g66 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



Your approach is mistaken. In attempting to suppress the development of LMFBR 

 technology, as if it in itself uniquely contributes or constitutes the threat of nuclear 

 weapons proliferation, you are not only missing your target but you are losing your 

 support and credibility. 



"i'm just listening" 



Dr. Andelin, who was in on the Friday afternoon meeting with 

 President Carter, recalls: 



The President listened, relatively distantly. He asked questions that were basically 

 hostile to breeder technology. At one point, he said, after he was very quiet for a long 

 time and Mike was talking on: " Don't take my silence to mean anything besides that 

 I'm listening very carefully. It doesn't mean that I'm agreeing or disagreeing — I'm 

 just listening." 



Dr. Andelin drew the conclusion that there was no communication 

 between the two principals, that they were talking past each other, 

 and that nothing either of them said changed or even affected either 

 person's mind. Subsequently, McCormack referred to the President's 

 position as "irrational", and presumably based on a campaign com- 

 mitment from which he couldn't escape. 



July 1, 1977 fell on the Friday prior to the Fourth of July. Teague 

 had given his hard-working staff an extra day off to furnish them a 

 long holiday weekend. In midafternoon, he was called at home and 

 asked about the circumstances of McCormack's meeting with the 

 President. Having no knowledge of the meeting, Teague was at first 

 puzzled, then curious, and finally angry. It was pointed out to Teague 

 that the morning Washington Post had carried McCormack's name on 

 the President's appointment list for a 1:30 p.m. meeting. 



McCormack later expressed surprise at the intensity of Teague's 

 reaction, noting that he had made no pretense of representing anyone 

 but himself. Teague was furious that McCormack saw the President 

 without consultation with the chairman or other committee mem- 

 bers. More news came out on the front page of the July 5 edition 

 of The Energy Daily, with the headline "McCormack Finds Carter 

 Unmoved on Breeder, Reprocessing." The article stated: 



McCormack, who characterized the meeting as a "vigorous exchange", told the 

 President that his nuclear policy would likely be reversed by Congress. * * * Carter, 

 McCormack said, disagreed with him on several key points. The President still 

 believes he will win in the House and Senate on these two issues and expects that the 

 rest of the world will follow the example he has set. 



Despite the fact that Teague may have agreed in substance with much 

 of what McCormack said, he deeply resented the fact that McCormack 

 would confide in a trade publication before he would let his own chair- 

 man in on the secret. Also, he was incensed that a committee member 



