WASHINGTON, March 7 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is unlikely to get congressional approval to shift the popular Sea Grant program among federal agencies until legislators get more information, House members said Thursday.
The House Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee raised the issue during a hearing on the 2003 budget requests for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which currently manages Sea Grant, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher and Fish and Wildlife Director Steve Williams testified before the panel.
The White House proposal would put the program, which funds ocean-related research at universities around the country, under the control of the National Science Foundation. Many of the idea's details remain to be worked out, said Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-Md.
"We are not likely to authorize, on a vote, the Sea Grant moving to the NSF," Gilchrest said. "Whether the administration can do that (on its own is unsure), so there's going to be substantial resistance unless we can be enlightened as to its benefits."
Lautenbacher said the realignments are critical to the administration's goals of improving the nation's overall research efforts.
"The administration, in reviewing the system, looked at what the NSF management structure could offer," Lautenbacher said. "It is the premier university grant peer-review process, recognized as such."
Adding Sea Grant to the mix of NSF programs could provide synergy with other research areas, Lautenbacher said.
Gilchrest countered by saying the program is well-established in its current form and it should not be disrupted without good reason.
Del. Robert Underwood, D-Guam, pointed out the multi-faceted nature of Sea Grant, and said NSF might not be able to handle the non-research aspects properly.
The remainder of the NOAA budget is a mixed bag, Gilchrest said. Funding for additional fisheries vessels is welcome, but cuts to land-based programs, including NOAA's Chesapeake Bay office in his district, tend to negate any overall benefit, he said.
