PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAM IN OCEANOGRAPHY 7 



Coordination of the efforts of the existing departments and agencies 

 concerned with various aspects of oceanography appeared to be the 

 only practical and effective approach. 



After about 2 years of consideration of all aspects of the problem 

 of developing a governmental mechanism for establishing a national 

 program of oceanography on a continuing basis, it was concluded that 

 a high-level group composed of the top officials of the departments 

 and agencies concerned with the various major disciplines held the 

 most promise for effective coordination. 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, was introduced 

 by the distinguished former chairman of the Subcommittee on Ocean- 

 ography, the Honorable George P. Miller of California. 



H.R. 4276 provided for the establishment of a National Oceano- 

 graphic Council composed of the chief officials of the departments 

 and agencies of the Government concerned in any important respect 

 with oceanography. In addition, it called for the establishment by 

 the Council of a National Oceanographic Data Center and a National 

 Instrumentation Test and Calibration Center. The bill also contained 

 other provisions dealing with such matters as the title to oceanographic 

 research vessels and certain functions of the Smithsonian Institution. 



Both open and executive hearings were held on H.R. 4276, and 

 S. 901 (which, among other things, would have assigned the coordina- 

 tion function to the National Science Foundation). Reports, testi- 

 mony, and advices from the executive agencies were to the effect 

 that, while the objectives of the House and Senate bills were favored, 

 the same objectives could be accomplished, without legislation, 

 through the Interagency Committee on Oceanography, a subcom- 

 mittee within the existing structure of the Federal Council of Science 

 and Technology. 



Your committee carefully considered the objections expressed by 

 the departments and the Bureau of the Budget of the Executive 

 Office of the President, and prepared a draft revision of the original 

 bill, designed to overcome such objections as far as possible and refine 

 the concept of an oceanographic council in the light of testimony 

 developed during the hearings on H.R. 4276. 



The draft revision eliminated such features of the original bill as the 

 establishment of a National Oceanographic Data Center, which had 

 by that time been established administratively, and the establishment 

 of a National Instrumentation Test and Calibration Center which 

 was planned to be set up under existing administrative procedures. 

 Certain other provisions of the original bill dealing with such matters 

 as the title to oceanographic vessels and additional authority for the 

 Smithsonian Institution were also eliminated and embodied in separate 

 legislation. 



In line with departmental suggestions, the revision provided for 

 enlarging departmental representation on the Council. As an out- 

 growth of expert testimony presented to the committee during the 

 hearings on the original bill, the revised draft provided for a small, 

 high-level staff office to be headed by an official designated ''The 

 Oceanographer of the United States." In addition, the revised draft 

 would have established a fund in the Treasury to be known as the 

 special aquatic research fund, from which the Council would be au- 



