162 SEA GRANT COLLEGES 



As to geography, Hawaii has the distinction of being the only island 

 State of the Union — an island community completely surromided by 

 the ocean and enjoying ideal natural advantages for oceanic work. 

 These advantages include Hawaii's central location in the Pacific, close 

 to nearly any sea conditions that might be demanded in almost any 

 investigation; its equable climate; and its underw^ater visibility. 



The sea grant college concept is being proposed at a time when fresh 

 interest is being generated nationally in the oceans. For too long, 

 this Nation has neglected the ocean that promises so many benefits if 

 only its potentials were more clearly understood and appreciated. 

 S. 2439 offers opportunities for this Nation to put to practical use the 

 knowledge we have gained from research of the ocean. Because of 

 what the proposed legislation could mean to my State and to the 

 national interest, I urge this subcommittee to act speedily and favor- 

 ably on S. 2439. 



Senator Pell. Thank you, Senator Fong. The next witness will be 

 Congressman Rogers wdio I believe is here. He is an authority in 

 this field in the other body and is very good indeed to have taken the 

 time to come here. I know his interest and the work he is doing in 

 getting through the Magnuson bill on this side. 



Mr. Rogers. 



STATEMENT OF HON. PAUL G. ROGERS, A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE 

 IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA 



Mr. Rogers. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Senator 

 Kennedy. It is a pleasure to be here to appear before your committee 

 and I am pleased to testify in support of S. 2439, and I do want to 

 commend this subcommittee for bringing this legislation to the floor 

 and the distinguished chairman, Senator Pell, for his interest in 

 introducing the bill along with Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus, distinguished 

 dean of the College of Minnesota, that Senator Kennedy mentioned, 

 who also deserves a great deal of credit. 



I think it is interesting that the idea for a sea grant college originated 

 not from a coastal State but really from the heart of our country and, 

 of course, all of us I think in this country, once we look at the problem, 

 see the need for this legislation. 



If the Chair will permit, I will just file my statement and just make 

 a few comments at this time rather than read the entire statement. 

 Of course, the reason for the sea grant college program is based on 

 the successful concept of land grant colleges, which have contributed 

 so much to the Nation's progress. Sea grant colleges, nurtured by 

 a program set forth through the National Science Foundation, are 

 vitally needed to enable the United States to enter the "wet space 

 age." 



I think there is no question about the fact that such a race is on, 

 and unfortunately our principal competitor, Russia, is the same com- 

 petitor that we have in space and is making great progress in con- 

 quering the wet space. 



I think just a quick look at some of the things they are doing, and 

 we realize that we can fall behind very quickly if we are not cog- 

 nizant of this problem and willing to do something about it. 



The primary objective of a national sea grant college program 

 concerns the development of marine manpower. Today the Soviet 



