PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM IN OCEANOGRAPHY 15 



This bill would establish the National Oceanographic Council, 

 composed of the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, 

 the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Commerce, the Chair- 

 man of the Atomic Energy Commission, and the Director of the 

 National Science Foundation. The Council would be required to 

 develop long-range plans for research, development, studies, and 

 surveys of the aquatic environment, and coordinate the efforts of all 

 Government agencies in the field of oceanography. The Council 

 would be directed to establish a National Oceanographic Data Center, 

 whose functions would be to (1) acquire, assemble, process, and dis- 

 seminate all scientific and technological oceanographic and related 

 environmental data; (2) conduct research and other projects within 

 the fields of its activities for anj department, agency, or instrumen- 

 tality of the United States on a cost reimbursable basis; and (3) 

 exchange or sell, on a cost reimbursable basis, such data, publications, 

 or other information of the center as the Council deems to be in the 

 public interest. 



The Department of Commerce does not favor enactment of H.R. 

 4276. 



The President has recommended a coordinated national program 

 for oceanography to the Congress, which contemplates a virtual 

 doubling of the fiscal year 1961 program. The expanded activities 

 of the various Government agencies under this program can and will 

 be adequately coordinated by the Interagency Committee on Oceanog- 

 raphy, a subcommittee of the Federal Council for Science and Tech- 

 nology, which is alreadj'^ performing most of the functions that would 

 be exercised by the proposed National Oceanographic Council. 



The National Oceanographic Data Center, located in the Navy 

 Hydrographic Office and supported by agencies which have oceano- 

 graphic programs, will begin its first full year of operation in 1962. 

 This data center is presently collecting and utilizing information 

 similar to that which would be acquired and studied by the data 

 center provided for in the bill. Under the President's program, the 

 amount recommended for activities of the National Oceanographic 

 Data Center for fiscal year 1962 is almost double that of the fiscal 

 year 1961 program. 



For the above reasons, this Department believes that enactment 

 of legislation along the lines of H.R. 4276 is unnecessary at the 

 present time. 



The Bureau of the Budget advises there is no objection to the 

 submission of this report from the standpoint of the administration's 

 program. 



Sincerely yours, 



Edward Gudeman, 

 Under Secretary of Commerce. 



