(Subsequently, official reports on S. 966 were received from the Office of the Secretary of the Treasury, under date of March 10, 1961, stating that "Treasury and Coast Guard consider that enactment of S. 966 is not necessary"; from the Department of the Navy, under date of March 11, 1961, opposing, as "unnecessary" the proposed expenditure for nuclear research, but neither supporting nor opposing the bill in its present form; and from the Comptroller General, making no recommendation as to enactment. The reports are printed herewith:) Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to the request of your committee for the views of this Department on S. 966, to authorize the construction and equipping of three Coast Guard cutters designed for icebreaking in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and for other purposes. The proposed legislation would authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to construct and equip three cutters especially designed for icebreaking in the polar regions. The Secretary would conduct a feasibility and development study of the utilization of nuclear power in this type of cutter, for which study $500,000 is authorized to be appropriated. One of the important responsibilities of the U.S. Coast Guard is in keeping traffic lanes and ports open to shipping where ice conditions make them otherwise inaccessible and inoperative. To meet such needs, the Service is equipped with certain boats designed to break ice. Recently, its operations in the Arctic and Antarctic areas have increased the employment of such boats. It is probable that the employment of icebreakers not only in the Arctic regions but in our own ports and waterways will continue to increase as needs expand. There is a present requirement, therefore, that the Treasury Department and the Coast Guard review from time to time the icebreaking program and the equipment on hand to implement it, especially as certain of the present group of icebreaking boats are approaching that period of use when replacement must be considered. It is pointed out, however, that bringing into view the entire work program of the Coast Guard and the equipment at hand or projected to carry it into effect, a greater need for replacements and additions exists in other categories than that of boats designed for icebreaking. Further, it is not necessary to enact the bill since the Coast Guard presently has the legal authority to do what the bill contemplates. But as said, for priority reasons, it has not made a request thus far for such icebreaking equipment through the regular budgetary process. With regard to the feature of the bill relating to research in nuclear propulsion for icebreaking vessels, while the Treasury and the Coast Guard are always interested in new and effective forms of vessel propulsion, it is their belief a new study would not alter the fact that three conventionally powered icebreakers can, in all probability, be built for the cost of one nuclear-powered icebreaker, and for Coast Guard purposes, ship by ship, do as good a job. Therefore, so far as they are concerned, there would be no priority for such a nuclear-powered vessel over conventionally powered vessels in the immediate future. For the reasons expressed, Treasury and Coast Guard consider that enactment of S. 966 is not necessary. The Department has been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection from the standpoint of the administration's program to the submission of this report to your committee. Very truly yours, A. GILMORE FLUES, Acting Secretary of the Treasury. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Your request for comment on S. 966, a bill to authorize the construction and equipping of three Coast Guard cutters designed for icebreaking in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and for other purposes, has been assigned to this Department by the Secretary of Defense for the preparation of a report thereon expressing the views of the Department of Defense. The bill would authorize the construction and equipping of three Coast Guard cutters designed for icebreaking. The type of propulsion to be used is not specified. However, it would direct the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a feasibility and development study of the utilization of nuclear power in this type of cutter. It authorizes to be appropriated not to exceed $500,000 to conduct the study. Both Coast Guard and Navy icebreaking vessels operate at a continually demanding pace and are gradually wearing out, as are most other ships of World War II design and construction. Although both services are faced with this problem, the Navy has even more demanding ship needs and is forced to program limited shipbuilding funds toward warship construction and more urgently needed auxiliary types. Current employment of Coast Guard icebreaking vesseles supports in large measure Navy requirements in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. With replacement of Navy icebreakers not possible under present funding levels, the Navy should therefore indirectly benefit by the construction of icebreaking cutters for the Coast Guard. We are not, however, in a position to weigh the needs of the Coast Guard for icebreaking cutters in the light of their overall ship needs. The Department of Defense considers that there is adequate information available based on previous developments to evaluate the feasibility of the use of nuclear power in icebreaking vessels. The expenditure of $500,000 to this end is therefore considered unnecessary. In view of the foregoing, the Department of the Navy, on behalf of the Department of Defense, neither supports nor opposes the enactment of S. 966 in its present form. This report has been coordinated within the Department of Defense in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The Bureau of the Budget advises that, from the standpoint of the administration's program, there is no objection to the submission of this report for the consideration of the committee. For the Secretary of the Navy. W. S. SAMPSON, Captain, U.S. Navy, Deputy Chief. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, In pursuing the study authorized in section 2 of the bill, we would suggest that line 2 on page 2 thereof be amended to provide that "the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Atomic Energy Commission, shall conduct a feasibility and development study of the utilization of nuclear power in this type of cutter." Aside from the foregoing, and since we have no special information or knowledge relative to the need for or desirability of such legislation, we make no recommendation with respect to its enactment. Sincerely yours, JOSEPH CAMPBELL, Comptroller General of the United States. (The following agency comments were subsequently received for the record.) Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, U.S. ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, DEAR SENATOR MAGNUSON: By telephone call on March 6, 1961, August J. Bourbon, professional staff member of your committee, requested that the Atomic Energy Commission furnish its views on S. 966, a bill to authorize the construction and equipping of three Coast Guard cutters designed for icebreaking in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and for other purposes. The purpose of the bill is to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to construct and equip three cutters especially designed for icebreaking in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. According to the bill, the cutters would further the interest of national defense and would provide necessary facilities for the Coast Guard in the performance of its duties. In order to assure that the cutters would be of the most advanced practicable design for the functions they will perform, the bill provides that the Secretary of the Treasury shall conduct a feasibility and development study (involving a sum not to exceed $500,000) as to the utilization of nuclear power in this type of cutter. Proposed legislation to provide for an icebreaking vessel was introduced in the 85th and 86th Congresses. The original version of H.R. 4, 86th Congress, is an example of such proposed legislation. That bill was identical to H.R. 9196, 85th Congress, which was passed by the 85th Congress and was subsequently vetoed by the President on August 12, 1958. S. 966 differs from H.R. 4, as introduced, in that the latter bill specifically provided that the icebreaking vessel authorized by the bill would be nuclear-powered. As noted above, S. 966 does not specify the type of propulsion unit to be used in the cutters but requires that a study be made as to the utilization therein of a nuclear powerplant. The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, conducted hearings on the original version of H.R. 4, 86th Congress, and at the conclusion thereof the committee reported the bill with amendments (see Rept. No. 1057). The amended version of H.R. 4 passed the House of Representatives on June 8, 1960, but was not enacted at the close of the 86th Congress. S. 966, 87th Congress, is virtually the same bill as the amended version of H.R. 4, 86th Congress. As the Commission indicated to the chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, in reports on prior bills on this subject, the determination of requirements for icebreakers, whether nuclear-powered or of the conventional type, is not within the purview of the Commission, but is the responsibility of other agencies. We therefore have no comments on the merits of the bill. If the bill were to be passed, it is recommended that it state that the study contemplated by the bill be conducted jointly by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of the Treasury to take advantage of data and developmental material already available in the Commission. This could be accomplished by amending section 2 of the bill to read as follows: "SEC. 2. In order to assure that the cutters authorized to be constructed by the first section of this Act shall be of the most advanced practicable design for the functions they will perform, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Atomic Energy Commission shall jointly conduct a feasibility and development study of the utilization of nuclear power in this type of cutter." We have been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the transmission of this report from the standpoint of the administration's program. Sincerely yours, GLENN T. SEABORG, Chairman. Hon. WARREN G. MAGNUSON, THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, Chairman, Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This letter is in reply to your request of February 18, 1961, with respect to S. 966, a bill to authorize the construction and equipping of three Coast Guard cutters designed for icebreaking in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and for other purposes. The bill would authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury to construct and equip three cutters especially designed for icebreaking in the Arctic and Antarctic regions to be operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. Additionally, the bill would authorize the sum of $500,000 to carry out a feasibility and development study by the Secretary of the Treasury into the utilization of nuclear power for these vessels. It is anticipated that Alaskan statehood will cause an expansion of merchant shipping into areas impeded by ice conditions. Similarly, the recent opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway will place additional burdens upon icebreaking facili ties in the Great Lakes, in order to gain maximum economic advantage throughout the operating season. However, this Department has no information as to whether this legislation is needed to enable the Coast Guard to meet its responsibilities, and therefore defers to the Department of the Treasury on the merits of the bill. The Bureau of the Budget advised there would be no objection to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the administration's program. Sincerely yours, EDWARD GUDEMAN, Undersecretary of Commerce. Senator BARTLETT. The committee will now stand in adjournment. (Whereupon, at 12:02 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.) HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON THE UNIVERSITY JUN 7 1961 MAIN READING ROOM INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE UNITED STATES SENATE EIGHTY-SEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON S. 901 and S. 1189 BILLS TO ADVANCE THE MARINE SCIENCES MARCH 15, 16, 17, AND MAY 2, 1961 Printed for the use of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce 67624 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1961 |