NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 73 



grant, or cost-sharing arrangement, is better able to carry out the 

 "purposes of this Act" than the staff of another Federal agency. Such 

 determinations would result in considerable duplication of the ac- 

 tivities and facilities present in Federal agencies. In this connection, 

 it appears that (except for administration of the proposed fund) title 

 III of H.R. 7849 creates no new authority in the executive branch of 

 the Government, or sets no priorities, but merely duplicates existing 

 authority. 



We have been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there would 

 be no objection to the submission of our report from the standpoint of 

 the administration's program. 

 Sincerely yours, 



Burt W. Roper, 

 Acting General Counsel. 



Department of the Navy, 



Office of the Secretary, 

 Office of Legislative Affairs, 



Washington, B.C., July 29, 1965. 

 Hon. Herbert C. Bonner, 



Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 

 House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 



My Dear Mr. Chairman: Your request for comment on H.E.. 

 7849, a bill to pro^dde for the development of ocean resomxes, to 

 provide for economic development of the Continental Shelf, to pro- 

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

 establish a National Oceanographic Council, and for other purposes, 

 has been assigned to this Department by the Secretary of Defense 

 for the preparation of a report thereon expressing the views of the 

 Department of Defense. 



This bill would establish a National Oceanographic Council to 

 advise and assist the President in the field of oceanography and would 

 also establish a Marine Exploration and Development Commission 

 to formulate and carry out programs for purposes of exploration and 

 development of the marine resources of the Continental Shelf. 



While the objectives of this bill are unquestionably worthwhile, the 

 methods envisioned would duplicate in large part the missions already 

 assigned to a variety of Government agencies. The Marine Explora- 

 tion and Development Commission which would be established would 

 be not only a managing and funding agency but also would be charged 

 with "carrying out programs." As an operating agency, it would thus 

 be in competition with the Navy, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the 

 Bureau of Mines, and the U.S. Geological Survey all of which already 

 have certain responsibilities similar to those mentioned in the bill. 

 In the coordination of cooperative expeditions it would be in compe- 

 tition with the Interagency Committee on Oceanography. Its powers 

 to make grants, contracts, and loans to encourage such programs 

 would be in competition with the National Science Foundation and 

 the Office of Naval Research, which support related efforts. Of 

 particular concern is the authorization for the Commission to enter 

 into agreements with other Government agencies, to pay them for 

 doing work for the Commission. This would put the Commission in 

 the powerful position of controlling the work of other agencies. Fifty 



53-367—65 6 



