WltRAI RI-'S(>rR( IS AND till 1WIRONMENT 



WEATHER MODIFICATION 



971 



The Brown subcommittee set a legislative speed record for its 

 own activities with the passage of the National Weather Modification 

 Policy Act of 1976. On June 1, Brown announced he would hold hear- 

 ings on a bill introduced by Representative Frank E. Evans (Democrat 

 of Colorado), the House passed the bill on September 20, and the 

 President signed it on October 13. Hayes, the Indiana freshman who 

 left the House to make an unsuccessful bid for a Senate seat in the 

 Democratic primary in 1976, presided over the first day of the hearings. 

 In announcing the hearings, Brown noted: 



Serious experimentation with weather modification is a post-World War II 

 phenomenon, beginning in 194C* with cloud seeding for precipitation augmentation. 

 Under certain limited conditions experts now believe that we are capable of increasing 

 or decreasing precipitation, suppressing hail and lightning, dispersing fog over 

 highways and airport runways, and possibly diminishing the force of hurricanes and 

 other violent storms. 



Proponents of weather modification anticipate potential benefits, while op- 

 ponents believe there are grave risks involved. Revelations in recent years that we 

 used this inexact science for military purposes in Indochina have been cited to indicate 

 the need for careful consideration of the many aspects of this subject. 



The law was a modest one, authorizing a $1 million, one-year 

 study by the Secretary of Commerce on the state of scientific knowledge 

 and technological development concerning weather modification, with 

 recommendations for the future. An additional $200,000 was provided 

 for ongoing weather modification activities. 



LET THE RAIN COME FROM GOD 



Winn and Brown were the principal spokesmen for the bill when 

 it reached the floor on September 20, under suspension of the rules 

 procedure. Winn told the House that "all too often weather modifica- 

 tion evokes an uneasy response from persons who are not familiar with 

 the facts. This legislation will dispel any lingering apprehension." 

 The attack against the bill was led by Representative Steven D. Symms 

 (Republican of Idaho), who charged that "the Congress is trying to 

 get into everybody's business including Mother Nature." 



In responding to Symms, Winn admitted that the administration 

 was opposing the bill, but their opposition to it "was picked out of 

 thin air" without an adequate explanation. Symms came back and 

 argued: 



I think any place we can draw the line would be a good place. This is not one 

 of them. Let us just let rain come from God, and not from the Government, for a 

 change. 



