12 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



^ih : Executive Office of the President, 



Office of Science and Technology, 



Washington, B.C., February 17, 1965. 

 Hon. Herbert C. Bonner, 



Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 

 House of Representatives , Washington, D.C 



Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for sending me with your letters 

 of January 22 and 26, copies of H.R. 921, to establish the National 

 Oceanographic Agency, and H.E. 2218, to provide for a comprehensive 

 long-range, and coordinated national program in oceanography. 



My testimony of June 23, 1964, before the Subcommittee on Ocean- 

 ography of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee 

 (two copies enclosed) continues to represent what seems to me to 

 be the essential considerations to be taken into account in organizing 

 the executive branch for an effective oceanographic program. H.R. 

 912 and H.R. 2218 represent quite different approaches to this ques- 

 tion. I do not believe that H.R. 912 provides a satisfactory solution 

 because it would centralize in a single agency many aspects of ocean- 

 ography which must be carried on by many parts of the Federal 

 Government if they are to discharge their statutory obligations. On 

 the other hand, H.R. 2218 provides a policy and actions which would 

 strengthen oceanographic activities without centralizing them. This 

 I consider the preferable general approach, and I would be glad to 

 discuss these matters, as well as more recent developments in the 

 Federal oceanographic programs, in greater detail at the appropriate 

 time. 



Thank you for the opportunity to comment on these measures. 

 Sincerely yours, 



Donald F. Hornig, Director. 



Smithsonian Institution, 

 Washington, D.C, July 28, 1965. 

 Hon. Herbert C. Bonner, 



Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 

 House oj Representatives, Washington, D.C 



Dear Mr. Bonner: This report is in further reference to your letter 

 of January 22, 1965, requesting the views of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion on H.R. 921, a biU to establish the National Oceanographic 

 Agency. 



This legislation would establish an independent agency which 

 would be directed to establish a coordinated national program for 

 oceanography and related sciences including meteorology. Under 

 section 4 of H.R. 921, all functions, personnel, property, and unex- 

 pended funds relating to oceanographv and related sciences vested in 

 any Federal agency would be transferred to the National Oceano- 

 graphic Agency. 



On February 3, 1965, you were advised that the Board of Regeats 

 wodld be asked for its views on H.R. 921 at its next meeting and that 

 subsequently you would be advised of its views. 



The Interagency Committee on Oceanography has been operating 

 as an effective means of exchanging information and coordinating 

 activities of the various Federal agencies active in this field. It has 



