920 HISTORY OF nil (OMMIIIII ON SCIENCI VND TECHNOLOGY 



wagon. The groundswell of House support for solar energy was so 

 heavy that McCormack termed the Jeffords amendment the "mother- 

 hood and God" amendment. In vain, he argued that it was simply 

 "a Christmas present for all the well-wishers and all the people who 

 would like to do something nice in solar energy." McCormack added: 



This is simply throwing money at a technology without having the slightest 

 notion of what this money would accomplish.* * * We all want to develop solar 

 energy as rapidly as we can, but not irrationally. 



Goldwater also argued that Congress should be "responsible": 



We cannot jump out into midair without knowing where we are going to come 

 down. 



A loud argument ensued as to whether ERDA could use the money 

 effectively, whether OMB was holding back efforts in the solar fields, 

 and whether the branch chiefs and held centers didn't have a better 

 idea of what they needed than their bosses at ERDA headquarters. 

 Frey gave a boost to the amendment when he observed: 



ERDA has been rather slow in the solar area. I do not really get a sense of urgency 

 with ERDA in terms of alternative energy. Anything we can do to kick wherever they 

 have to be kicked would be a very beneficial thing. 



By now it was apparent that unless drastic steps were taken, the 

 Jeffords amendment seemed certain to pass. Brown rescued the 

 initiative, if not the budgetary figure, for the subcommittee. He 

 introduced a substitute which would include the same $116.2 million 

 increase over the committee figure but distribute it throughout solar 

 heating and cooling as well as the other aspects of solar energy covered 

 in the Jeffords amendment. Representative John B. Anderson (Republi- 

 can of Illinois) was narrowly defeated in an attempt to cut the in- 

 crease in half. Then McCormack endorsed the Brown compromise 

 which won out. It is interesting that when the Senate and the ap- 

 propriations process got finished working over the ERDA funding, 

 the net amount was still an increase of over $60 million above the figure 

 initially reported out of the subcommittee as a result of the 1976 

 deliberations. 



HOUSE IS BULLISH ON SOLAR ENERGY 



The House was clearly in a runaway mood for solar energy in 

 1976. Many Members and their constituents shared the bold pro- 

 nouncement made by Ottinger: 



If we could only sell the sun to Standard Oil, we would have the problem licked, 

 because then ERDA would be interested and we would get the kind of push that has 

 been exhibited in other technologies. 



There was an impatience with those who counseled that you couldn't 

 buy R. & D. off the shelf. There was a restlessness among those who 

 feared that the old bureaucrats just didn't have the zing to take the 

 risks needed to develop new technologies. Whatever program the 



