NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 5 
scientist communication, a small but significant mechanism of in- 
formal diplomacy fosters world understanding and achievement of 
our foreign policy aims. Research directed at understanding and 
exploiting both the ocean and the atmosphere offer the best possible 
opportunity for practical cooperation among nations and for develop- 
ing stronger awareness throughout the world that our futures are 
bound together. In a direct way, U.S. efforts in oceanography con- 
tribute to the direct benefit of other peoples. The exploitation of the 
living resources of the sea can help meet protein deficiencies of hun- 
dreds of millions of people, although I must say that we have moved 
very slowly in doing so; I hope in this year we will be able to do a 
little more. The worldwide observation of storms, tsunami, and other 
devastating acts of nature may help save lives beyond our shores. 
Because the study of the sea involves many interests and is ap- 
proached from many points of view, programs are supported by many 
agencies. As a consequence, mechanisms have had to be developed to 
coordinate these programs in order that they add up to a single na- 
tional program and I should like to discuss these mechanisms briefly. 
PLANNING AND COORDINATION THROUGH THE FEDERAL COUNCIL FOR 
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 
The Federal Council for Science and Technology was established in 
March 1959 by Executive Order 10807 to assist the President by (a) 
providing more effective planning and administration of the Federal 
program; (0) identifying research needs, including areas requiring 
additional emphasis; (c) achieving more effective utilization of scien- 
tific and technical resources and facilities of Federal agencies, in- 
cluding the elimination of unnecessary duplication; and (d) further- 
ing international cooperation in science and technology. 
Functioning somewhat as a science cabinet, the Council includes 
policy rank officials from the eight departments having major pro- 
grams in research and development, with observers from Department 
of State, Federal Aviation Agency, and the Bureau of the Budget. 
As special assistant to the President I serve on the Federal Council. 
Following the precedents of Presidents Kisenhower and Kennedy, 
President Johnson has asked that in that capacity I serve as Chair- 
man. 
It is important to recall that the authority and responsibilities of 
individual departments constitute the dominant basis for the conduct 
of Federal research and development. Each department with its own 
special and complex requirements, operating under statutory author- 
ity from the Congress, must be free to sponsor imaginative and crea- 
tive research if its programs are not to become sterile. In the field of 
marine biology, for example, the National Science Foundation and 
the Smithsonian Institution are concerned with exploring a wide 
range of fundamental problems and in supporting the training of 
marine biologists, while the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries seeks 
to understand the distribution and habits of fish; the Navy investigates 
the effects of marine organisms on sound propagation, and the Public 
Health Service tries to assure the quality of the food taken from the 
sea. In some cases, the interests of the separate agencies overlap, and 
