28 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



oceanography and the marine sciences which is required in the per- 

 formance of his duties * * *" as certified by the Council, provided the 

 Council determines that its estabhshed "security procedures * * * 

 are * * * in reasonable conformity to the standards established by 

 the Atomic Energy Commission under section 145 of the Atomic 

 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2165)," and provided the Council has 

 determined in accordance with such procedures "that permitting such 

 individual to have access to such restricted data will not endanger the 

 common defense and security." 



In our view subsection 501(b) would have the effect of diluting the 

 Commission's control over restricted data without adequate demon- 

 strated need. Such a certification procedure for access to restricted 

 data, as proposed by subsection 501(b), has been accorded to only two 

 agencies, the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics 

 and Space Administration because the nature of the duties and func- 

 tions of these agencies have so required. However, we believe that 

 such a statutory provision for the National Oceanographic Council is 

 not necessary. There does not appear to be extensive restricted data 

 pertaining to oceanography and related marine sciences, and we 

 believe that need for access to such restricted data, which the Council's 

 members and officers as well as its relatively small staff may have, 

 can be effectively handled through the Commission's usual security 

 procedures. In this connection, it should be noted that Public Law 

 87-206 (75 Stat. 475) amended the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as 

 amended, on September 6, 1961, by adding a new subsection 145(c) 

 in order to expedite clearances in such cases as this. In order to 

 allow the Council to make full use of the clearance procedure con- 

 tained in section 145(c) of the Atomic Energy Act, it is also recom- 

 mended that section 501(a) of the proposed biU be revised to read as 

 follows : 



"Sec. 501. (a) The Council shall arrange with the Federal Bureau 

 of Investigation for the conduct of investigations, including full field 

 investigations, of the character, associations, and loyalty of the 

 Council's officers, employees, and consultants, as it deems appropriate. 

 The results of such investigations shall be furnished to the Council." 



The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to 

 the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the adminis- 

 tration's program. 



Sincerely yours, 



John V. Vinciguerra 

 (For General Manager.) 



General Counsel of the 

 Department of Commerce, 

 Washington, D.C., July 26, 1965. 

 Hon. Herbert C. Bonner, 



Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 

 House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 



Dear Mr. Chairman: This is in further reply to your request for 

 the views of this Department concerning H.R. 5654, a bill to provide 

 for expanded research in the oceans and the Great Lakes, to establish 

 a National Oceanographic Coimcil, and for other purposes. 



