334 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



of your 'bill to provide authorization of funds for general program administra- 

 tion would solve the remaining problem of funding the transagency studies requi- 

 site to good planning. 



You requested that I submit for the record a suggested modification to H.R. 

 2218 which would incoriwrate the above thoughts. It is suggested that H.R. 

 2218 be modified to include a section on authorization which might read as 

 follows : 



' 'authorization 



"Sec. 7. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

 necessary to carry out this Act, but sums appropriated for any one fiscal year 

 shall not exceed $1,000,000." 

 Sincerely yours, 



Robert W. Morse, 

 Chairman, Interagency, Committee on Oceanography. 



Mr. Drewrt. Just one question, Dr. Morse, I think the subject has 

 pretty well been covered. 



You mentioned there needed to be a lower level of coordination, 

 referring as I understand it to the fact that there should always be 

 an ICO. 



You made very clear the ICO function within the Government, but 

 that it cannot function on some of these broader levels. 



But as I further understand it the ICO does not get into the picture 

 as coordinator until after the individual recommendations have come 

 from the departments themselves. 



Would it not strengthen the function of the ICO if it were in a 

 position as a group of working level personnel who are familiar with 

 the details of ttiese different things, too, in advance, form a little "think 

 factory" and make recommendations which are going to be the sub- 

 ject to veto by the Secretary level any way. They would thus, at least, 

 be in a position initially to recommend and urge. Then when the 

 Secretaries have gotten their thoughts together, either accepting or not 

 accepting, the ICO can appoint, as in the case you mentioned in the 

 case of the National Science Foundation, the funds for the ships. 



Again, the Federal Council apparently has veto power, but it seems 

 to me it would strengthen the ICO considerably if it could be a plan- 

 ning or reconunending group — recommending to the planners. 



Wliat is your thought on that particular point ? 



Dr. Morse. I think you repeated my point that quite independently 

 of whether one had a commission or whether one had a high-level ad- 

 visory group or whether one had a national oceanographic council, 

 quite independently of that I think every one would have to agree that 

 there still has to be a group that performs the ICO functions of co- 

 ordination since no such high-level group could do it. 



That, though, does not answer the question, would such a high-level 

 group assist the ICO in carrying out its jobs? 



I think the real area of confusion would come primarily at the Fed- 

 eral Council level and not at the ICO level. 



I think the relationships of that group to — let us assume that we 

 are talking about a national oceanographic council which is a very 

 high-level group — ^I think the conflict with the ICO would not nec- 

 essarily be as much of a difficulty as the overlap in assignment of re- 

 sponsibility with the Federal Council. 



I think Dr. Homig commented on that and I think it would be of 

 greater concern to his organization which must look and comment on 



