378 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



Mr. Clark. Yes, sir, 



(The following letter was subsequently submitted for inclusion in 

 the record:) 



American Petkoleum Institute, 

 l^eiv York, N.Y., September 2, 1965. 

 Hon. Alton Lennon, 

 House of Representatives, 

 Washington, D.C. 



Dear Congressman : The petroleum industry welcomes the opportunity to 

 present its views on the broad subject of oceanography. Our economic stake in 

 the marine environment gives us a vital interest in legislation dealing with the 

 oceans. The petroleum industry has been very active in many phases of this 

 science for many years and the American Petroleum Institute, also, has done 

 research in this area for 35 years. 



As a result of your request to Mr. D. E. Clark, who appeared before your 

 committee on August 12, we assembled a group of petroleum experts who re- 

 viewed the various bills on oceanography which are currently before Congress. 



Several of the proposed bills contain provisions for the centralizing of all 

 ■oceanographic activities in one agency in the Federal Government. We do not 

 believe that creation of such an agency would be for the best interest of the 

 country. Oceanography is a name that can be applied to any branch of science 

 if it happens to have application in a marine environment. As has been brought 

 out in your hearings, there are a great number of Government agencies that 

 must use one or more phases of oceanography. To attempt to remove these 

 activities and centralize them in one group would be like trying to take all the 

 activities in physics away from those agencies that apply physics in pursuit of 

 their missions and centralize them in a single group. You will recall that some 

 time ago there was an attempt to set up a U.S. Department of Science. Objec- 

 tions were raised to this idea since science is used by most departments and 

 agencies of the Government and, therefore, to strip these groups of their sci- 

 entific activities would cripple their ability to undertake some of the missions 

 for which they have a primary responsibility. We believe the same reasoning 

 argues against the creation of a single department to handle oceanographic 

 activities. 



Some of the proposed bills, including S. 944 as passed by the Senate, would 

 create a new organization to try to coordinate all of the oceanographic activity 

 in the Federal Government. While improved coordination is undoubtedly desir- 

 able, we think a new organization would only duplicate or replace the present 

 coordinating committee and activity which is currently being handled by the 

 President's Office of Science and Technology. 



Our industry favors actions designed to provide basic information about the 

 oceans in the belief that such knowledge will be highly useful to many segments 

 of the national economy. If your committee, however, wishes to propose legis- 

 lation bearing more directly upon specific oceanographic programs and their 

 administrative direction, we think it important that the science of oceanography 

 be clearly distingaiished from the technology employed in its application. This 

 basic science for example could involve the complex relationships of ocean cur- 

 rents, marine biology, temperature and salinity variables, meteorology, etc., and 

 is properly a sphere for Federal programs. On the other hand, technological 

 developments in this environment, and most specifically commercial exploitation 

 of mineral and other resources, have been and should remain an important field 

 for private investment. We would encourage increased Federal programs in 

 oceanography focused on scientific inquiry. It would be expected that the 

 obtained data would be utilized by industry and other agencies in the develop- 

 ment of the needed technology. 



You are aware of the substantial investment of the petroleum industry in 

 the exploitation of su;bsea mineral resources. Future years hold every prospect 

 for continuation and expansion of these efforts not only in oil, gas, and sulphur 

 production but to an enlarged list of minerals and chemicals. This enlarged 

 search will not be, of course, exclusive to our industry. It will be based, how- 

 ever, upon the continuation of economic incentives and protection of proprietai'y 

 rights in discovery and development in an ever increasing geographic area. We 

 believe that a constant review of Federal law in this field is desirable and would 



