16 PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM IN OCEANOGRAPHY 



Department of the Interior, 



Office of the Secretary, 

 Washington, D.C., June 8, 1961. 

 Hon. Herbert C. Bonner, 



Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of 

 Representatives, Washington, D.C. 



Dear Mr. Bonner: Your committee has requested a report on 

 H.R. 4276, a bill to expand and develop the aquatic resources of the 

 United States including the oceans, estuaries, and rivers, the Great 

 Lakes and other inland waters, to enhance the general welfare, and for 

 other purposes. 



This Department has a vital interest in the field of oceanography. 

 We are sjrmpathetic to the objective of this proposal; however, we 

 do not recommend the enactment of the bill for reasons hereafter 

 stated. 



This bill, which is broad in scope, would be cited as the "Oceano- 

 graphic Act of 1961." It provides for the appointment of a seven- 

 member National Oceanographic Council. That Comicil would be 

 required to establish a National Oceanographic Data Center or centers, 

 the functions of which would be to acquire and disseminate scientific 

 and technological oceanographic and related environmental data, to 

 conduct research and other projects for any department or agency, 

 and to exchange or sell such data and information as the Council 

 considers to be in the public mterest. The Council would be required 

 to establish primary standards of oceanographic measurements. It 

 would be requu'ed also to establish a National Instrumentation Test 

 and Calibration Center. The Council would be required to develop 

 long-range plans for research, development, studies, and surveys of 

 aquatic environments, and to coordinate the efforts of the depart- 

 ments and agencies of the Government of the United States. Annual 

 reports would be submitted to the Congress by the Council. The 

 bill contains provisions concerning the supphing of vessels b}' the 

 United States to governmental or nongovernmental departments or 

 agencies. It would authorize the Smithsonian Institution to con- 

 struct additional taxonomic facilities to establish a program for the 

 recruitment, training, and placement of taxonomists, and the making 

 of grants to qualified scientists and institutions. 



Most of the objectives prescribed in this bill can be accomplished 

 pm'suant to existmg authority. The Interagency Committee on 

 Oceanography, a committee of the Federal Council on Science and 

 Technology, has been an effective agent for closer cooperation within 

 Government departments. Also, because existing authority allows 

 for the fundmg of a national oceanographic program, and existing 

 governmental agencies can effectively coordinate such a program, 

 there is no need for another Oceanographic Council, as specified in 

 H.R. 4276. 



Concerning section 3 of the bUl that would authorize establishment 

 of a National Oceanographic Data Center, it should be noted that 

 such a center is already in existence, and is under the administrative 

 control of the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office. It receives direction 

 from a special advisory board. 



The need for a National Instrumentation Test and Calibration 

 Center, as prescribed by section 5, is worthj^ of some consideration; 

 however, we believe this provision does not justify an enactment on 



