633 
THE MARINE CouNCIL 1966-71 
The Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 
vested continuing responsibility in the President for planning and coor- 
dinating Federal marine activities and reporting annually to the Con- 
gress on their progress and proposed budgets for the coming year. 
To assist the President in these tasks, the act created the National 
Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development. The task 
of the Council was to provide coordination and direction to the frag- 
mented Federal marine activities. Dr. Edward Wenk, Jr., the Executive 
Secretary of the Council said about the task of the Council: 
. . In helping the President steer marine affairs, the challenge 
was to bring together a wide range of diffuse public purposes, 
specialized bodies of knowledge, institutions, and Federal agen- 
cies, and to transform them from a fragmented, unsteady, and 
loosely knit caboodle into a broadly based, coherent, system 
sparked by a sense of urgency.”° 
From the start the Executive Secretary was well aware of the dif- 
ficulties surrounding any effort to coordinate activities of 11 Federal 
agencies and prevent them from sailing in different directions. 
The Council emphasized the need to apply knowledge of the oceans 
to public purposes. Five committees were established within the Coun- 
cil to consider the full range of needs and to try to formulate programs 
for the various areas of priorities that had been selected. 
The underlying philosophy of the Council was pragmatic. It called 
for strengthening the economy by identifying marine resources; 
strengthening marine technology; enlarging U.S. maritime enterprises; 
enhancing the quality of urban living by coastal awareness; strengthen- 
ing world security; and fostering the education of specialists. 
The Council proved effective for several reasons. First, its close 
proximity to the President clearly fostered agency cooperation (none 
wanted to risk Presidential displeasure). Easier access to key Pre- 
sidential aides facilitated the defense of marine programs during 
budget preparation. The fact that the Council was close to the Pre- 
sident stimulated awareness of the significance of the oceans. Second, 
Wenk gives much of the credit for the successes of the Council 
to Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. Mr. Humphrey became very 
interested in ocean affairs. According to Dr. Wenk, attendance by 
Council members or their alternates at high policy level was excellent 
because of Mr. Humphrey’s enthusiasm and drive. The Vice President 
also succeeded in having almost all Council recommendations ac- 
cepted by the President.”! Testifying before the Senate Oceans and 
Atmospheric Subcommittee on March 23, 1976, Senator Humphrey 
summarized the tasks and accomplishments of the Council as follows: 
. it identified unmet national needs; (and) it identified new 
opportunities to direct Federal marine science and technology 
to meet these needs. 
It recommended priorities; it identified impediments to progress 
within the executive branch and strategies for circumventing 
red-tape. It developed new policies and made on behalf of the 
20 Wenk, Edward, Jr. The Policits of the Ocean. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1973, p. 
95. 
21 Ibid., p. 117. 
