III. UNITED STATES NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 



A. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 



Legislative Branch 



354. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 



Committees of both houses of Congress do most of the work of 

 preparing and considering legislation. Each house has standing 

 committees, special committees, and commissions. 



The standing committees of the Senate most concerned with marine 

 affairs are the Committees on Commerce, Science and Transportation; 

 Energy and Natural Resources; and Environment and Public Works. 

 These committees have jurisdiction over appropriate aspects of the 

 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) lands. The National Ocean Policy 

 Study (NOPS), originally established in 1974 as the focus of Senate 

 discussions on ocean matters, is under the Committee on Commerce, 

 Science, and Transportation. The Committee on Foreign Relations, 

 especially its Subcommittee on Arms Control, Oceans, International 

 Operations, and Environment, also deals with marine affairs. 



In the House of Representatives, major jurisdiction over marine 

 affairs rests with the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee 

 (HMMFC or MM&F). HMMFC contains Subcommittees on Coast Guard and 

 Navigation; Fisheries, Wildlife Conservation, and the Environment; 

 Merchant Marine; and Oceanography; and an Ad Hoc Subcommittee on 

 Maritime Education and Training. The House included the House Select 

 Committee on the Outer Continental Shelf (HSCOCS) Until June 30, 

 1980, when this committee was terminated. Upon its dissolution, 

 jurisdiction over OCS matters reverted to the standing committees. 



355. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: LC 



Besides serving as a library depository and providing normal 

 library reference services, LC operates the National Referral Center 

 (NRC), which maintains a register of sources of information on sci- 

 entific and technological activities of Federal and State agencies, 

 professional societies, universities, colleges, industrial labora- 

 tories, and others engaged in research. 



The Congressional Reference Service (CRS) is a separate office with- 

 in LC. CRS functions exclusively for the legislative branch of the 

 Government and provides information as requested. It is active in 

 researching marine matters and often publishes reports on its findings. 



356. OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT: OTA 



OTA was established by the Technology Assessment Act of 1972 to 

 help Congress anticipate, and plan for, the consequences of uses of 

 technology. It provides an independent and objective source of in- 

 formation about impacts, beneficial and adverse, of techological ap- 

 plications and identifies policy alternatives for technology-related 

 issues. It includes an Ocean Assessment Program Manager and an En- 

 ergy Assessment Program Manager. The latter is involved in programs 

 relating to energy from the oceans. 



Executive Branch 



Office of the President 



357. PRESIDENT'S SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: PSAC 



Established in the Office of Science and Technology in 1951 to 

 advise the President, PSAC was composed of a number of panels, one of 



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