38 EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 



furthermore, any coordination that was measured by ICO is on a 

 friendship basis, because they have no authority or responsibility to 

 a national program of oceanography. 



Mr. Bonner. That is what I gather, just from my short attentive 

 listening to your fine statement. You yourself admit that there is a 

 lack of something, and there should be more coordination by authority. 

 And I think Mr. Lennon — is that what you were talking of, Mr. 

 Lennon? 



Mr. Lennon. Yes, Mr. Chairman, I think the guts of Secretary 

 Wakelin's statement is here, and I read from his statement, "What- 

 ever national program that we put together in the ICO must, first 

 of all, meet the statutory commitments of the agencies." 



Mr. Wakelin. This is correct. 



Mr. Lennon. Now that is the most significant thing you said, and 

 that is certainly to my rather prejudiced way of thinking, bearing 

 out what I said all the time. If you have got any national program, 

 be it long-range or short-range objectives, that must first of all be 

 contingent upon the statutory commitments of the several agencies, 

 I don't see that you can have a long-range program. 



Now I would like for you to tell me over what period of years we 

 have had statutory enactment of law in the various agencies and 

 departments for them to participate in any fashion of oceanography. 

 It certainly would run at least 15 or 20 years, wouldn't it? 



Mr. Wakelin. Oh, yes; and farther back than that. 



Mr. Lennon. Are you here now prepared to say that in all of the 

 statutory enactments over the last quarter of a century on this subject, 

 delegating to this Department and agency and this Bureau authority 

 in this field, that you would not find some inconsistencies in statutory 

 regulations of the various agencies that are involved in this program? 



Mr. Wakelin. Oh, I think they must exist. I can't quote chapter 

 and verse on it. 



Mr. Lennon. Therefore, the necessity for a new law, for bringing 

 these departments and agencies and bureaus in a central department 

 that we ran bring them before this committee on whatever committee 

 may have jurisdiction, and say, "Now what is the program? Short- 

 range, long-range, what is being done about it?" That is the thing 

 that we are interested in. 



I can see your hesitancy about endorsing such a move, because you 

 think — and I think I have heard you express this before — that if you 

 moved into this field with a central agency, you would be asked to 

 move into this one and that one and the other one, all in the field of 

 science and related matters. 



Mr. Bonner. With respect to that, doesn't the Secretary of Defense 

 have jurisdiction as the head of studies by the Marine Corps and the 

 Navy, and the Army and the Air Force, in outer space and science 

 and development in that field? 



Mr. Wakelin. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Bonner. So there is, in that field, then, a coordinated head? 



Mr. Wakelin. In the Department of Defense, yes. 



Mr. Bonner. And a directive. Well, that is why you are doing 

 all this work in outer space, missiles, and so forth, for peaceful pur- 

 poses as well as other purposes. So it is coordinated there. 



Mr. Wakelin. Yes, it is. 



Mr. Bonner. Now what other field, then, were you talking about? 



