Fermi design as opposed to a larger EPR that was purely experimental. While it lauded the PRDC for pursuing the design and developing it so rapidly, it concluded that "The Committee does not feel that the steps to be taken should be so bold as to risk the health and safety of the public." Controversy in Congress The McMullough review arrived at the AEC in the middle of a debate within the congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy about the Gore-Holifield bill that intended to provide more support for commercial nuclear power. Strauss felt that efforts like those of the PRDC represented the best path forward, while Democrats on the Joint Committee, led by Thomas E. Murray, who was also an AEC commissioner, favored additional federal funding for another round of experimental machines. During debate on the bill, John Dingell raised the concern that the AEC was both in charge of promoting nuclear power as well as being in control of its safety. He pointed to the PRDC designs as an example and urged that funding be withheld "until all safety problems have been resolved for the protection of the public." He also sent press releases to the Detroit News, Toledo Blade and Wall Street Journal outlining the concerns about the design. In late June 1956, the House Appropriations Committee began to review the AEC's request for additional funding for experimental machines. Chair Clarence Cannon used the meetings to vent his opposition to the rush to private-industry reactors and Strauss' leadership in general. Under his questioning, both Strauss and Murray revealed details of the controversy over the PRDC design. When Cannon complained that the private companies appeared to be making no progress, Strauss responded that he was going to attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Fermi on 8 August. This was first time construction had been mentioned, the date having been selected, along with the plant's name, before the McMullough review had taken place. The next day, Cannon grilled Murray about the design, and Murray stated his belief that the breeder was an important part of the AEC's program, but that more funds should be provided for additional experiments. To underscore his argument, he read several portions of the McMullough review that suggested accelerating existing programs and building additional test systems. Cannon used this to argue that the entire originally asked-for $55 million be given to the AEC instead of the