348 
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the bill. The Bureau of the 
Budget advises that there is no objection to this report from the point of view 
of the Administration’s program. 
Sincerely yours, 
S. Ditton RIPLeEy, Secretary. 
DEPARTMENT OF ‘STATE, 
Washington, D.C., October 10, 1969. 
Hon. Epwarp A. GARMATZ, 
Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 
House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 
‘DEAR Mr. CHAIRMAN: Your letter of August 4, 1969, forwarded a copy of 
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 utilization with respect 
to our marine and atmospheric environment” and asked for our views and 
recommendations on this proposed legislation. 
(he Administration has requested M. Roy Ash, Chairman of the newly estab- 
lished Advisory Council on Executive Organization, to place high on the Council’s 
agenda of matters to be studied the proposal for the creation of a new, independ- 
ent oceanographic and atmospheric agency. This is to be examined carefully in 
the context of broader federal organizational requirements. In studying this mat- 
ter the Council will consider related environmental and natural resource problems 
and compare the proposal for the establishment of a new agency with alternative 
ways of coordinating and advancing national development of the marine sciences. 
Pending completion of the Council study, the Department would prefer not to 
comment or suggest recommendations on the proposed legislation. 
{The Bureau of the Budget advises that from the standpoint of the 
Administration’s program there is no objection to the submission of this report. 
Sincerely yours, 
H. G. TorBeERtT, Jr., 
Acting Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations. 
Mr. Lennon. Today we are honored to have with us two most dis- 
tinguished gentlemen—our distinguished colleague from the Senate, 
the Honorable Claiborne Pell, and Mr. Northcutt Ely, of Ely & Dun- 
can, Washington, D.C., who has been most active with the bar asso- 
ciation and International Law Association in these matters. We will be 
pleased to hear first from our distinguished colleague, Senator Pell, 
who, as we know, is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Sub- 
committee on Ocean Space, and has maintained an interest in all 
phases of ocean activity. 
Senator, if you will come forward, we are delighted and honored 
to have you, knowing of your long-time interest and concern in the 
matters that we are now faced with. 
You may proceed, sir. 
STATEMENT OF HON. CLAIBORNE PELL, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE 
STATE OF RHODE ISLAND 
Senator Pett. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for letting me 
come over here and expose some of my own thinking and views. 
Congressman Garmatz, the chairman of the full committee, thank 
you for being here, and members of the committee. I am particularly 
glad to be here because I think we all are working together in trying 
to move ahead in this field of oceanology in developing our national 
abilities and potentials. 
_ The current hearings that you are conducting, which are of great 
interest to all of us on our side of the Hill, on the report of the Com- 
