NATIONAL MARINE SCIENCES PROGRAM 



FBIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1967 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Oceanography of the 

 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 



Washington^ D.G. 

 The subcommittee met, pursuant to recess, at 10:10 a.m., in room 

 1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Paul G. Rogers pre- 

 siding. 



Mr. Rogers. The commxittee will come to order. 

 Our first witness this morning is the distinguished Senator from 

 the State of Rhode Island, the Honorable Claiborne Pell. 



STATEMENT OE HON. CLAIBORNE PELL, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE 

 STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 



Senator Pell. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am 

 most grateful to you for allowing me the chance to submit my views 

 on the current status of the national sea-grant program. 



As you know, it will be necessary shortly to reauthorize the con- 

 tinuation of this program^ through legislative action. I propose to 

 offer a bill for this purpose in the near future. 



Meanwhile, I would like to say now how pleased I am to note the 

 overwhelming, countrywide interest in this program for developing 

 our marine resources, I understand that, although the final criteria 

 for submitting proposals were published only this month, institutions 

 from many States have already submitted about 400 informal requests 

 for grants as soon as the program gets underway. 



May I say on this point that I believe Robert Abel, the program's 

 director, and his capable deputy, Harold Lee Goodwin, deserve a 

 lot of credit for this large number of specific requests. They have gone 

 from institution to institution around the country in response to in- 

 quiries from State governments. State universities, and oceanographic 

 institutions. Through their own expertise and imagination they have 

 effectively dramatized the sea-grant program to all sorts of potential 

 users. 



Despite these good aspects of the program, now in its second fiscal 

 year, I am concerned by the fact that to date not one single grant 

 has yet been made. The delay has been understandably caused by the 

 administrative work necessary to develop the practical mechanism 

 within the National Science Foundation for carrying out the pro- 

 visions of the act. 



The excellent booklet, which NSF has developed for promulgating 

 the criteria for proposal submissions, has now been distributed, and 



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