field of fuel combustion and mineral research in conducting research and experiments designed to abate air pollution in this area and should continue to be heavily utilized in harmony with the Departments of Health, Education, and Welfare, Commerce, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and with industry in any stepped-up effort in this field. We must, above all, avoid duplication of effort. The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare now has very broad authority to conduct research. The Clean Air Act directs that agency to "conduct, and promote the coordination and acceleration of, research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects, extent, prevention, and control of air pollution." Further, we believe that it would be wasteful and largely unproductive to build up another new research capacity in this field as is recommended by S. 453, particularly in advance of the study of the Panel on Electrically Powered Vehicles. We believe that adequate substantive legislation now exists in this field, but that more funds for research and experiments on nonpolluting vehicles, as the President said, will be needed to do the job. We believe that all of the interested agencies should be consulted in this area if we are to make real progress. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely yours, CHARLES F. LUCE, Under Secretary of the Interior. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: By letter of January 30, 1967, you requested our views on S. 453, 90th Congress, entitled: "A BILL To authorize a program of research, development, and demonstration projects for electrically powered vehicles." While we have no special information as to the desirability of this measure and, therefore, make no comments regarding its merits, we do recommend the inclusion of a new section in the bill pertaining to the audit of the program. Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary to make grants and enter into contracts for research and development. Subsection 3(b) provides for contracts, leases, cooperative agreements and other transactions as the Secretary deems appropriate. There is no requirement for the maintenance of accounting records by the recipients of assistance through grants, contracts or other transactions. Furthermore, there is no provision to make the records of the recipients of assistance available to the Comptroller General of the United States or his duly authorized representatives for the purpose of audit and examination. We recommend that the bill be revised to include language similar to the following: "(a) Each recipient of assistance under this Act pursuant to grants, contracts or other agreements entered into under other than competitive bidding procedures shall keep such records as the Secretary shall prescribe, including records which fully disclose the amount and disposition by such recipient of the proceeds of such assistance, the total cost of the project or undertaking in connection with which such assistance is given or used, and the amount of that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied by other sources, and such other records as will facilitate an effective audit. "(b) The Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any books, documents, papers, and records of the recipients that are pertainent to the grants, contracts and other agreements entered into under this Act under other than competitive bidding procedures." Similar provisions are contained in various acts such as section 11 of the "Clean Air Act," Pub. L. 88-206, 77 Stat. 401, and section 8(a)(3) of Pub. L. 89-220, 79 Stat. 894. Sincerely yours, FRANK H. WEITZEL, Assistant Comptroller General of the United States. Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Washington, D.C. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your letter of January 30, 1967, requested any comments the General Services Administration might care to offer concerning S. 453, 90th Congress, a bill "To authorize a program of research, development, and demonstration projects for electrically powered vehicles." The bill would authorize the Secretary of Transportation to undertake research, development, and demonstration projects which he determines will contribute to the production of practical electrically powered vehicles. GSA generally favors legislation for the purpose of eliminating or reducing air pollution arising from the use of motor vehicles. We are also interested in the development of new and better means of transportation, and would be glad to be of any assistance within our scope of operation. We believe, however, that the desirability of this particular legislative proposal is more appropriately the concern of the Department of Transportation, and other agencies of the executive branch. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that, from the standpoint of the Administration's program, there is no objection to the submission of this report to your Committee. Sincerely yours, LAWSON B. KNOTT, Jr., DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, Washington, D.C., March 17, 1967. Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, Chairman, Committee on Commerce, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your request to the Secretary of Defense for the views of the Department of Defense on S. 453, 90th Congress, a bill "To authorize a program of research, development and demonstration of electrically powered vehicles." The Department of the Army has been assigned responsibilty for expressing the views of the Department of Defense on this bill. The title of the bill states its purpose. The Department of the Army on behalf of the Department of Defense favors the objectives of the bill. The Department of Defense in general and the Department of the Army in particular have been interested in electrically driven vehicles for some time. The reasons for this interest include, in addition to the air pollution problems considered in S. 453, the possibility of more efficient and versatile power transmissions, reduced fuel consumption, reduced maintenance, reduced logistic support problems, and reduced vehicle weight. The current Department of Defense research and development program as it pertains to electrically powered vehicles is as follows: 1. Military agencies have continuing research and development programs for fuel cells and rechargeable batteries. Although not specifically for vehicle propulsion, these programs contribute to the advanced technology necessary for practical electric powered vehicles. The annual research and development funding is forecast at approximately $4,000,000. 2. The Navy has had a continuing interest in electrical propulsion going back to battery powered submarines in World War I. At the present time, in-house battery and fuel-cell programs are underway at five Naval Laboratories. Extramural contract programs are supported by the Office of Naval Research and by the Systems Commands. Battery powered torpedoes and battery or fuel-cell torpedoes and battery or fuel-cell powered research and rescue vehicles operating in the deep sea are currently of concern to the Navy. The Naval Ship Systems Command funds approximately $500,000 annually for exploratory development of batteries and fuel cells. 3. Army programs for vehicular electric drive systems using AC or DC engine generators as the primary power sources will contribute to essential design of fuel cell or battery powered vehicles. Annual research and development funding is approximately $1,000,000. 4. During FY 64 and FY 66, the Army Nuclear Energy Depot Program included evaluation of fuel cells, batteries, and hybrid battery/fuel cell systems which are promising for vehicle propulsion. Some of the newer batteries and fuel cell systems which are still in the research stage, including ammoniaair fuel cells, zinc-air batteries and lithium-chlorine batteries were evaluated in this program. The total funding of these studies was under $600,000. 5. The Army Engineer Research and Development Laboratories (Fort Belvoir, Va.) have fabricated a 4 ton electric drive truck using a 20 kw hydrazine-air fuel cell as the power source. This system was fabricated to demonstrate feasibility and for use as a test bed for design of future fuel cell powered vehicles. The Department of the Army on behalf of the Department of Defense suggests that in your deliberations on S. 453 you consider taking advantage of this ongoing program and existing capability. We believe that this bill and S. 451 focus on an issue of great importance but before the Federal Government embarks on a major effort in this area, full consideration should be given to all factors. It is understood that the Department of Commerce is conducting a study in this area and we recommend against a new federal commitment in this area until the results of this study are received and analyzed. Therefore, we recommend against enactment of S. 453 at this time. This report has been coordinated in the Department of Defense in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The Bureau of the Budget advises that, from the standpoint of the Administration's program, there is no objection to the presentation of this report for the consideration of the Committee. Sincerely yours, Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, Chairman, Committee on Commerce, STANLEY R. RESOR, U.S. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in further reply to your request for the views of the Civil Service Commission on S. 453, a bill "To authorize a program of research, development, and demonstration projects for electrically powered vehicles." Although the Commission has no objection to the purposes and objectives of the bill, it does wish to suggest a change to section 3(b)(4). Section 3(b)(4), among other things, would permit the Secretary of Transportation to employ experts and consultants on a permanent basis. The Commission prefers that experts and consultants be employed on a temporary or intermittent basis. Accordingly, it is suggested that section 3(b) (4) be changed to read as follows: "employ experts and consultants in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, but at rates not to exceed $100 per day; and". The substitution of this language makes its unnecessary to provide for travel and subsistence allowances (section 3(b) (4), page 3, lines 8 through 13) since the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 5703 would then automatically apply. The Bureau of the Budget advises that from the standpoint of the Administration's program there is no objection to the submission of this report. By direction of the Commission: Sincerely yours, JOHN W. MACY Jr., Chairman. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, March 14, 1967. Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, Chairman, Committee on Commerce, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request of January 30, 1967, for a report on S. 453, a bill "To authorize a program of research, development, and demonstration projects for electrically powered vehicles." The views of this Department on this bill will be set forth in the testimony of Mr. Dean Coston, Deputy Under Secretary, before the Senate Committees on Commerce and Public Works on March 14. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in further reply to your request of January 30, 1967, for comments on S. 453, a Bill to authorize a program of research, development, and demonstration of electricity powered vehicles. The Foundation supports the general objectives of S. 453. Many advantages can accrue from such a program, the most important being the abatement of air pollution. Other advantages can be broadly classified as economic, promotion of human safety, and conservation of national resources. The Bureau of the Budget has advised us that it has no objection to the submission of this report, from the viewpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely yours, LELAND J. HAWORTH, Director. Cochairman MAGNUSON. We have a long list of witnesses. We will hear first from the Secretary of Transportation, Mr. Boyd. STATEMENT OF HON. ALAN S. BOYD, SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, ACCOMPANIED BY WILLIAM J. DRISCOLL, OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL Secretary BOYD. Thank you. Senator Magnuson, Senator Muskie and members of the committees: I am accompanied this morning by Mr. William J. Driscoll, of the Office of General Counsel. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before the committee this morning to discuss the Department's interest in the electric car in connection with S. 451 and S. 453, bills which would authorize Federal funds for research, development, and demonstration of electrically powered vehicles. The current interest in the electric car centers primarily on its potential role in reducing air pollution. There is no doubt that air pollution represents one of our most serious environmental problems. It degrades the quality of living for all Americans and particularly for the more than 70 percent of our population who live in urban areas. Nor is there any doubt that motor vehicles are the single largest contributor to air pollution today. The Congress and the public have demonstrated a growing concern for the alarming increase of air pollution in the major cities of this Nation. In 1965 the Congress passed and the President signed into law the Motor Vehicle Air Pollution Control Act which enables the Federal Government to establish meaningful standards for reducing the levels of harmful exhaust emissions on new motor vehicles. The proposed amendments to the Clean Air Act (S. 780) now bethe Congress contain the President's recommendations for the blishment of even more stringent controls on automobile emis sion and Federal assistance to State programs for the inspection of automobile exhaust systems to assure continued compliance of all vehicles with Federal standards. Through the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, automobile exhaust safety performance standards can be set to insure that carbon monoxide fumes do not endanger the occupants of the vehicle. The Highway Safety Act of 1966 provides for the establishment of State safety programs which will include inspection of muffler and exhaust systems for their safe operation over the life of the vehicle. The job of decontaminating the atmosphere has begun and I can assure the Members of Congress that the problems of air pollution will receive high priority in the Department of Transportation. But I feel that as an environmental problem, motor vehicle air pollution control must be viewed within a total systems context of present and future transportation service requirements. Transportation systems must provide the public with satisfactory levels of service they must also be compatible with the environment within which they operate. Today urban transportation is provided by two basic systems: first, the automobile, used primarily for individual transportation, and second, mass transportation in the form of buses, rapid transit, and commuter railroads. The private automobile contributes significantly to air pollution in normal use, but the problem of air pollution is aggravated by the additional amounts of exhaust products created as a result of traffic congestion. On the other hand, mass transportation systems contribute less to air pollution but may be unattractive to the individual because of delays at terminals or transfer stations and crowded conditions during rush hours. Within the Department of Transportation I plan to initiate a series of comprehensive studies to evaluate the long-term impacts of alternative vehicle systems upon the Nation's transportation system. One system will incorporate the electric car. These broad studies will focus on the impact of new systems upon the environment, the society, and on major sectors of the economy. Our immediate concern, however, is to insure that the air we breathe is as free as possible from harmful pollutants. The best avenue for achievement of this goal in the near future appears to be through the reduction to noncritical levels of harmful emissions from internal combustion engines. This is being rapidly pursued by private industry through improvements in engine design, muffler technology, and petroleum fuels. The incentive for these improvements has largely been the establishment of strict Federal and State air pollution standards. In like manner we believe that research on electric vehicles is first and foremost a responsibility of private industry, based upon the determination that they offer a practical means of meeting standards of air pollution established by the Federal Government. The Federal Government has a responsibility to assure that the products of industry meet standards of safety for public use, but not to determine what those products shall be. |