My comments will be directed to federal issues encountered during my short experience as General Counsel of the Council on Environmental Quality. I would like to start by describing NEPA in perspectives that I have seen during these last few months.

I would first like to call your attention to an item mentioned in news reports of the Administration's position on NEPA. In the recent weeks of energy crisis, there was an Administration investigation of NEPA to determine whether the statute should be amended. This investigation finally concluded that the statute should not be amended, even in the face of gasoline shortages and energy production delays (except for the limited proposals already pending in the Emergency Energy Act). That became a firm Administration position that was communicated to both Houses of the Congress. I would like to speculate as to the reason why the NEPA could withstand the pressures of the last few months.