470 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



in section 2(a) (4) of the Keorganization Act of 1949, which directs 

 that agencies and functions of the Government be grouped, coordinated 

 and consolidated "as nearly as may be, according to major purposes." 



Any attempt to separate oceanographic f imctions from the missions 

 which they now serve could cripple seriously a number of on-going 

 programs or give rise to overlapping and duplication. 



How do we draw a line between oceanography and the other func- 

 tions assigned such agencies as the Coast Guard? As the Treasury 

 Department points out, "Where does the oceanography aspect of, for 

 example, ocean-station vessels begin and end ? 



H.K. 5884 and H.R. 7849, bills which would establish a Marme 

 Exploration and Development Cormnission, also create problems of 

 overlapping and duplication and have other undesirable organiza- 

 tional features. 



The proposed agency would overlap and duplicate activities now 

 being conducted on the Continental Shelf by a number of Federal 

 agencies. 



While the bills attempt to resolve this problem by providing that 

 the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, and the Interior shall be mem- 

 bers of the Commission, we have serious reservations about the ability 

 of an agency organized along these lines either to administer effec- 

 tively the programs undertahen directly by the Commission or to 

 coordinate successfully related agency programs. 



Finally, we believe it would be unsound to create a new agency con- 

 cerned with development of natural resources in a particular geo- 

 graphic area, thereby complicating national plamiing for resource de- 

 velopment and coordination of resource programs. 



As in the case with other scientific and technological programs which 

 necessarily cut across agency lines, we need to develop satisfactory 

 means for coordinating, not consolidating, the diverse and separate 

 programs administered by a number of Federal agencies which relate 

 to the general field of oceanography. 



This fact is recognized by H.E. 2218, H.R. 5654, and H.R. 6457, all 

 of which seek to strengthen and improve existing arrangements for 

 coordinating oceanographic programs. 



We continue to believe strongly that the desired objectives could be 

 accomplished most effectively by the enactment of H.R. 2218. This 

 bill properly assigns to the President, as Chief Executive, res^Donsi- 

 bility for defining national goals with respect to oceanography, sur- 

 veying all significant oceanographic activities, developing a compre- 

 hensive program of oceanographic activities to be conducted or 

 supported by Federal agencies, designating and fixing responsibility 

 for the direction of oceanographic activties and resolving differences 

 arising among Federal agencies with respect to oceanographic 

 activities. 



The President is authorized by the bill to utilize such advisory re- 

 sources as he may deem necessary, including an Advisory Committee 

 on Oceanography drawn from outside the Government. 



The President would be required to report annually to the Congress 

 as to the general status of oceanography, progress in research and de- 

 velopment, financial plans, including proposed appropriations, cur- 

 rent and future plans, and requests for such legislation as may be 

 necessary. 



