Secretary KENNEY. Paragraph 6 (b) of Executive Order 9635, a copy of which is submitted to you at this time, provides that there shall be in the Navy Department an

office charged, as the Secretary of the Navy may direct, with the coordination of naval research experimental, test, and developmental activities and with such other related duties as may be appropriate.

That is the end of the quotation from the Executive order.

The present Office of Research and Inventions is such a coordinating agency charged with some of those functions, and the Secretary's authority to continue such a coordinating agency thus stems from the Executive order under the First War Powers Act.

Because the applicable provision of the First War Powers Act expires 6 months after the official termination of the war, the Navy Department requested the introduction of this legislation here now before you so that there will be a permanent statutory basis for the existence of an office under the Secretary primarily charged with the coordination of naval research activities.

During the course of the hearings on this legislation before the House Naval Affairs Committee, certain amendments were made that might profitably be considered by your committee.

You will note that section 1 of H. R. 5911 gives the new Office of Naval Research, which would be the successor of the present Office of Research and Inventions, very broad powers over all naval research. It is not the intention of the Navy Department to have research work performed exclusively by the Office of Naval Research because we consider it important that the bureaus maintain a certain degree of independence in planning and administering research programs in their fields of special interest.

At this point I would like to interject this thought. Research is different from a lot of other activities. Research cannot be profitably channelized, and so for that reason we felt that the Navy Department would gain the greatest advantage if each bureau is permitted to proceed on research in their fields of activity under its general supervision.

This office would then act as a coordinating group for all of those. The channelizing of research in the form of control in one group has a tendency to stultify research.

Of course, the central research agency should receive information concerning all research work performed by the bureaus; it should have the power to coordinate research activities within the entire Navy Department, and it should have the independent power to plan, initiate, promote, and encourage research activities.

In other words, our thought in the formation of this office was the thought that it should be one to stimulate research rather than one which should, say, veto research..

We do not think that it is necessary for such a central office to have the power to control all naval research, however, and we would prefer to have the words "and control" and "all" eliminated from section 1 of H. R. 5911, page 2, line 7.

Section 1 of that bill provides that this office shall have the power of the control of all activities within or on behalf of the Navy Department relating to research. That is the type of veto power which, I think, if employed improperly, or improperly exercised, may well

have a tendency to stultify research, and, therefore, we do not think it would be desirable to place the control in this office. We want it to be an office which will stimulate, from the point of view of dissemination of information to the Bureaus of their own activities, and the activities of the other bureaus.

Such an amendment would take the veto power away from the Office of Naval Research, and we think that this is advisable because the character of research is such that it frequently must be permitted to proceed in different channels stimulated by different points of view. Senator ROBERTSON. May I ask you this.

Secretary KENNEY. Yes, indeed, Senator Robertson.

Senator ROBERTSON. Are the words "and control" and "all" eliminated on page 2, line 7? Is there some error there? I don't see those. Where is line 7, page 2?

Secretary KENNEY. In the copy of the bill which I have, which is H. R. 5911, Union Calendar No. 537, it is in

Senator ROBERTSON. This one has page 2, line 7, has the words “research and development conducted by the respective."

Secretary KENNEY. Well, it may possibly be that you have there the copy of the bill as it was introduced in the House, and not the copy of the bill that passed the House. The amendments inserting the provisions, as to control, were inserted by the House Naval Affairs Committee at the hearing before them.

The CHAIRMAN. Do we have a copy of those bills, Captain?

Senator ROBERTSON. I think that you will find it on line 5, the words referred to are on line 5 instead of line 7.

The CHAIRMAN. What words are to be eliminated?

Senator ROBERTSON. The words "and of all" and "control."

Secretary KENNEY. Yes, sir. I have been told that in the bill as it passed the House of Representatives, the words to which I am objecting "and control" are found on line 5 of page 2, Senator Robertson. Senator ROBERTSON. Yes.

Secretary KENNY. Thank you for pointing out that error.

For the reason that it is desirable to leave a certain amount of independence with the bureaus over their own research activities, the Navy Department would prefer to see the words "(acting through and under the Chief of Naval Research)," eliminated from section 6 of H. R. 5911, lines 9 and 10 on page 5. That is the same point of control to which I have just referred.

That section provides the right to negotiate contracts, and unless those words are eliminated the Chief of the Office of Naval Research might be held to have the power to veto over all proposed research contract within the Department.

Section 2 of H. R. 5911 requires that the Chief of Naval Research "shall, in addition, report to the Chief of Naval Operations."

It is not clear, either from the language of the bill itself, or the report of the House Naval Affairs Committee, the intent of this requirement of the bill. The Office of Naval Research is created and established in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy, and it is provided that all of the duties of the office shall be performed under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, and its orders shall be considered as emanating from him and shall have full force and effect as such.

The chief of the office will, of course, report to the Secretary of the Navy. If it is contemplated in the requirement of reporting to the Chief of Naval Operations that that officer may overrule the decisions of the Secretary of the Navy, the requirement violates fundamental rules of naval command.

If it is contemplated that the Chief of Naval Operations and the Secretary of the Navy have equal jurisdiction over the Office of Naval Research, this creates an anomalous situation from the point of view of administration of the Department.

The Secretary of the Navy is the head of the Department, and no other officer of the Department should be conferred authority coequal to his.

In recognition of the interest of the Chief of Naval Operations in research, the Secretary may direct by administrative order-as he has done in the case of the Chief of the Office of Research and Inventionsthat the Chief of Naval Research shall report to the Chief of Naval Operations for additional duty.

This, however, is different than conferring statutory authority on the Chief of Naval Operations coequal with that of the Secretary. For this reason, it is felt desirable that the requirement of reporting to the Chief of Naval Operations be deleted from the bill.

Concerning the matter of appropriations, we have come to the conclusion since H. R. 5911 was reported out by the House Naval Affairs Committee that this legislation should contain provision to enable the planning of long-range research programs.

At the present time, our research activities are somewhat hampered by the fiscal year limitations applicable to research contracts as well as the more routine activities of the Department, and we should like to be able to spend funds for research under our contracts and project orders during a 4-year period after the end of the fiscal year for which the funds are made available by the Congress.

We consider it necessary in planning programs in the field of nuclear physics, for example, to be able to enter into contracts during 1 fiscal year which call, first, for the development and construction of a cyclotron or some other similar instrument and, then, its use over a period of a few years in a research study of interest to the Navy. In order to enable intelligent and comprehensive research planning of that nature, the Navy Department suggests that the following new subsection (b) be added to section 5, and I puote:

Any funds appropriated to enable the Office of Naval Research to carry out its functions as provided for herein shall, if obligated during the fiscal year for which appropriated, remain available for expenditure for 4 years following the expiration of the fiscal year for which appropriated. After such a 4-year period, the unexpended balances of appropriations shall be carried to the surplus fund and covered into the Treasury.

Another matter that probably should be handled explicitly in this legislation is the power of the Secretary to transfer necessary research activities and property used therewith to this new Office of Naval Research-which, of course, is not mentioned in Revised Statute 419, as amended, United States Code, title 5, section 429, governing the conduct of Navy business-in order to enable the Office to perform its functions properly.

At the present time, there is within the Office of Research and Inventions the Naval Research Laboratory and the Special Devices Division,

which formerly was a part of the Bureau of Aeronautics. I may say that the Naval Research Laboratory was established by statute.

In order to remove any doubts as to the propriety of those transfers and to give the Secretary some latitude in the future, the following language is suggested as a new section:

SEC. 7. The Secretary of the Navy is authorized to transfer to the Office of Naval Research, as in his judgment may be necesary and appropriate, such research and development functions as are now assigned to the various bureaus and other agencies and offices of the Navy Department, together with any or all personnel, buildings, facilities, and other property used in the administration thereof, including without limitation the Special Devices Division and the Naval Research Laboratory.

I may state that the Special Devices Division and the Naval Research Laboratory are by directive and Executive order made a part of the present Office of Research and Inventions, and this is merely a recognition of an existing situation.

That concludes my statement discusing this legislation. Rear Admiral Harold Bowen, the Chief of Research and Inventions, is here with me, and he or I are free to dicuss any matters that you may wish. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Kenney, what relationship has this to the proposed merger which sets up a special research department?

Secretary KENNEY. I would assume that under any proposal that was made, that each service would have the ability, of course, to conduct that research which was peculiar to its own requirements.

The centralized control of research is merely a means of bringing together the activities of the two services in connection with research. I would not think that this would in any way affect it.

I might say that we just established with the War Department a joint research and development committee of which we are asking Dr. Vannevar Bush to serve as chairman, and that will have general authority for the coordinating of research between the two departments. I would assume that the Office of Research, as contemplated under a proposed merger bill, would perform a similar function. It would possibly mean the elimination of the joint committee.

The CHAIRMAN. You mean that this Office would report to him, if it remains?

Secretary KENNEY. This Office would probably report to him. This Office, is to a certain extent, both an operating and a coordinating office, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Admiral Bowen.

Admiral BowEN. I have a short statement, Mr. Chairman.

Senator ROBERTSON. I would like to pursue this with Mr. Kenney a little further.

The chairman has mentioned the merger which you spoke of. Do I take it that this Research Division would cooperate with an Army research division to save duplication?

Secretary KENNEY. That would certainly be my thoughts for the Office, Senator Robertson.

Senator ROBERTSON. I think most people, while many of us oppose the Army plan, we all agree that certain functions should be coordinated, and research is one of them. And I would like it to be made very clear as to how this research bureau would be able to cooperate with the research bureau of the other service.

Secretary KENNEY. Well, for instance, the principal function of this office is one, to coordinate within the Navy Department our own research activities.

Senator ROBERTSON. That is what I gather.

Secretary KENNEY. Also, in those fields which is felt are of general application to the Department, and no particular bureau is doing any work on it. This Office may do the work itself. It has had certain funds appropriated to it so that type of work can be performed. The head of the office would work in conjunction with the joint research and development committee of the two Secretaries, of which Dr. Bush has been asked to be chairman, and by reason of their operating and coordinating knowledge, they would carry into the joint committee of the Army and the Navy, the knowledge of the activities of the Navy Department.

Senator ROBERTSON. Would there be any means of the more initial research work being carried out jointly by the services?

Secretary KENNEY. It is my thought that the joint research and development committee, and I know Judge Patterson concurs in this with me because I discussed it with him just this morning, that this committee would have the authority to determine the fields in which one service is to do the research, and the fields in which there should be joint effort.

There is one thing that we want to be careful of with research, that we don't channelize research too much in one line. Research is a different kind of animal from production. In research, you want to get the benefit of all different kinds of people and different thoughts.

Senator ROBERTSON. We had a very interesting statement bearing on that from Mr. Wilson of the General Electric Co. in appearing before us on the proposed merger, and he was very emphatic that the various divisions, for instance, of General Electric, should conduct their own research and even their own ordering of many of the items, except such items as coal and steel, which could be ordered by the

one

The CHAIRMAN. Procurement officer.

Senator ROBERTSON. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Of all branches.

Senator ROBERTSON. Yes.

Secretary KENNEY. I have discussed this with Mr. Wilson, and I know that he feels that both procurement and research should not be controlled too much centrally.

Senator ROBERTSON. I thoroughly agree with you. But I am just thinking and trying to bring out and develop and assist in the possible coordination of the naval research with the War Department research. Secretary KENNEY. You are trying to see how we could bring our activities in conjunction with the War Department, and that is why I say the first step for us to do is, one, the coordination within our department, and then with that working in conjunction with the War Department. I think with this organization we are creating the vehicle which gives us a centralized group that can then speak for the Navy Department and can work in coordination with the War Department.

Senator ROBERTSON. That is hoping that is just what I am hoping you are doing, and that is what I am hoping that the admiral