August 28, 1967
Page 24312
SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY SUPPORTS CREATION OF SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT – SENATE RESOLUTION 68
Mr. BAKER. Mr. President, one of the most exciting, far-reaching, and critically needed pieces of legislation now before the Senate is Senate Resolution 68, "to establish a Select Senate Committee on Technology and the Human Environment."
Every day brings fresh evidence of the difficulty our society is experiencing in adapting to fundamental changes brought about by technological developments. We are living in a technological revolution that is fast transforming our way of life, for better or for worse. Both the potential benefits and hazards of technological change are great, real, and far too little understood.
There is a lack of coordination between the scientists, who are improving our technology, and the U.S. Senate, whose Members must decide what action the central Government will take to solve the problems of this and future generations.
It was to fill this need that Senate Resolution 68 was introduced last January by the distinguished junior Senator from Maine [Mr. MUSKIE], who has demonstrated great prescience in initiating this measure and great skill and effectiveness in making a solid case supporting its passage.
I am among 21 Members from both sides of the aisle who are cosponsoring this resolution and who are firmly committed to its purposes.
Nothing has fascinated me more during my brief tenure as U.S. Senator than my participation in hearings this spring by the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee considering Senate Resolution 68.
The hearings afforded a glimmer of insight into the extent to which technological advancement can help to solve growing social problems – such as poverty, transportation, air, and water pollution, decaying cities and a burgeoning population. Our discussions with the many distinguished witnesses brought out the fact that virtually all the most challenging social problems of today and tomorrow have both social and technological aspects, and that, in most instances, a blend of technology, and social engineering will produce the most effective means of attacking the problems.
The hearings elicited strong support for Senate Resolution 68 from scientists, educators, Government officials, and spokesmen for the public interest. The testimony given was marked by a sense of urgency that this opportunity not be lost to provide the means for enlightening us all on the relationship of technology to the problems we will face as a society in the years to come.
Never before in our Nation's history has it been quite so critical that we shorten the 10- to 20-year gap between basic research discoveries and their practical applications. Never has it been quite so critical that Congress legislate intelligently so that taxpayers impatient to achieve effective solutions to a myriad of social problems get their money's worth from each dollar spent.
The Senator from Maine and I joined recently in informing a number of the country's leading scientists about the purposes of Senate Resolution 68. The response to our communication demonstrated that the proposal to create a Select Senate Committee on Technology and Human Environment has strong support throughout the scientific community. A careful reading of the response indicates the variety and utility of information about technology which the select committee could disseminate to legislative committees of the Senate.
Because of the caliber of the replies and because of the current interest within the Senate in Senate Resolution 68, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the letter which the Senator from Maine and I jointly addressed to scientists and the replies received so far be printed in the RECORD at this point.
There being no objection, the letters were ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
U.S. SENATE,
Washington, D.C.,
August 12, 1967.
Re: Senate Resolution 68 "To establish a Select Senate Committee on Technology and the Human Environment."
Senate Resolution 68 which was introduced earlier this year in the Senate, would establish a Select Senate Committee on Technology and the Human Environment. The purpose of this legislation would be to provide the Senate with a special committee for inquiring into the broad impact of science and technology on man's thinking, health, work, living habits, and individual security over the next fifty years.
The Select Committee would be – and this is to be emphasized – a study committee concerned with obtaining information about man's future, and evaluating that information in the light of technological benefits to be derived, and hazards to be encountered. It would be a forum where scientists and legislators can come together and discuss the critical environmental problems to be faced in the years ahead, and what science and government working together must do to meet these problems.
Hearings were completed on the resolution in April, and the Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Relations, to which the resolution was referred, recently reported it favorably to the full Committee on Government Operations of the Senate.
We feel that the establishment of such a Select Committee Would make an immeasurable contribution by developing a closer relationship between the Senate and the scientific and technological community in a joint effort to solve critical environmental problems. In addition, we feel that a study group of this nature would provide a very useful source of information and recommendations for Congress as a whole, for the Executive Branch, for academic institutions and scholars, and for the public at large, as we face the twenty-first century.
Because of your special interest in science and technology, we thought you would be interested in learning that the resolution is now moving toward a very important stage in its Senate consideration. A number of scientists have made comments on the proposal and have helped us in shaping the legislation.
We would appreciate any comments or suggestions which you may wish to express in connection with this legislation.
Sincerely,
EDMUND S. MUSKIE,
HOWARD H. BAKER, Jr.,
U.S. Senators.
[RESPONSES OMITTED]