NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 27 



Forces, or a contractor or subcontractor of any such department, agency, or 

 armed force, or an officer or employee of any such contractor or subcontractor, 

 and (B) bas been authorized to have access to restricted data under the provi- 

 sions of section 14;i of the Atomic Energy Act of ]!ir,4 (42 U.S.C. 21(«). 



Sec. GOl. Information obtained or developed by the Cbairman in the perform- 

 ance of his functions under this Act shall be made available for jtublic inspection 

 except (a) information authorized or required by Federal statute to be withheld, 

 and (b) information classified to prcjtect the national security: Provided, That 

 nothing in this Act shall authorize the withholding of information by the Chair- 

 man from the duly aiithorized committees of Congress. 



Sec. 701. (a) For the purposes of this Act the term "marine sciences" shall 

 be deemed to apply also to scientific endeavors in and with relation to the Great 

 Lakes. 



(b) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be neces- 

 sary to carry out this Adt, but sums appropriated for any one fiscal year shalL 

 not exceed $500,000. 



U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 

 Washington, D.C., July 29, 1965. 

 Hon. Herbert C Bonner, 



Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 

 House of Representatives. 



Dear Mr. Bonner: The Atomic Energy Commission is pleased to 

 comment on H.R. 5654, a bill to provide for expanded research in 

 the oceans and the Great Lakes, to establish a National Oceanographic 

 Comicil, and for other pm-poses. 



As you know, the Atomic Energy Commission was one of the four 

 Federal agencies that first suggested and participated in efforts to 

 coordinate the national program in oceanography. The Federal 

 Council for Science and Technology (FCST) created by Executive 

 Order No. 10807 on March 13, 1959, established the permanent In- 

 teragency Committee on Oceanography (ICO) by letter dated March 

 3, 1960, from George Kistiakowsky, Chairman of the FCST, to the 

 Honorable James H. Wakelin, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Navy 

 for Research and Development. A primary function of the ICO has 

 been to coordinate the activities of various agencies having an interest 

 in oceanography and related marine sciences. There is also an 

 FCST Committee on Water Resources Research which is concerned 

 with coordinating research activities of the various agencies on fresh 

 water resources, including research pertaining to the Great Lakes. 



It is the AEC's understanding that the proposed bill would in effect 

 substitute a National Oceanographic Council for the ICO as the pri- 

 mary coordinator of agency activities in the field of oceanography, and 

 for the FCST Committee on Water Resources Research as the primary 

 coordinator of agency research activities in the field of fresh water 

 resources to the extent that those activities concern the Great Lakes. 

 While the Commission is in accord with the substantive purpose and 

 intent of the proposed legislation, it is our belief that such a substitu- 

 tion is not necessary or appropriate at this time in view of the effective 

 coordination of agency efforts in this field by the ICO and the FCST 

 Committee on Water Resources Research. 



Should the bill be considered for passage, however, the Commission 

 suggests that changes as set forth below be made. 



The Commission urges the deletion from the bill of subsection 501 

 (b). This subsection would authorize "any member, officer, or em- 

 ployee of the Council to have access to restricted data relating to 



