SHOOTOUT AT CLINCH RIVER 



865 



many years. He had heard all the arguments and was impatient wirh 

 the counterarguments and the delays thrown up by environmentalists, 

 intervenors, and antinuclear protesters. By the time the Science 

 Committee had inherited jurisdiction over the CRBR with the aboli- 

 tion of the Joint Committee in 1977, McCormack was way ahead of 

 everyone else in a thorough knowledge of the technical aspects of the 

 project. 



Dr. John P. Andelin, McCormack's former administrative assist- 

 ant and by now staff director of McCormack's subcommittee, could 

 see the bloody and fruitless battle ahead between the President and 

 Congress. On a number of occasions early in 1977, Dr. Andelin tried 

 independently to see if some accommodation could be worked out, 

 particularly in the selection of other breeder or nuclear strategies which 

 might enable the possible scaling down of the CRBR. Meanwhile, 

 McCormack tried for six months to get through a phone call to 

 Frank B. Moore, Assistant to the President for Congressional Liaison. 

 Dr. Andelin reported: 



I called about once a month, and said I would like to talk at their convenience 

 to Frank or to any designated deputy to discuss nuclear. To my knowledge, Frank 

 Moore's office has never returned a call to Mike's office. 



I WANT TO SEE THE PRESIDENT 



Finally, McCormack himself called the White House and said he 

 would like to see President Carter. An appointment was arranged for 

 July 1, 1977. McCormack spent a week working on a letter to hand 

 deliver to the President when he saw him. The third page of his letter 

 was double spaced and was literally pulled from the typewriter be- 

 cause there wasn't time for it to be typed in final form. As a result, 

 McCormack was five minutes late for the appointment at the White 

 House. 



McCormack's letter to the President indicated that the Congress 

 would likely fund the CRBR, and add support to the reprocessing 

 facility at Barnwell, S.C. He praised the President's stand on nuclear 

 weapons proliferation, but added: 



However, the reaction has been negative to your suggestions relative co the 

 breeder and reprocessing. Most of the nations of the world will free themselves from 

 any dependence upon the United States for nuclear fuels as quickly as possible. The 

 result will be international confusion and an enhanced possibility of nuclear weapons 

 proliferation. 



McCormack then suggested that there be a one-year delay in 

 construction of the CRBR, with a funding level of $75 million (the 

 amount suggested by the Senate.) He then stated that the President 

 should "announce a commitment to develop a breeder technology, so 

 that commercialization can be undertaken when and if necessary.' 

 The letter was quite blunt in stating: 



