OCEANOGRAPHY 1961 — PHASE 3 237 



Mr. Miller. Senator? 



Mr. Lennon. Doctor, you opened your remarks by stating that you 

 had followed and you had read of the general activity of these hear- 

 ings, and that up until quite recently you had been disappointed. 

 That is the way you phrased it, I believe. 



Dr. Olson. Yes. 



Mr. Lennon. Would you say what you attribute your disappoint- 

 ment to ? Was it the legislation that was offered, or was it something 

 we had done, or something we had not yet done ? 



Dr. Olson. My disappointment, I believe, was due primarily to the 

 lack of funds that I have tried to get. That was particularly so when 

 I was working with the Navy. And the Navy had prior commitments. 

 We were permitted to work, and we were given our standardized equip- 

 ment, but it was very difficult to expand. I think that was simply be- 

 cause the funds were not there. 



Mr. Lennon". You know, Doctor, that there are a number of agencies 

 of the Federal Government which are interested in oceanography, in 

 one facet or another. Presently they seem to be vying among them- 

 selves for funds to project their further interest in this field. That is 

 one of the reasons that most of us feel it is necessary to bring an agency 

 together, such as this Council, which the committee, which has the 

 legislative responsibility, can look to and can examine from time to 

 time to determine what is being done. There has got to be a respon- 

 sibility somewhere for the members of this committee to deal with a 

 responsible governmental agency. 



You heard the testimony of Professor Lewis ? 



Dr. Olson. Just partly. 



Mr. Lennon. He made specific suggestions, and, like you, he said 

 that this legislation was the minimum that the Congress should do. 

 And then he highlighted his statement by calling our attention to cer- 

 tain amendatory language that could be used that would strengthen 

 the centralized responsibility for this committee dealing with this 

 Council. 



You heard that explanation of his bill, did you not? 



Dr. Olson. That was I think just before I came in. 



Mr. Lennon. Let me read you what I think I described as the guts 

 of his statement. It is found on page 6, between lines 6 and 14. 



If your committee — 

 meaning the Committee on Oceanography, the congressional com- 

 mittee — 



is to carry out these functions effectively, it must have some responsible agency 

 to which it can look for authoritative and comprehensive information on the 

 status of the program and through which it can establish the degree of accom- 

 plishment or lack of accomplishment. Unless some centralized agency is made 

 responsible for the program, the problems confronting your committee — 



meaning the legislative committee — 



in providing effective congressional guidance are likely to prove insurmountable. 

 There must, in other words, be program accountability, for without program 

 accountability there can be no assurance that adequate progress is being 

 achieved. 



Do you agree with that statement in principle, in your vast expe- 

 rience in Govermnent and in private industry ? 

 Dr. Olson. As I understand it, yes, I do. 



