WHITE AND KARO NOMINATIONS TUESDAY, JULY 20, 1965 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, The committee met at 10:10 a.m. in room 5110, New Senate Office Building, the Honorable Warren G. Magnuson, chairman of the committee, presiding. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. The committee is meeting this morning to hear testimony from Robert M. White, of Connecticut, nominee for Administrator of the new Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) of the Department of Commerce, and Adm. H. Arnold Karo, of Nebraska, as Deputy Administrator. ESSA came into being on July 13, last Tuesday, pursuant to the President's Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965. Before we turn to Dr. White and Admiral Karo, I should like to express my view that the establishment of the new Environmental Science Services Administration is a very important and a very worthwhile step forward by the executive branch. ESSA consolidates the Weather Bureau and the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and in October the Secretary of Commerce will transfer to it the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards. The President has stated that ESSA "will then provide a single national focus for our efforts to describe, understand, and predict the state of the oceans, the state of the lower and upper atmosphere, and the size and shape of the earth." I believe that ESSA-by bringing together all the environmental science activities of the Department of Commerce-creates an unparalleled opportunity for the Federal Government to develop an adequate warning system for all the severe hazards of nature-for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and tidal waves. It enhances the ability of the Department of Commerce to provide new and improved environmental science services to our agriculture, our transportation, our communications, and our industry and to the Federal departments and agencies that are concerned with the national defense, the exploration of outer space, the management of our natural resources, and the protection of the public health against environmental pollution. It enhances the Nation's ability to achieve new advances in the environmental sciences and to unravel the mysteries of our planet. It offers new hope for the future development of weather modification procedures, a subject of great and continuing interest to the members of this committee. Staff Counsel assigned to this hearing: Michael Pertschuk. I look to the new Environmental Science Services Administration to be a dynamic and forward-looking agency and to serve the American people so that one day we may be able to live in harmony with our physical environment. Dr. White, who is now Acting Administrator of ESSA, has served as Chief of the Weather Bureau from October 1, 1963, until ESSA was created. He has pursued a distinguished career in the environmental sciences and had been president of the Travelers Research Center in Hartford, Conn., since its establishment in 1960. Admiral Karo, of course, is well known to the members of the committee, having appeared before us on many occasions. He has been the longtime very able head of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. We are glad you are both here. If you will both come forward, we might have a few questions. I want to put in the record a statement from Senator Dodd regarding Mr. White, and Senator Curtis is going to submit a statement on Admiral Karo. Of course, I sort of claim him from the State of Washington because he seems to have more roots in the State of Washington than he does Nebraska. So I will testify on your behalf. Admiral KARO. Thank you. The CHAIRMAN. We will put the reorganization plan in the record in full, the Manual of Orders from the Department of Commerce and biographical sketches of Dr. White and Admiral Karo. Both nominees have filed their financial statement, which will be placed in the files for anyone to see. (Above-mentioned documents follow:) To the Congress of the United States: I transmit herewith Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended, and providing for the reorganization of two major agencies of the Department of Commerce : the Weather Bureau and the Coast and Geodetic Survey. The reorganization plan consolidates the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Weather Bureau to form a new agency in the Department of Commerce to be known as the Environmental Science Services Administration. It is the intention of the Secretary of Commerce to transfer the Central Radio Propagation Laboratory of the National Bureau of Standards to the Administration when the reorganization plan takes effect. The new Administration will then provide a single national focus for our efforts to describe, understand, and predict the state of the oceans, the state of the lower and upper atmosphere, and the size and shape of the earth. Establishment of the Administration will mark a significant step forward in the continual search by the Federal Government for better ways to meet the needs of the Nation for environmental science services. The organizational improvements made possible by the reorganization plan will enhance our ability to develop an adequate warning system for the severe hazards of nature-for hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and seismic sea waves, which have proved so disastrous to the Nation in recent years. These improvements will permit us to provide better environmental information to vital segments of the Nation's economy-to agriculture, transportation. communications, and industry, which continually require information about the physical environment. They will mean better services to other Federal departments and agencies-to those that are concerned with the national defense, the exploration of outer space, the management of our mineral and water resources, the protection of the public health against environmental pollution, and the preservation of our wilderness and recreation The new administration will bring together a number of allied scientific discinlines that are concerned with the physical environment. This integration will better enable us to look at man's physical environment as a scientific whole and to seek to understand the interactions among air, sea, and earth and between the upper and lower atmosphere. It will facilitate the development of programs dealing with the physical environment and will permit better management of these programs. It will enhance our capability to identify and solve important long-range scientific and technological problems associated with the physical environment. The new administration will, in consequence, promote a fresh sense of scientific dedication, discovery, and challenge, which are essential if we are to attract scientists and engineers of creativity and talent to Federal employment in this field. The reorganization plan provides for an Administrator at the head of the administration, and for a Deputy Administrator, each of whom will be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. As authorized by the civil service and other laws and regulations, subordinate officers of the administration will be appointed by the Secretary of Commerce or be assigned by him from among a corps of commissioned officers. The administration will perform such functions as the Secretary of Commerce may delegate or otherwise assign to it and will be under his direction and control. Commissioned officers of the Coast and Geodetic Survey will become commis↑sioned officers of the administration and may serve at the discretion of the Secretary of Commerce throughout the administration. The reorganization plan authorizes the President at his discretion to fill the office of Deputy Administrator by appointment, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from the active list of commissioned officers of the administration. T The reorganization plan transmitted herewith abolishes-and thus excludes from the consolidation mentioned above the offices of (1) Chief of the Weather Bureau, provided for in the act of October 1, 1890 (15 U.S.C. 312), (2) Director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, provided for in the acts of June 4, 1920, and February 16, 1929, as amended (33 U.S.C. 852; 852a), and (3) Deputy Director of * the Coast and Geodetic Survey, provided for in the act of January 19, 1942, as } amended (33 U.S.C. 852b). After investigation, I have found and hereby declare that each reorganization included in Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965 is necessary to accomplish one or more of the purposes set forth in section 2(a) of the Reorganization Act of 1949, as amended. I have also found and hereby declare that by reason of the reorganizations made by the reorganization plan, it is necessary to include in the plan provisions for the appointment and compensation of the officers of the administration set forth in section 4 of the reorganization plan. The rate of compensation fixed for each of these officers is that which I have found to prevail in respect of comparable officers in the executive branch of the Government. In addition to permitting more effective management within the Department I of Commerce, the new organization will ultimately produce economies. These economies will be of two types. The first, and probably the most significant, is the savings and avoidance of costs which will result from the sharing of complex and expensive facilities such as satellites, computers, communication sys- tems, aircraft, and ships. These economies will increase in significance as developments in science and technology bring into being still more advanced equipment. Second, integration of the existing headquarters and field organizations will permit more efficient utilization of existing administrative staffs and thereby produce future economies. It is, however, impracticable to specify or itemize at this time the reductions of expenditures which it is probable will be brought about by the taking effect of the reorganizations included in the reorganization plan. I recommend that the Congress allow the accompanying reorganization plan to become effective. THE WHITE HOUSE, May 13, 1965. LYNDON B. JOHNSON. REORGANIZATION PLAN No. 2 OF 1965 Prepared by the President and transmitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress assembled, May 13, 1965, pursuant to the provisions of the Reorganization Act of 1949 (63 Stat. 203), as amended ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SECTION 1. Transfer of functions.-All functions vested by law in the Weather Bureau, the Chief of the Weather Bureau, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and any officer, employee, or organizational entity of that Bureau or Survey, and not heretofore transferred to the Secretary of Commerce, hereinafter referred to as the Secretary, are hereby transferred to the Secretary. SEC. 2. Abolitions.-(a) The offices of Director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Deputy Director of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and Chief of the Weather Bureau are hereby abolished. The Secretary shall make such provisions as he shall deem to be necessary respecting the winding up of any outstanding affairs of the officers whose offices are abolished by the provisions of this section. (b) The abolitions effected by the provision of subsection (a) of this section shall exclude the abolition of rights to which the present incumbents of the abolished offices would be entitled under law upon the termination of their appointments. SEC. 3. Environmental Science Services Administration.-(a) The Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Weather Bureau are hereby consolidated to form a new agency in the Department of Commerce which shall be known as the Environmental Science Services Administration, hereinafter referred to as the Administration. (b) The Secretary shall from time to time establish such constituent organizational entities of the Administration, with such names, as he shall determine. SEC. 4. Officers of the Administration.—(a) There shall be at the head of the Administration the Administrator of he Environmental Science Services Administration, hereinafter referred to as the Administrator. The Administrator shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and shall receive compensation at the rate now or hereafter prescribed by law for offices and positions of level V of the Federal executive salary schedule (78 Stat. 419). He shall perform such functions as the Secretary may from time to time direct. (b) (1) There shall be in the Administration a Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Science Services Administration, hereinafter referred to as the Deputy Administrator, who shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall perform such functions as the Secretary may from time to time direct, and, unless he is compensated in pursuance of the provisions of paragraph (2), below, shall receive compensation in accordance with the Classification Act of 1949, as amended. (2) The office of Deputy Administrator may be filled at the discretion of the President by appointment (by and with the advice and consent of the Senate) from the active list of commissioned officers of the Administration in which case the appointment shall create a vacancy on the active list and while holding the office of Deputy Administrator the officer shall have rank, pay, and allowances not exceeding those of a vice admiral. (c) The Deputy Administrator or such other official of the Department of Commerce as the Secretary shall from time to time designate shall act as Administrator during the absence or disability of the Administrator or in the event of a vacancy in the office of Administrator. (d) At any one time, one principal constituent organizational entity of the Administration may, if the Secretary so elects, be headed by a commissioned officer of the Administration, who shall be designated by the Secretary. Such designation of an officer shall create a vacancy on the active list and while serving under this paragraph the officer shall have rank, pay, and allowances not exceeding those of a rear admiral (upper half). (e) Any commissioned officer of the Administration who has served as Deputy Administrator or has served in a rank above that of captain as the head of a principal constituent organizational entity of the Administration, and is retired while so serving or is retired after the completion of such service while serving in a lower rank or grade, shall be retired with the rank, pay, and allowances authorized by law for the highest grade and rank held by him; but any such officer, upon termination of his appointment in a rank above that of captain, shall, unless appointed or assigned to some other position for which a higher rank or grade is provided, revert to the grade and number he would have occupied had he not served in a rank above that of captain and such officer shall be an extra number in that grade. SEC. 5. Authority of the Secretary.-Nothing in this reorganization plan shall divest the Secretary of any function vested in him by law or by Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950 (64 Stat. 1263) or in any manner derogate from any authority of the Secretary thereunder. * SEC. 6. Personnel, property, records, and funds.—(a) The personnel (including commissioned officers) employed in the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the personnel employed in the Weather Bureau, and the property and records held or used by the Weather Bureau or the Coast and Geodetic Survey shall be deemed to be transferred to the Administration. (b) Unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds available or to be made available in connection with functions now administered by the Weather Bureau or by the Coast and Geodetic Survey shall be available to the Administration hereunder in connection with those functions. (c) Such further measures and dispositions as the Director of the Bureau of the Budget shall deem to be necessary in order to effectuate the foregoing provisions of this section shall be carried out in such manner as he shall direct and by such agencies as he shall designate. SEC. 7. Interim officers.—(a) The President may authorize any person who immediately prior to the effective date of this reorganization plan held a position in the executive branch of the Government to act as Administrator until the office of Administrator is for the first time filled pursuant to the provisions of this reorganization plan or by recess appointment, as the case may be. (b) The President may similarly authorize any such person to act as Deputy Administrator. (c) The President may authorize any person who serves in an acting capacity under the foregoing provisions of this section to receive the compensation atItached to the office in respect to which he so serves. Such compensation, if I authorized, shall be in lieu of, but not in addition to, other compensation from the United States to which such person may be entitled. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MANUAL OF ORDERS, PART 1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE SERVICES ADMINISTRATION Section 1. Purpose .01 The purpose of this order is to delegate authority to the Administrator of the Environmental Science Services Administration, hereinafter referred to as the Administrator, and to describe functions of the Environmental Science Services Administration, hereinafter referred to as the Administration. = Section 2. General .01 The Administration, established on July 13, 1965, through the consolidation of the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Weather Bureau in accordance with the provisions of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965, shall be a primary organization unit of the Department of Commerce. .02 The Administrator, who is appointed by the President by and with the advice of the Senate, is the head of the Administration. The Administrator shall be assisted by the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Science Services Administration, hereinafter referred to as the Deputy, who is appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. .03 The Administrator shall report and be responsible to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology. .04 The Deputy Administrator shall act as the Administrator during the absence or disability of the Administrator or in the event of a vacancy in the Office of the Administrator. In the absence of both the Administrator and Deputy Administrator, an employee of the Administration as designated in writing by the Administrator shall act as the Administrator. Section 3. Delegation of authority .01 Pursuant to the authority vested in the Secretary of Commerce by law, including Reorganization Plan No. 5 of 1950 and Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1965, and subject to such policies and directives as the Secretary of Commerce or the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Science and Technology may prescribe. the Administrator is hereby delegated authority to perform the functions vested in or assigned to the Secretary of Commerce under: (a) Title 15, chaper 9, United States Code (the Weather Bureau); (c) Provisions relating to weather in title 49, chapter 15, United States Code (International Aviation Facilities); (d) Title 33, chapter 17, United States Code (Coast and Geodetic Survey); 52-046-65--2 |