JOINT HEARING ON LEVERAGING NATIONAL 

 OCEANOGRAPHIC CAPABILITIES 



THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1996 



U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on 

 Science, Subcommittee on Energy and Environ- 

 ment, Committee on National Security, Sub- 

 committee ON Military Research and Develop- 

 ment, AND Committee on Resources, Subcommittee 

 ON Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans 



Washington, DC. 



The Subcommittees met at 10:00 a.m., in Room 2318 of the Ray- 

 bum House Office Building, the Honorable Curt Weldon, Chairman 

 of the Military Research and Development Subcommittee of the 

 Committee on National Security, presiding. 



Mr. Weldon. Good morning. 



This morning, it gives me great pleasure to join my colleagues. 

 Congressman Saxton and Rohrabacher, to co-chair this landmark 

 hearing between the National Security Committee's Subcommittee 

 on Research and Development, the Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans 

 Subcommittee of the House Resources Committee, and the Energy 

 and Environment Subcommittee of the House Science Committee. 



I apologize for the room. We were originally going to have this 

 in the larger 2118, where we could have accommodated everyone 

 with seats and, hopefully, we've be able to ultimately do that, but 

 because of a Bosnia hearing later on, we had to move it to this 

 room, which is a fine room, except it doesn't have as much seating. 



So we hope we can accommodate everyone. 



I believe this is a landmark hearing which I believe will help set 

 the agenda for oceanography throughout the next decade. Today, 

 we have successfully brought together our nation's leading sci- 

 entific experts from government, industry, and academia, in an ef- 

 fort to lay the groundwork for renewal and resurgence of oceanog- 

 raphy in America. 



Let me say at the outset that we have broad-based support on 

 this initiative going in. I include for the record a letter from Al 

 Gore to me, which he sent to me in December prior to this series 

 of hearings on oceanography issues of the National Security Com- 

 mittee, and also a letter from the leader in the Senate, Trent Lott, 

 who has indicated his wholehearted support for not only this hear- 

 ing, but our renewed focus on oceanography. 



So both from the Administration and the other body, we are get- 

 ting public signs that there is strong interest in our agenda for 

 1996, relative to the oceans. 



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