 



WIN YOl STUDY THIS! * * * Synthetic fuels can make a significant con- 

 tribution to the Nation's supply of oil and gas to bridge the gap between fuel supplies 

 as we know them today and the technological alternatives of tomorrow. Whether 

 this contribution can be achieved depends upon the extent to which prototype projects 

 are undertaken in the future to establish the economics and environmental compati- 

 bility ot this technolog) 



H.R 11112 IS INTRODUCED 



Having received assurances from the White House, OMB and Dr. 

 Seamans that the administration would reallv fight for loan guarantee- 

 legislation in 1976, Teague introduced a new bill on February 25, H.R. 

 12112. The bill scaled down the total amount of loan guarantees from 

 the $6 billion asked in 1975 to $2 billion, with the thought that it 

 would be easier to get that amount authorized and perhaps increased 

 later. 



On March 31, Teague called the full committee into session for the 

 first of six days of crowded public hearings. Witnesses from the ad- 

 ministration, private industry, universities, Governors, environmen- 

 talists, Indians, and economists flocked in to give their testimony. The 

 committee members not only sought information but also argued their 

 own points of view, somewhat vociferously at times. Teague singled 

 out the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury as the target for a personal 

 blast at the White House: 



Last year from the White House numerous times upon the highest authority we 

 were assured of support and help for this type legislation and we got absolutely none 

 This hill is not going back to the floor unless we have some assurance they are going 

 to do something besides talk. Just coming here to testify is not enough. 1 was told 

 yesterday by a former Member of Congress that he bumped into a man from the White 

 House who told him that this legislation was about at the bottom of their priority 

 list up here on the Hill. If that be true, I will quit having hearings and forget it. 



