NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 325 



view it as an exercise in producing information. It is a much more 

 dynamic thing than that. That is, the people and the ideas are more 

 important in tlie long run than information. 



Mr, Rogers. Let me say that I think your testimony is very helpful 

 and I am delighted to see that you do think a real panel is necessary to 

 study the program before we branch out into something taking some 

 drastic action perhaps. 



Thank you very much. 



Mr. Lennon. Mr. Bauer? 



Mr. Batter. With respect to this privileged group of planning agen- 

 cies that was mentioned this morning under the President's science 

 advisor, that is the Federal Council for Science and Technology, and 

 the so-called PSAC. ICO, as I understand it, organizationally, is a 

 committee of the Federal Council ; is that correct ? 



Dr. Morse. Yes, sir. Formally we report to that. 



Mr. Bauer. Then you are privileged in the sense that the Congress 

 has no responsibility as far as you are concerned, if you do not want 

 to testify you can say, see the President; is that right, under your 

 present organization ? 



You see, this raises a problem, if an appropriation for administrative 

 purpose is to go to ICO without ICO having formal statutory position 

 so that Congress would have some supervision over the operation, then 

 you recognize the question of the management situation is untenable, 

 it seems to me. 



In other words, if ICO is to be funded as you suggested would it 

 not be better then to maybe put the Federal Council of Science and 

 Technology in a body by statute that is responsive for the Congress, 

 than to have it purely a Presidential advisory group ? 



What is your feeling on that ? 



Dr. Morse. I would say, first, I do not feel competent to really com- 

 ment on the question. 



Mr. Bauer. You see the problem ? 



Dr. Morse. The Federal Council, though, is itself, you see, a col- 

 lection of Presidential appointed essentially cabinet people. 



Mr. Bauer. It only exists at the President's pleasure ? 



Dr. Morse. Yes, sir. 



Mr. Bauer. And is to advise him directly. 



You have no thoughts, then, as to how this management cnange 

 could be effected to have ICO have some statutory base ? 



Dr. Morse. As I said in my testimony, this is a vexing problem 

 and one I have wrestled with myself. There are several alternatives. 



The present one is, of course, what we are doing now, which I think 

 works in a pragmatic sense. But, nevertheless, I think it puts certain 

 burdens on the agencies that we have to solicit help from, not that we 

 do not run into great cooperativeness — we do run into a great coopera- 

 tiveness. 



It does mean that we do not show this activity to a single body of 

 Congress. 



Mr. Bauer. Well, ICO basically then is only concerned with Gov- 

 ernment research ; is that correct ; not with respect to the whole prob- 

 lem of the study of the marine environment ? 



Dr. Morse. Let me just express my thoughts on this, because this 

 is one that I have wrestled with myself greatly this year. 



