EFFECTIVENESS OF THE COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 123 



Mr. Dingell. All right, now conceding that that is true, would 

 you say that if we have the series of different instrumentalities, of 

 different divisions of the Government, performing substantially 

 similar or identical work, that we have a situation where this com- 

 mittee and perhaps the Congress can infer that the ICO is not as 

 perfect in its functions as we would like to have it be, with regard to 

 coordinating activities of the Government; and its serving only as 

 an interchange is not a sufficient carrying out of the functions that 

 we would like to have it carry out? 



That is an awful question. 



Mr. Abel. I agree, sir. As staff secretary to the organization, it 

 is a little bit difficult for me to comment on a possible situation like that. 



I think it is fairly well acknowledged, though, and it has been 

 brought out from previous testimony, the ICO is not perfect. Its 

 members are trying to make it perfect, and there is, we hope, con- 

 siderable progress in this field. 



Mr. Dingell. Well, I think this committee seeks to assist. We 

 are not holding public criticism; nor are we trying to embarrass any 

 person who comes before us. But, at the same time, we want to 

 help the ICO, perhaps to scrutinize the changes you can make for 

 yourself or perhaps help this committee determine if there is not 

 legislative change that we can make to assist you to perfect the ICO. 



Now, let me ask you this : I know that generally the various repre- 

 sentatives of the agencies to this are sub-Cabinet in stature. Now, 

 assuming that this is an informational interchange, without any 

 higher authority, how is someone who is sub-Cabinet, and not neces- 

 sarily policy level, going back and on the basis of an informational 

 interchange only going to compel policy changes within the agency 

 of which he is a representative in order to effect a more perfect co- 

 ordination by that agency with other agencies doing the same or 

 similar or competing work? , 



Mr. Abel. Are you speaking now of the relationship of the Coor- 

 dinating Committee to the ICO? m ' 



Mr. Dingell. I am speaking in terms of the relationship of the 

 Coordinating Committee to the ICO, and in terms of the individual 

 membership of the representative delegations, if you want to use 

 the term, of the representative Government agencies with regard to 

 their own duties in ICO to their duties and their responsibilities in 

 effecting a coordination. 



In other words, how is, let us say, a person under policy level going 

 to come in, get information, and then go back and compel the whole 

 vast bureaucracy that he represents in his particular agency, to effect 

 changes which will perfect the coordination of that agency with another 

 agency which is doing similar, or competing, or complementing work 

 with another agency? 



Mr. Abel. Well, there again, sir, I think that is policy opinion, 

 which I am not well qualified to comment on; but it seems to me that 

 anyone who is in any line position is entitled to use any information 

 at his disposal to conduct affairs at levels of organizational structure 

 subservient to himself. 



Mr. Dingell. I do not challenge this. This is true. But how 

 does somebody out of a policymaking level, without extraordinary 

 backing by those on policymaking level, effect a change of position 



