168 OCEAN SCIENCES AND NATIONAL SECURITY 



86th Congress C* OfiQO 



1st Session ^* ^'J«^^ 



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 



September 11 (Legislative Day, September 5), 1959 



Mr. Magnuson (for himself, Mr. Smathers, Mr. Schoeppel, Mr, Bartlett, Mr. 

 Yarborough, Mr. Case of New Jersey, Mr. Engle, Mb. Scott, Mr. McGee, Mr. 

 Butler, Mr. Hart, Mrs. Smith, and Mr. Ci.ark) introduced the following bill; 

 which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign 

 Commerce 



A BILL 



To advance the marine sciences, to establish a comprehensive ten-year program 

 of oceanograpbic research and surveys ; to promote commerce and navigation, 

 to secure the national defense ; to expand ocean resources ; to authorize the 

 construction of research and survey ships and facilities; to assure systematic 

 studies of effects of radioactive materials in marine environments ; to enhance 

 the general welfare ; and for other purposes 



Senator ■Magnuson had said in opening his hearings on the omnibus 

 bill: "Undoubtedly this bill, like most legislation when first drafted, 

 can be improved as a result of advice and counsel obtained during the 

 course of these hearings, but I submit that the basic purpose of the 

 proposed measure must stand. That purpose is to assure the United 

 States a fund of scientific knowledge of the oceans, their estuaries, 

 and the Great Lakes second to that of no other nation, to provide the 

 facilities for obtaining that knowledge, and to encourage the education 

 and training of an adequate number of scientists and technicians to 

 assemble that knowledge and to make maximum use of it after it is 

 obtahied." 



In the course of the hearings by the various committees having 

 jurisdiction over these bills, there developed a pattern of almost 

 unanimous support by the scientific community, and almost monolithic 

 opposition by administration witnesses. 



Although agreemg with the objectives, those opposing the bills 

 noted that adequate statutory authority exists by which a national 

 program, yet unspecified, can be developed by the various individual 

 agencies having cognizance over the various segments. Those 

 opposing the bills further stated that coordination can be effected 

 by the Interagency Committee on Oceanography of the Federal 

 Council for Science and Technology. Some witnesses went further 

 by opposing any Government policy which singles out particular 

 fields such as oceanography for special legislation, because of what 

 they believed would be an imbalance of an otherwise carefully pro- 

 portioned program involving all fields. 



Both the executive branch and the scientific community, however, 

 noted that the present bills appeared far more specific in enumerating 

 details of program and mechanism than may be in the best interest 

 of oceanography. In general they pointed out that any long-range 

 program needs flexibility, and this may be denied the program if the 

 statutory basis introduces unnecessary rigidity through detail. At 

 this writing, the only action completed was by the Senate Interstate 

 and Foreign Commerce Committee favorably reporting out on June 7, 

 1960 an amended version of S. 2692, the omnibus bill which provides 



