WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- The members of the House committee that investigated alleged technology transfers to China each affirmed their report was offered unanimously and in a bipartisan spirit, but their comments reveal that the Republicans and Democrats on the committee did not always find common ground. The report makes it clear that China had access to secret U.S. nuclear and missile technologies as far back as the 1970s. But the two parties represented on the panel today each put a different spin on who should accept the greatest amount of responsibility. Republicans tended to point at the Clinton administration, while Democrats generally spoke of how the administration reacted whenever it became aware of problems. Likewise, as Democrats tried to play down the effects of the technology transfers on Chinese advancements, Republicans said the situation is the worst breach of U.S. security in decades, if not ever. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., the ranking Democrat on the special committee, said he didn't want to play ``the blame game,'' because there's enough to go around in both parties. He added, though, ``I think it's better for Congress to say, 'what can we do to implement the recommendations (of the report)' and clean up the mess.'' Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., said China's access to U.S. technology was ``the greatest single loss of our nation's most sensitive secrets ever,'' and he took issue with the Energy Department, which oversees all U.S. nuclear research labs. The committee's chairman, Rep. Chris Cox, R-Calif., said it's a ``happy coincidence'' that there is a new secretary of energy, Bill Richardson, to face all these problems. Cox added, ``We need a change in direction, and it has to be forced from the top'' of the Energy Department. Other Democrats also tried to deflect criticism of the Clinton administration by focusing on what lies ahead, and who has to make efforts to fix the situation. Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., said, ``I think we in the Congress should ask ourselves, did we act quickly enough, did we act vigorously enough?'' Besides the Energy Department, another target for the Republicans was the Justice Department. When asked about Attorney General Janet Reno's role in the China probe, Cox said Justice was the least helpful of all the federal departments, and because of that, he said he wouldn't comment on how much responsibility the department should accept. Committee member Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., chastised President Clinton's national security adviser, Sandy Berger, for attempting to spin the story before the CIA had completed its review of the committee's report. Weldon expressed ``extreme frustration'' that although the report was ready on Jan. 3, it was not declassified until today. Although the Republicans criticized the administration, none made specific accusations, and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the only congressman to serve on the Cox committee and the House Judiciary Committee that drew up Clinton's articles of impeachment, specifically noted that there is nothing in the report that would be worthy of a referral to the judiciary panel. As for China, Bereuter estimated that if China makes the most of the information it had access to, it could wipe out the United States' ``20- to 30-year lead'' in nuclear weapons technology. Bereuter said the United States needs to completely re-evaluate its relationship with China, but Dicks cautioned against starting another Cold War. Dicks said, ``I think it would be a mistake for us to change our basic policy toward China.'' Democrats also noted China's nuclear force is still only capable of launching a few dozen warheads.  