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meat of Transportation, where it was not so happy to go in the first 

 place, that its effectiveness and its utilization could be impaired to any 

 degree by putting it in this independent agency. If some of you gen- 

 tlemen want to do a little research and put it in the record on this point, 

 I think it might be helpful to all of us. I believe you wanted to speak 

 to the question, did you, sir? 



Mr. Perry. The Commission felt that the Coast Guard was really 

 the guts of this new agency for the simple reason that 40,000 out of 

 the 55,000 proposed employees would be from the Coast Guard and 

 the Coast Guard would form the basis for the real muscle which NO AxV 

 would have. I would like to give a couple of examples. For instance, 

 the certification of submarines or standards for underwater habitats 

 or any of the things we do in the ocean or propose to do in the ocean 

 can all be handled by existing employees. If they are not inNOAA you 

 have to set up a new organization to handle this and this would be 

 much too expensive. 



Mr. Lennon. Has the gentleman suggested that in the history of 

 the Coast Guard it has not been one of the leading agencies either in 

 the Treasury Department or Department of Transportation, and you 

 want to put it where it can really develop as you think it ought to ? 



Mr. Perry. That is right, exactly. You are a good spokesman. 



Dr. Strattox. It has functions of Customs, which relate to 

 the Treasury. It has functions related to transportation, although ma- 

 rine transportation is in a rather curiously anomalous position with 

 respect to the Department of Transportation. These functions must 

 continue to be carried out. It has functions in Vietnam. What we are 

 building here is a great variety of activities that relate to the ocean, and 

 they have to do with search and rescue, with certification, with fishing, 

 with exploration, and so on. We already have those resources in the 

 Coast Guard, and it is our belief that that body can be made vastly 

 more effective and useful if it is related to all these marine functions. 



Mr. Pelly. Perhaps some of the functions of Customs would be 

 transferred to the Justice Department. 



Mr. Perry. I would like to comment on that because the Customs 

 have to do with people trying to get things in and out of the country 

 and if you don't have an alert Coast Guard out there it is going to be 

 too late. The Coast Guard is the one outfit that can handle this prob- 

 lem because having a knowledge of what is going on in the shelf and 

 other areas will forewarn them of any attempts to smuggle things in or 

 out. 



Dr. Stratton. But that function wouldn't be lessened by being able 

 to do all of these other things. 



Mr. Perry. It would be something they could do in their stride. 



Mr. Pelly. Would it be possible for some of the members of the 

 Commission to extend their remarks in the record later and give us a 

 little more thought out and comprehensive argument as to why the 

 Coast Guard would fit into this particular agency ? 



Dr. Strattox. Beyond the statement that is made in here ? 



Mr. Pelly. Rather than it would get a chance to enlarge itself, be- 

 cause I do not think that is particularly an argument. It is to increase 

 its usefulness, 



Mr. Lennox. May I have the attention of the committee, please ? I 

 wonder if there is any member of the Commission who can identify 



