045 
The bill would transfer the U.S. Coast Guard from the Department of Trans- 
portation to the proposed agency with the proviso that the Coast Guard shall 
operate as a part of the Navy in time of war or when the President shall so 
direct. However, it is the concern of the Department of Defense that the Coast 
Guard may not be maintained in an adequate state of readiness as a member of 
the Armed Forces of the United States if its forces are “combined” with the other 
elements of the proposed agency as recommended by the Commission on Marine 
Science, Engineering and Resources. The requirement to so maintain the Coast 
Guard as provided by 14 U.S.C. 2 for transfer to the Department of Defense as 
provided by 14 U.S.C. 3 is mandatory. 
This report has been coordinated within the Department of Defense in accord- 
ance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. 
The Bureau of the Budget advises that, from the standpoint of the Administra- 
tion’s program, there is no objection to the presentation of this report on H.R. 
13247 for the consideration of the Committee. 
For the Secretary of the Navy. 
Sincerely yours, 
MEANS JOHNSTON, Jr., 
- Rear Admiral, USN, Chief of Legislative Affairs. 
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, 
October 14, 1969. 
Hon. Epwarp A. GARMATZ, 
Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 
House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 
DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request of August 4, 1969, for 
our views on H.R. 13247, a bill ‘“To amend the Marine Resources and Engineering 
Development Act of 1966 to establish a comprehensive and long-range national 
program of research, development, technical services, exploration and utiliza- 
tion with respect to our marine and atmospheric environment.” 
This bill would provide for a new independent agency in the Executive Branch 
to be known as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency. The bill prescribes 
the functions and powers of the new agency and in addition provides for estab- 
lishment of a 15-member National Advisory Committee for Oceans and Atmos- 
phere. 
The following government departments and agencies and their functions would 
be transferred to the new agency : The Coast Guard ; The Environmental Science 
Services Administration; The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries; The Bureau of 
Sport Fisheries and Wildlife; the mission of July 1, 1969, assigned to the U.S. 
Army Engineer District, Lake Survey, Corps of Engineers, Department of the 
Army (respecting deterioration of the quality of Lake Erie and the other Great 
Lakes) ; and the duties of the Secretary of the Navy with respect to the National 
Oceanographic Data Center. 
While the bill provides for activities in the atmospheric sciences area, it does 
not relate directly to air pollution control or other environmental health pro- 
grams administered by the Department. Accordingly, the Department of Health, 
Education, and Welfare defers to the views of those departments more directly 
concerned with the subject matter of H.R. 13247. 
We are advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the 
presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration’s pro- 
gram. 
Sincerely, 
Rosert H. Fincu, Secretary. 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, 
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, 
Washington, D.C., September 23, 1969. 
Hon. Epwarp A. GARMATZ, 
Chairman, Committce on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 
House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 
Dear Mr. CHAIRMAN: Your Committee has requested the views of this Depart- 
ment on H.R. 13247, a bill “To amend the Marine Resources and Engineering 
