25 



as members would give you the kind of access that you have not 

 had and perhaps will open new doors. I think in the end everyone 

 would see it is a win. And I think the military would see it as a 

 win, especially in these tight times where their budgets are being 

 reduced. 



I am excited about the possibilities. There are a lot of other ques- 

 tions I would like to ask of all of our witnesses. I have questions for 

 each of the witnesses here. I will submit them for the record be- 

 cause I don't want to dominate the questions today. Thank you all 

 and remember this is a beginning. I think there is unlimited poten- 

 tial here. We are telling you we want to work with you in a very 

 productive way. We have a new Administration that I think is 

 going to be open to these kinds of new R&D opportunities and 

 economic opportunities. It is really on us as to whether or not we 

 will succeed. We are going to rely on you to work with us as we 

 call upon you for that interaction. Thank you. 



[Questions by Mr. Weldon may be found at the end of the hear- 

 ing.] 



Mr. Ortiz. Thank you. This is very true. Not too long ago we 

 were able to transfer a couple of vessels to Texas A&M and the 

 State of Maine. You would be surprised as to how much equipment 

 is sitting in many, many places outside of the United States. And 

 maybe the staff can look at the equipment that is there and make 

 it accessible to you so that you can put it to good use. We support 

 you. We believe in what you do. You are committed. You are dedi- 

 cated. And we do not want to fall behind. And this is — you know, 

 to some it is a new frontier. The stakes are very, very high. We do 

 not and we cannot afford to stay behind. You have got the support 

 of this committee. We might have another vote in a few minutes, 

 but I would like to pass on now to my good friend and another 

 leader from the State of Texas who will have questions for you. Mr. 

 Green. 



Mr. Green. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the opportu- 

 nity. First, I would like to associate myself with the comments 

 from Congressman Weldon. I have only served here for three 

 months, but I can understand the frustration of putting it all to- 

 gether except for the NASA. Coming from Houston, you can under- 

 stand where I wouldn't want to try and transfer any of that fund- 

 ing from NASA. 



One of the concerns I have though, and I think it was discussed a 

 little bit on what I would call cross-pollination between the Navy 

 and the other agencies that have undersea responsibilities, whether 

 it be Sea Grant or National Science Foundation or NURP, to make 

 sure that there is coordination between all the agencies. And I 

 know there is not as much between the Navy, you know, from this 

 hearing that we would like, and I think the suggestions are much 

 better. But is there a coordination between all the agencies so we 

 can really speak with one voice when we are talking about issues 

 of undersea? Dr. Bright or any panel? 



Dr. Bright. I think there is not adequate coordination at this 

 point in time, and I don't know exactly how to approach that, but 

 there are, as we know, a number of agencies, a number of pro- 

 grams that are being continually started and cranked up, and a lot 

 of times they have overlapping objectives. In the Gulf of Mexico, 



