516 NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM LEGISLATION 



Another significant source of ocean power is wave action. It is be- 

 lieved that wave action rather than nuclear or solar power would best 

 and most economically provide the power source for the thousands of 

 buoys envisaged in the future exploration and development of the 

 oceans. Ocean currents, of which as yet we know little, may provide 

 still another source of power generation. 



These then are some of the problems we face today and a few of the 

 potentials we can enjoy tomorrow. 



Let me turn now to how our Government is meeting this great chal- 

 lenge in the marine and atmospheric program area. Our main effort 

 is entitled the national oceanographic program. It is one of several 

 Government-wide programs planned and coordinated by the Presi- 

 dent, with the advice and assistance of the Office of Science and Tech- 

 nology. In the field of oceanography the Director of the Office of 

 Science and Technology, who also serves as Chairman of the Federal 

 Council for Science and Technology, looks to the Council's Inter- 

 agency Committee on Oceanography to carry out the program. 



As a committee in Government this group has been quite successful 

 in their efforts to coordinate the diverse functions of 5 departments, 

 3 independent agencies and 22 operating bureaus and offices. Despite 

 their competent work and continual improvement the Interagency 

 Committee on Oceanography suffers from a number of circumstances 

 with which it is powerless to deal. These are ; 



1. None of its members is the policy head of the department in 

 which he works, nor is departmental oceanographic policy dele- 

 gated to him. _ Whenever ICO makes a decision that decision is 

 subject to the independent and individual policy review of several 

 department heads. Within the concerned departments, marine 

 and atmospheric affairs are relatively minor parts of overall 

 responsibilities. 



2. Each ICO member has his own full-time job. They meet 

 from time to time and give the ICO program a few hours of at- 

 tention, but their prime attention is devoted to their own daily 

 responsibilties. 



3. The staff of ICO is loaned from other agencies. It receives 

 budgetary support from other agencies. These two situations 

 make it difficult for the most dedicated operation to establish rela- 

 tive program priorities. Even the most objective public servant 

 finds it difficult to judge a project favored by a Bureau Chief who 

 may soon again be his boss. 



4. A program is not a program unless it has a budget with 

 which it may be implemented. The ICO budget for a national 

 oceanographic program is a conglomeration of budgets for marine 

 and atmospheric affairs within 22 bureaus and offices. The ICO 

 considers the budget as a whole but each budget request is con- 

 tained within the several departments, bureaus and agencies. Thus 

 each appropriation request is reviewed by a variety of bureaus 

 of the budget examiners. Each must compete with other agency 

 functions at the bureau and departmental level for "pieces of 

 the appropriation pie" due such agencies. By the time the Presi- 

 dent's budget is sent to the Congress it is at once unidentifiable 



