11 



fact the Agency does not say, this is a priority because these are 

 the dollars that we are putting to it, this is how the people at home 

 are going to be able to carry out their responsibilities, then it is 

 only a dust collector. 



Ms. JosEPHSON. Right. 



Ms. EsHOO. OK. Thank you. 



Mr. Green. Thank you, Congresswoman Eshoo. 



Mr. Weldon, do you have a statement and/or questions? 



Mr. Weldon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I would ask unani- 

 mous consent to have my statement entered into the record. 



Mr. Green. Without objection. 



[The statement of Mr. Weldon follows:] 



Statement of Hon. Curt Weldon, a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, 

 AND Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Oceanography, Gulf of 

 Mexico, and the Outer Continental Shelf 



Mr. Chairman, let me begin by complimenting you for holding this hearing on the 

 reauthorization of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 

 programs. In the past, NOAA's programmatic authorizations have largely gone un- 

 authorized, and I am pleased that you are taking the lead role in ensuring that 

 NOAA's programs are fully authorized. 



NOAA appears to be at a crossroads. NOAA has recently finished drafting a 10- 

 year strategic plan. The plan appears ambitious, and if the $1.9 billion estimate for 

 NOAA's fleet modernization plan is any guage, very expensive. To add to NOAA's 

 strategic plan, the Administration has released Creating a Government that Works 

 Better & Costs Less. The Vice President's reinventing government plan includes a 

 number of recommendations from privatization to increased user fees which, if im- 

 plemented, will impact NOAA's programs and budget. 



I am looking forward to NOAA's insights on how all these pieces fit together 

 within the confines of today's tight budgets. I am also interested in the future of two 

 programs which this Subcommittee has recently held hearings on. 



On August 4, 1993, this Subcommittee held a hearing on the potential for advanc- 

 ing marine research through the use of existing military technology. At the hearing, 

 both NOAA and the U.S. Navy seemed excited about the possible environmental sci- 

 ence spin-offs of systems such as the Navy's Integrated Undersea Surveillance 

 System (lUSS). I understand that the Navy plans to begin mothballing the lUSS 

 starting in Fiscal Year 1995. This troubles me, and I will be interested in hearing 

 from our distinguished panelist about what, if any, coordination is taking place be- 

 tween NOAA and the U.S. military on the future of lUSS and other "dual use" 

 technologies. 



I am also interested in following up on our September 30, 1993 hearing. During 

 that hearing which focused on Russian nuclear dumping in the Arctic Ocean, it 

 became clear that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is disengaging 

 from its responsibilities to study the impact of radioactive pollution on the Arctic 

 marine environment. The NOAA co-chairs with EPA the Task Force on Arctic Envi- 

 ronmental Monitoring and Assessment, and I will be interested to learn if NOAA 

 will be able to pick up the slack if EPA's role is reduced. 



Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this important hearing, and I look 

 forward to working with you to craft a cost-effective authorization for NOAA. 



Mr. Weldon. Mr. Chairman, let me first of all apologize to our 

 witness for Chairman Ortiz and I having to go out. We are in the 

 middle of a conference on the defense bill, and that is why he had 

 to leave and why I came late, so I apologize. 



I appreciate your testimony, and I have a couple of items I would 

 like to discuss with you briefly, and perhaps if they cannot be an- 

 swered here orally, you can provide the answers for the record. 



Ms. Josephson, I have been very much interested and concerned 

 for the last several months with the whole issue of nuclear con- 

 tamination. Chairman Ortiz held a hearing at my request about a 

 month ago. We went into the issue, had NOAA here and represent- 



