980 HISTORY OF THE COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 



present we do not know enough about the environmental impact of excessive coal 

 burnn wise decision. To resolve this unccrtaintv, we need to have a 



properly developed and managed research program. 



As these hearings developed, it became clear that a great deal 

 more and better-managed research in this area was needed. It also 

 became evident that better health and environmental monitoring sys- 

 tems were necessary. 



COAL AND NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE HEARINGS 



The coal hearings were followed in September by nuclear fuel 

 cycle hearings. Brown outlined the scope of the inquiry in this fashion : 



The decision to defer reprocessing of plutonium will mean that we will have to 

 look at new environmental and health problems associated with a significant increase 

 in uranium mining and milling, treatment of spent fuel rods as waste, and even at 

 Other nuclear fuel cycles, such as the thorium cycle. We need to know how to solve 

 thc^e problems— to find out what changes are needed in the current research program. 

 We also need to lind out how to give these research results the proper leverage on 

 energy policy decisions, so that we do not irretnevablv commit ourselves to an 

 environmentally unacceptable energy path. 



Meanwhile, at the subcommittee's request, the Congressional Research 

 Service was hard at work in the crash preparation of a report, pub- 

 lished in October 1977, entitled "Environmental Challenges of the 

 President's Energy Plan: Implications for Research and Development." 

 Tins document analyzed the environmental impacts of various energy 

 technologies on existing and proposed environmental R. & D. pro- 

 grams, and also evaluated environmental monitoring needs. Once the 

 hearings had been completed, and the budgets submitted early in 1978, 

 CRS was asked to do another analytical report, published in March 

 1978 and entitled "Research and Development Needs to Merge Environ- 

 mental and Energy Objectives." The latest March CRS report described 

 the Federal R. & D. response to the energy related environmental 

 concerns, and also identified the issues and priority needs for further 

 R. & D. 



BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH 



One of the newly specified jurisdictions awarded to the Brown 

 subcommittee at the start of 1977 was "life sciences and biomedical 

 applications." The subcommittee had good reason to tackle an im- 

 portant issue in this area very quickly. In order to develop recom- 

 mendations for the House Budget Committee on March 15, 1977, the 

 Brown subcommittee held a quickie hearing on March 10 to ascertain 

 the adequacy of budget support in the biomedical research program of 

 the National Institutes of Health. Brown touched base in advance 

 with Representative Paul G. Rogers (Democrat of Florida), chairman 



