NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM 
TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1969 
Hovst or REPRESENTATIVES, 
SUBCOMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY OF THE 
CoMMITTEE ON MercHant MarINE AND FISHERIES, 
Washington, D.C. 
The subcommittee met at 10:15 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room 
1334, Longworth House Office Building, Hon. Alton Lennon (chair- 
man of the subcommittee) presiding. 
Mr. Lennon. It is my pleasure this morning to recognize the chair- 
man of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries for a state- 
ment relating to the subject matter that we are now about to consider. 
Mr. Chairman. 
Mr. Garmatz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
In April of this year, this subcommittee initiated a series of 12 
pape hearings on a proposed national oceanographic program. To- 
ay’s hearing is a continuation of our examination of that proposed 
program—which is embodied in the comprehensive report of the Com- 
mission on Marine Science, Engineering, and Resources. 
But I think it should be emphasized today that we are not simply 
embarking upon a resumption of hearings on this proposed national 
oceanographic program, which is now referred to as the “Stratton Re- 
port.” You might say that this subcommittee has moved into a second 
phase of activity. That phase started when—on July 31, 1969—Con- 
gressman Lennon, the distinguished chairman of this subcommittee, in- 
troduced a bill which bears the number H.R. 13247. 
I think this bill will become a piece of landmark legislation, because 
I Dee it will mark the turning point in our national oceanographic 
effort. 
Basically, this bill is designed to implement two of the Stratton 
report’s recommendations: the establishment of an independent na- 
tional oceanographic agency, and the simultaneous establishment of a 
National Advisory Committee. 
Both of these recommendations are already well known, but what I 
want to stress today is the significance of Congressman Lennon’s bill. 
First of all, it was cosponsored by every member of the Subcommittee 
on Oceanography; as chairman of the full committee, I am proud to 
say that I am also a cosponsor. Second, this bill was not introduced in 
haste: it represents a congressional conviction, and this conviction was 
reached only after a comprehensive series of hearings documented the 
need for congressional action. 
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