317 



Mr. Leggett. Go ahead and help him. 



Mr. Forsythe. Is this not the fund that goes into the pool that 

 provides the tuna research program that Commerce has been 

 operating ? 



Mr. Twiss. Yes. 



Mr. Leggett. Is this $100,000 tuna research money? 



Mr. Twiss. Not necessarily. The $100,000 is part of the Commis- 

 sion's general research and studies moneys. In fiscal year 1976, about 

 $200,000 of this was spent on tuna-porpoise activities. 



Mr. Leggett. More precisely, how much money did you put in the 

 pool for the tuna research ? 



Mr. Twiss. Slightly more than $196,000. 



Mr. Forsythe. The thing that I was trying to get to is that 

 without your really putting some money in, so far as this tuna 

 research program is going, the likelihood of getting it really under- 

 way was far less. In fact, the Commission served as a catalyst in 

 this whole function. It has really helped us to get some substantial 

 research in gear and so forth underway. 



Mr. Twiss. That is a very accurate statement. The behavioral 

 research can be directly traced to the Commission. Neither the in- 

 dustry nor any other agency merits, in any way, credit for initiating 

 the cruise. 



Mr. Leggett. But does this $100,000 that is being transferred here 

 have anything to do with that ? 



Mr. Twiss. Not precisely, no. 



Mr. Leggett. Did we transfer $100,000 last year? 



Mr. Twiss. No, we did not. 



Mr. Leggett. The question is now, why are you transferring 

 $100,000 to the Department of Commerce ? 



Mr. Mannina. Mr. Chairman ? 



Mr. Leggett. Mr. Mannina. 



Mr. Mannina. John, what did vou request of OMB for fiscal 

 1978? 



Mr. Twiss. $1 million. 



Mr. Mannina. And you were appropriated what in fiscal 1977? 



Mr. Twiss. $1 million. 



Mir. Mannina. And what did OMB give vou for 1978 ? 



Mr. Twiss. $900,000. 



Mr. Mannina. And the statement you are presenting today is that 

 OMB justification for the reduction from $1 million to $900,000. Is 

 that accurate? 



Mr. Twiss. It is the administration's statement, as cleared by 

 OMB, on our budget. 



Mr. Mannina. Thank you. 



Mr. Leggett. Do I understand that we have $2 million in our bill 

 for this function? 



Mr. Mannina. Yes. 



Mr. Leggett. Where did we get that number ? 



Mr. Mannina. We worked with individuals of the Commission to 

 develop an optimal budget. The Commission was requested to pro- 

 vide the committee with how that $2 million would be utilized. 



Mr. Leggett. Did any of the gentlemen testifying participate in 

 arriving at this number ? 



