expenditures as it deems advisable. The committee may make such rules respecting its organization and procedure as it deems necessary. (b) Subpenas may be issued over the signature of the chairman of the committee or by any member designated by him or the committee, and may be served by such person as may be designated by such chairman or member. The provisions of sections 102-104 of the Revised Statutes (2 U.S.C. 192-194) shall apply in the case of any failure of any witness to comply with a subpena or to testify when summoned under authority of this section. SEC. 304. (a) The committee is authorized to appoint and fix the compensation of such experts, consultants, technicians, and staff employees as it deems necessary and advisable. (b) Members of the committee, and its employees and consultants, while traveling on official business for the committee within or outside the United States, may receive either the per diem allowance authorized to be paid to Members of the Congress or its employees, or their actual and necessary expenses provided an itemized statement of such expenses is attached to the voucher. SEC. 305. The expenses of the committee shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate from funds appropriated for the committee, upon vouchers signed by the chairman of the committee or by any member of the committee duly authorized by the chairman. TITLE IV-APPROPRIATIONS SEC. 401. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1969, and for each of five succeeding fiscal years, such amounts as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act. Hon. HENRY M. JACKSON, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, D.C., April 24, 1969. Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I refer to your letter of April 3, receipt of which was acknowledged on April 8, in which you requested a report on S. 1752, a bill "to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct studies, surveys, and research relating to the Nation's natural resources, and ecological systems; to establish a Council on Environmental Quality, and for other purposes". It is noted that the Bill proposes to provide for a comprehensive and continuing program of study, review, and research for the purpose, among other things, of promoting and fostering means and measures which will prevent or effectively reduce any adverse effects on the quality of the environment in the management and development of the Nation's natural resources. The Department of State appreciates the purpose of the Bill. However, our response here is directed only to the question of environmental quality as it affects this Department. We are not commenting on the maner in which a Council on Environmental Quality might be established and are not commenting on specific allocations of responsibility to the Secretary of the Interior. The Department wishes to call attention to the fact, moreover, that the objective of the Bill or, for that matter, of any proposition dedicated to the protection of the national environment, cannot be effectively achieved unless it recognizes that existing ecosystems are interrelated by nature or by the activities of man, and that the environmental forces affecting our natural resources disregard political and geographical frontiers. Nature, technological interference, the demands of a population steadily growing in number and opulence, and sheer neglect, produce pollutants which transcend national boundaries. Pollution may be national in origin; its effects and control are international. Growing recognition of the interrelatedness of the world's ecosystems, on the one side, and of the common danger of pollution to human life, health and welfare, on the other, have prompted governments everywhere to take official cognizance, and where possible, counter-measures. There is legitimate fear that these problems are increasing in virulence and in their rate of incidence. There is growing awareness that many of them are shared by a number of nations. either because the same problems co-exist in different countries or because they are the result of mutual pollution. As a result governments have begun to seek remedy through joint counter-action by using either bilateral or multilateral channels. International agencies both intergovernmental and non-governmental including, the United Nations, ILO, FAO, WHO, UNESCO, ECE, WMO, IAEA, OECD, et al, have for some time been engaged in various programs dealing with specific problems of the environment, e.g. air pollution, water pollution, solid waste disposal, etc. A report of activities of the U.N. organization is attached (Tab A). Until recently, however, none of these organizations have at tacked the total spectrum of environmental problems. Within the last two years, a number of initiatives have been launched by international agencies which reflect broader vision and which, in fact, were devised to encompass the full range of at least the principal facets of the environment problem. Most important among these initiatives have been: 1. The International Biological Program, a cooperative research effort by scientists of 50 nations with the objective of making a world-wide study of organic production of the land, in fresh waters and in the sea and a world-wide study of human adaptibility to the changing conditions. 2. The Intergovernmental Conference of Experts on the Scientific Basis for Rational Use and Conservation of the Resources of the Biosphere, convened and organized by UNESCO, which produced 20 recommendations calling for action by governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations with respect to various subjects of research; and proposed a long-term, intergovernmental and interdisciplinary program. A copy of the Conference Report, including the recommendations is attached (Tab B). 3. The Meeting of the Preparatory Group for the Meeting of Governmental Experts on Problems Relating to the Environment, held in February 1969 under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) to prepare the agenda for a Meeting of Governmental Experts to be held at Prague, Czechoslovakia, in 1971. In keeping with the character of ECE, the conference will focus on economic aspects of the environmental problem obtaining within the ECE region (including the United States). A copy of the report of the meeting is attached (Tab C). 4. The U.N. Conference on Human Environment. This conference was decided upon by unanimous resolution of the U.N. General Assembly on December 3, 1968 (A/Res/2398-XXIII). A copy is attached (Tab D). Its rationale is the desire "to provide a framework for comprehensive consideration within the United Nations of the problems of human environment in order to focus the attention of governments and public opinion on the importance and urgency of this question and also to identify those aspects of it that can only or best be solved through international cooperation and agreement". Coincidental with intergovernmental initiatives, others are going forward at the non-governmental and governmental level. Among the more significant is the appointment by the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) of an "AdHoc Committee on Problems of the Human Environment" which will prepare a report on those man-made problems of the environment "which are of international concern" and "toward the solution of which the scientific competence represented by ICSU could effectively be applied". The U.S. Government has participated in all the above initiatives. It has had a major share in promoting some and in formulating some of the principal conclusions and recommendations, notably by the UNESCO and ECE Conferences. It is now actively engaged in the preparation of the U.N. Conference and has submitted its proposals on purpose, scope, objectives and agenda, as requested by the Under Secretary-General of the U.N. The U.S. interest in the international aspects is profound and real. It is dictated by the realization that the human environment is one, and that it would be fallacious and arbitrary to divorce the international aspects from the national. It has been fully documented that air and water pollution, to mention but two. are not respecters of international boundaries. Pollutant problems now considered local in character may be regional or international tomorrow and thus we cannot afford to be indifferent nor complacent about global pollution. It is this international cooperation that has already focused United States attention on the need for a broad approach to environmental problems. Speaking to our NATO partners on April 10, 1969 President Nixon said— "(W)e all have a unique opportunity to pool our skills, our intellects and our inventiveness in finding new ways to use technology to enhance our environments .. recognizing that these problems have no national or regional boundaries." Secretary of State Rogers in his appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee emphasized that "The fact that . . . we are preparing for a world conference on the human environment is indicative of the degree to which technological development will continue to require institutionalized multilateral cooperation." In a sense the deterioration of the environment is only one of many problems that face all nations. But, as Herman Pollack, Director of International Scientific and Technological Affairs, pointed out before the House Subcommittee on Science, Research and Development, it is the one problem that accentuates and aggravates all others: population pressures, inadequate food, shelter and medical care. To arrest and reverse it, calls for the combined efforts of all nations. It is for this reason, Mr. Chairman, we suggest that with respect to any action taken on the question of environmental quality, recognition should be given to the following facts: 1. The deterioration of the national environment is part of a global process and thus requires remedial action on an international as well as national scale. 2. Study, review and research must, therefore, be extended to take into account problems and problem areas beyond national borders and to enlist the cooperation of other governments and the scientists of other nations. 3. The solution of the environmental problem being a matter of national interest as well as of international concern, U.S. participation in bilateral and multilateral programs dealing with the international aspects of the problem must be recognized as a vital part of U.S. policy to cope with environmental problems. The Bureau of the Budget advises that from the standpoint of the Administration's program there is no objection to submission of this report. Sincerely yours, WILLIAM B. MACOMBER, Jr., Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations. Hon. HENRY M. JACKSON, NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR, Washington, D.C., May 21, 1969. Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in further reply to your letter of April 3, 1969, requesting comments of the National Science Foundation on S. 1752, "To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct studies, surveys, and research relating to the Nation's natural resources, and ecological systems; to establish a Council on Environmental Quality, and for other purposes." Titles I and II of S. 1752 are virtually identical with S. 1075 on which we commented to you at the time of your hearings on that bill in a letter dated April 22, 1969. Our views on Titles I and II are the same as set forth in that letter, a copy of which is enclosed. With respect to Titles III and IV of S. 1752, the Foundation would generally favor any measure aimed at facilitating more effective consideration by the Congress of matters relating to environmental quality. We do not, however, consider ourselves qualified to comment on specific organizational proposals internal to the Congress. The Bureau of the Budget has advised us that there is no objection to the submission of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program Sincerely yours, LELAND J. HAWORTH, Director. [S. 237, 91st Cong., first sess.] A BILL To declare a national policy on conservation development, and utilization of natural resources, and maintenance of the quality of the environment, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled. SHORT TITLE SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Resources, Conservation, and Environmental Quality Act of 1969”. DECLARATION OF POLICY SEC. 2. The Congress hereby declares that it is the continuing policy and responsibility of the Federal Government, with the assistance and cooperation of industry, agriculture, labor, conservationists, State and local governments, and private property owners, to use all practicable means including coordination and utilization of all its plans, functions, and facilities, for the purpose of creating and maintaining, in a manner calculated to foster and promote the general welfare, the quality of the environment in our Nation and conditions under which there will be conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources to meet human, economic, and national defense requirements, including recreational, wildlife, scenic, and scientific values and the enhancement of the national heritage for future generations. RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT SEC. 3. (a) The President shall transmit to the Congress not later than January 20 of each year (commencing with the year following enactment of this Act) a report (hereinafter called the Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment) setting forth (1) the condition of the environment and of natural resources including soil, water, air, forest, grazing, mineral, wildlife, recreational, and other natural resources with particular reference to attainment of multiple-purpose use; (2) current and foreseeable trends in environmental quality and in management and utilization of natural resources; (3) the adequacy of available natural resources for fulfilling human and economic requirements of the Nation; (4) a review of the programs and activities of the Federal Government, the State and local governments, and nongovernmental entities and individuals with particular reference to their effect on the environment and full conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources; (5) a program for carrying out the policy declared in section 2, together with such recommendations for legislation as he may deem necessary or desirable: Provided, That in the preparation of such annual reports, the President may submit major assessments or reassessments of the supply-demand situations on individual resources at such intervals as he determines to be appropriate. (b) The President may transmit from time to time to the Congress reports supplementary to the Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment, each of which shall include such supplementary or revised recommendations as he may deem necessary or desirable to achieve the policy declared in section 2. The Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment, and all supplementary reports transmitted under subsection (b), shall, when transmitted to Congress, be referred in each House to the special committee created by section 5. COUNCIL OF ADVISERS TO THE PRESIDENT ON RESOURCES, CONSERVATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT SEC. 4. (a) There is hereby created in the Executive Office of the President a Council of Advisors on Resources Conservation, and the Environment (hereinafter called the Council). The Council shall be composed of three members who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and each of whom shall be a person who, as a result of his training, experience, and attainments, is exceptionally qualified to analyze and interpret policies affecting natural resources and the environment, to appraise programs and activities of the Government in the light of the policy declared in section 2, and to formulate and recommend policy to promote conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources and improvement of the human environment. Each member of the Council shall receive compensation at the rate of $ per annum. The President shall designate one of the members of the Council as Chairman and one as Vice Chairman, who shall act as Chairman in the absence of the Chairman. (b) The Council is authorized to employ, and fix the compensation of an executive officer and such staff assistants and other experts as may be neces'sary for the carrying out of its functions under this Act, without regard to the civil service laws and the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, and is authorized, subject to the civil service laws, to employ such other officers and employees as may be necessary for carrying out its functions under this Act, and fix their compensation in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended. (c) It shall be the duty and function of the Council (1) to assist and advise the President in the preparation of the Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment; (2) to gather timely and authoritative information concerning natural resource conservation, and development and environmental quality trends, both current and prospective, to analyze and interpret such information in the light of the policy declared in section 2 for the purpose of determining whether such development and trends are interfering, or are likely to interfere, with the achievement of such policy, and to compile and submit to the President studies relating to such developments and trends; (3) to appraise the various programs and activities of the Federal Government in the light of the policy declared in section 2 for the purpose of determining the extent to which such programs and activities are contributing, and the extent to which they are not contributing to the achievement of such policy, and to make recommendations to the President with respect thereto; (4) to develop and recommend to the President national policies to foster and promote conservation, development, and utilization of the natural resources of the Nation and to maintain and improve the environment to meet human and economic requirements, including recreational, wildlife, and scenic values; and (5) to make and furnish such studies, reports thereon, and recommendations with respect to matters of Federal resource policy and legislation as the President may request. (d) The Council shall make an annual report to the President in December of each year, who shall forward it to Congress with his Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment. (e) In exercising its powers, functions, and duties under this Act (1) the Council may constitute such advisory committees and may consult with such representatives of industry, agriculture, labor, conservationists, State and local governments, and other groups, as it deems advisable; and (2) the Council shall, to the fullest extent possible, utilize the services, facilities, and information (including statistical information) of other Government agencies as well as of private research agencies, in order that duplication of effort and expense may be avoided. (f) To enable the Council to exercise its powers, functions, and duties under this Act, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary. SELECT COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS ON THE RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION REPORT SEC. 5. (a) For the purpose of consideration of the Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment, there shall be established in the Senate and in the House of Representatives a special committee on such report to be known as the Select Committee on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment. Such select committee in the Senate shall be made up of the chairman and the ranking majority and minority members from each of the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs, Public Works, Agriculture and Forestry, and Commerce. Such select committee in the House of Representatives shall be made up of the chairman and the ranking majority and minority members from each of the Committees on Interior and Insular Affairs, Public Works, Agriculture, and Interstate and Foreign Commerce. The President pro tempore in the Senate, and the Speaker in the House of Representatives, shall designate the chairman and vice chairman of each such committee, in their respective bodies and shall call the first meeting thereof within thirty days of the receipt in the Senate or the House of Representatives, respectively, of the Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment. (b) Each such elect committee may (1) make studies of appropriate matters contained in the Report on Resources, Conservation, and the Environment or of such matters related thereto as will promote the purposes of this Act, or recommend any such studies to the appropriate standing committees of its respective House; and (2) make such reports on resources and conservation matters and on studies undertaken by it to its respective House as it deems advisable. (c) For the purposes of this section such select committees may (1) hold hearings; (2) sit and act at such times and places during the sessions, recesses, |