NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 167 



Mr. Casey. And it is true, if you have got an organization of that 

 type, or similar to it, and had a higlily articulate gentleman like Jim 

 Webb selling the program, and working at it as he does, and being 

 spokesman for it, and where now you have to go to 20 different spokes- 

 men to find out what is going on, why, you would have a better 

 program. 



Mr, Wilson. And, Bob, don't forget the other aspect, too, the fact 

 that NASA has a committee up here that is the champion of the space 

 program. I believe your committee could very well be this if the 

 various oceanographic activities were taken out of some of the other 

 agencies and put into an agency that was responsible to this conmiittee. 



Mr. Caset. Well, I am pleased to be on that Space Committee. 

 We only had 11 votes against the authorization bill this year, which 

 shows that the members of Congress are advised and are informed, 

 and I think that is what it takes. 



Incidentally, you mentioned, and I don't blame you, trying to point 

 out that the NASA was established under the Eisenhower administra- 

 tion, but I think there was reluctance on the executive department 

 when that was created, and the gentleman who now occupies the 

 White House was one of the authors of the bill to create the space 

 council, and so forth. If we could just get him as interested in 

 oceanography as he was in space, along with the other problems he 

 has, why, I think we would be in pretty good shape on this. 



Mr. Wilson. Eight. 



Mr. Casey, One thing I do think will give you an opportunity to 

 clarify for us some things your good Calif ornians might misconstrue, 

 because I don't think — in fact, I know you did not mean it in that 

 way — what you meant was the resources available, minerals or what- 

 have-you. You said that : 



Where space is an airless void, signifying to a great degree notMng — 



and I know you do not mean that the program we have is not 

 worthwhile. 



Mr. Wilson. No. I am in favor of all support of the space 

 program. 



Mr. Casey. I think you meant that, before some of ; your aerospace 

 industries in California 



Mr. Wilson. Before some of the aerospace industries in my district 

 find out about this. There is no implication that I am not heartily 

 in favor of the space program. I am. I have supported it. 



Mr. Casey. I know you have. That is why I wanted to call this 

 to your attention. 



Mr. Wilson. I appreciate that, Mr. Casey. 



Mr. Casey. And that you generously made your statement brief, 

 and I don't want you to get caught on brevity here. 



Mr. Wilson. I have no problem in my district about their knowl- 

 edge of my attitude toward the space program. I think it is the 

 fact that we did concentrate and put the whole weight of the Federal 

 Government back of a single problem here, which has resulted in 

 tremendous gains in this area. We were lagging before, as you know. 

 And I think we are going to be lagging in oceanography behind some 

 of the other great powers of this world unless we get a singleness 

 of purpose here. 



