The Chemical World This Week WASHINGTON
AUGUST
16,
1965
CONCENTRATES
^ Congress has voted a compromise saline water conversion program that falls short of that called for by the President. Signed into law last week by the President, the measure (S. 24) extends the current program (slated to expire in 1967) another five years through 1972 as he had requested. But Congress refused the President's request that it relinquish fiscal control over the program spending on a year-to-year basis. The Administration proposal, which was backed by the Senate, called for the authorization of a fiat $200 million for research spending during the five-year period, thus quadrupling the size of the current program (C&EN, Nov. 9, 1964, page 42). The final approved version of the measure author izes an additional $15 million in R&D funds to be appropriated for fiscal 1967. This, coupled with funds previously authorized, will bring the pro gram's fiscal 1967 R&D budget to $35 million. But after 1967 the Administration will have to go back to Congress each year to get approval for additional spending plans. • Relocation of the U.S. Patent Office appar ently is a dead issue—at least until next year. A compromise Independent Offices Appropria tion Bill now approved by both Houses and awaiting President Johnson's signature contains no funds for the Administration-backed proposal which would move the Patent Office from down town Washington, D.C. to Howard or Anne Arundel Counties in Maryland (C&EN, July 19, page 19). The House, in its version of the bill, had approved funds to begin work on the move. But in light of all the controversy over the re striction on possible sites, the Senate decided to hold up money pending further study. • Also deleted from the measure is a restriction on the distribution of NSF fellowships. The earlier House version of the bill would have limited the number of fellowships the National Science Foundation could award to residents of any one state to just 10% of the total. The restriction was intended to get a more equitable geographic distribution of federal support. But this would have come about obviously at the expense of the more heavily populated states and at some sacrifice in the quality of work sup ported. The final NSF appropriation for fiscal 1966 will be just under $480 million—more than $50 million under the Administration's budget request
• The Senate has approved a bill to set up a national policy on oceanography. The bill (S. 944) would create a Cabinet-level National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development to work out a unified oceanography program. The bill is designed to "further ocean engineering and exploration, expand marine sci ence and technology, and intensify development and utilization of ocean, Continental Shelf, and Great Lakes resources." • Controversy over alleged discrimination in ocean freights flared up again last week. Sen. Paul H. Douglas (D.-Ill.) released previ ously confidential testimony of Federal Maritime Commission Chairman John Harllee to the Joint Economic Committee's Subcommittee on Federal Procurement and Regulation on May 27. Among other things, the testimony shows that U.S. ex porters pay one third more to ship their com modities to England than do English exporters to ship similar commodities to the U.S. The Com mittee of European Shipowners, angered by JECs earlier report charging foreign-dominated steamship conferences with rigging ocean freight rates against U.S. exporters (C&EN, Jan. 11, page 26), immediately issued a statement denying dis crimination charges. CES says both reports are based on "an incomplete and inaccurate analysis" of the facts. • The Justice Department apparently will con tinue its hard line on mergers. Donald F. Turner, in his first public speech since taking over the reins of the department's antitrust division, told an antitrust session of the American Bar Association in Miami that he won't turn his back on any merger simply because it might help some Administration program. "In the brief time that I have been head of the antitrust division, I have had proponents defend a contemplated merger on the grounds that it would promote the na tional defense, assist in solving the balance of payments problem, reduce unemployment, and contribute to the Administration's antipoverty program." Antitrust policy, he says, should be concerned only with a merger's impact on com petition. "I do not think it is possible to bring very much order into antitrust law unless we can succeed in disentangling it from many policy considerations having little or nothing to do with the protection of ο ί η ^ Η ^ ο ΰ ^ Mr. Turner says. AUG. 16, 196 5 C&EN
21
