EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 43 



Mr. Dingell. Has anyone at Cabinet level, other than yourself, 

 ever attended a meeting of the ICO, or participated in the delibera- 

 tions of ICO? 



Mr. Wakelin. I do not believe so. 



Mr. Dingell. You see, Mr. Secretary, I happen to think you are an 

 extraordinarily able and dedicated public servant, and I think you 

 have done a fine job in this field, but I think you are the only man on 

 a policy level in Government who has ever devoted any significant 

 amount of time to this problem of coordination of oceanography, and 

 I will make that bald statement and challenge you, as a representative 

 of the administration, to deny it or to rebut it. 



Has anyone at the policymaking level in Government, aside from 

 yourself, ever given any thought to the coordination of this whole 

 program? 



Mr. Wakelin. Oh, yes, the Secretaries of the various departments 

 have given very serious thought to our proposal for a National 

 Oceanographic Center. 



Mr. Dingell. The Secretaries did? 



Mr. Wakelin. And entered into an agreement among themselves 

 as to its support. 



Mr. Dingell. Have they ever given any other attention to this 

 program? 



Mr. Wakelin. Each one of the Secretaries must review it, as it 

 comes up in their total budget preparations. 



Mr. Dingell. I see. They must review it as it comes up in the 

 course of their total budget preparations, but Mr. Secretary, isn't 

 it true to say that they only review it after somebody else has made 

 the basic decision, and they rarely upset the basic decisions of the 

 people down below? 



Am I correct? 



Mr. Wakelin. I can't speak for any Department other than the 

 Navy in this regard. 



Mr. Dingell. As a matter of general assumption, it would be 

 fairly general to say that determinations of budget made at a lower 

 level are rarely upset, wouldn't it? 



Mr. Wakelin. I can't comment in general on this. I don't know, 

 Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. Dingell. Now let's talk about this business of the requests, or 

 rather of the projected governmental program. This has been 

 kicking around now how long, Mr. Secretary? 



Mr. Wakelin. Which program, the national program in oceanog- 

 raphy? 



Mr. Dingell. The national program in oceanography. That has 

 been bouncing around for how long? 



Mr. Wakelin. 1 would say in terms of certainly the last 4 years. 



Mr. Dingell. And the initial requests went out to the sundry 

 departments concerned when? 



Mr. Wakelin. The initial request to 



Mr. Dingell. To the departments concerned to submit their 

 participating portion. 



Mr. Wakelin. On a 10-year plan? 



Air. Dingell. Yes, of the national oceanographic program that 

 vou referred to in vour notes. 



