Advanced Research Projects Agency. Introduction to legislative history. Authorizing legislation for ARPÅ Additional hearings in which ARPA was discussed. Department of Defense announcements on ARPA.. Letter from Bureau of the Budget- Bill establishing the National Astronautics and Space Agency (S. Estimated cost of the National Astronautics and Space Agency.. THE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY INTRODUCTION TO THE LEGISLATIVE HISTORY The present authority and responsibility of the Advanced Research Projects Agency to engage in the development of outer space projects derives from two laws passed during the second session of the 85th Congress (Public Law 85-325 and Public Law 85-322), directives from the Secretary of Defense, and a directive contained in the President's message to the Congress on April 2, 1958, regarding the proposed National Aeronautics and Space Agency. While these documents are basic as an introduction to the subject, it should be understood that the function and organization of advanced research for outer space is currently being discussed in connection with proposals for a permanent organization. The legislative history of authorization and appropriation for advanced research in the Department of Defense developed almost simultaneously because of the necessity for immediate action in establishing an organization which could proceed without waste of time while final arrangements were being worked out by two committees established by the Congress for this purpose: The House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration and the Senate Special Committee on Space and Astronautics. An additional reason for the concurrent action of the Committees on Armed Services and Appropriations was that the Department of Defense originally proceeded upon the assumption that the Secretary had authority to establish ARPA without any additional legislation. Thus it happened that the initial reference of ARPA to the Congress was included in the President's proposal for additional defense appropriations for fiscal year 1958 and was consequently contained in the appropriation bill, H. R. 10146, which was referred to the House Committee on Appropriations. The issue of whether or not the Secretary had such authority arose in the House Armed Services Committee which was just completing its hearings and report on H. R. 9739, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Air Force to establish and develop certain installations for the national security. The discussion of ARPA occurred, therefore, during the course of the hearings by the committee on the investigation it was then making of national-defense missiles, pursuant to House Resolution 67. Authority for ARPA was added as a floor amendment to H. R. 9739 and was consequently in the bill which passed the House and went to the Senate. The final result of congressional action on these two bills was the passage of the authorization for advanced research in Public Law 85-325 (H. R. 9739) and of the appropriations in Public Law 85–322 (H. R. 10146). It is the purpose of this report to trace separately the legislative history of the two bills by quoting pertinent passages from official documents which contain questions raised in the Congress concerning the problem of establishing an organization for the future development of outer space. Official information on ARPA from the executive branch will also be included. This background data should reveal where the Congress stands on the eve of its task of formulating permanent legislation. AUTHORIZING LEGISLATION FOR ARPA On January 7, 1958, H. R. 9739 was referred to the House Armed Services Committee in order to authorize the Secretary of the Air Force to establish and develop certain installations for the national security. These installations included the semiautomatic ground environment system (SAGE), the ballistic missile detection system, ballistic missiles, the alert and dispersal of the Strategic Air Command forces, and other projects designed to accelerate our national defense posture. Full committee hearings were held on January 11, 1958 and on January 14 the committee report was made to the House of Representatives. As explained in the introduction, these documents did not contain a discussion of the Advanced Research Projects Agency inasmuch as it was first brought to the attention of Congress as an item in the supplemental defense appropriation bill for fiscal 1958 (H. R. 10146). On January 13, 1958, the House Armed Services Committee discussed the main issues involved in establishing ARPA in the Department of Defense. Secretary of Defense Neil H. McElroy : To make certain that these programs move forward, and to administer the development and production of the short-range and long-range missiles, I have established the Office of Director of Guided Missiles, and have appointed William Holaday to that position. Mr. Holaday will utilize existing staff organizations within the Department of Defense and the military departments, insofar as they may be necessary, in carrying out his assigned functions. He is the man to whom I look for the direction of our missile program, and I am prepared to back him with the full authority of the Secretary's Office. He and others will be available to your committee, if you wish further information in this area. Such long-range programs as the antimissile missile and the military satellite programs are in the research and exploratory development stages. They are important and must be pursued, but they must not distract us from the speedy development of our other missile systems. To handle them, I am establishing within the Department of Defense an Advanced Research Projects Agency, which will be responsible to the Secretary of Defense for the unified direction and management of the antimissile missile program and for outer space projects. I would expect to assign other special projects of this general nature to this agency from time to time in the future. The Agency will not be expected to take over research and development of weapons systems which fall clearly within the mission of any one of the military departments. It is contemplated that programs assigned to the Agency will be developed in full coordination with the military departments to the point where they are approaching operational capability so that they may be phased into the operation of one or more of the military services with no loss of time or interruption of development and production. We propose to establish the new Agency promptly and appoint a highly qualified director. The Director will have authority to arrange for the performance of work by other agencies of Government, including the military departments, to enter into contracts with private business or educational and research institutions, or to perform work directly with his own staff and facilities. By this means we can be certain that a strong effort is being placed behind these programs of the future, without detracting from the development work going on in connection with our current missile programs. The advance in technical knowledge which has been most recently observed in the development of the entire system of missiles and in satellites makes all of us in the Defense Department realize that the weapons of the future may be the kinds of things that none of us can quite visualize. They may be of forms which are really not the kinds of things that even the comic strips can dream of today, as they seem to have done about the spaceships in the past. Because of that, it seems to us quite obvious that to expect the weapons of the future might fall into a traditional type of service. category or service area of responsibility is something which one cannot do. We think we need to have the Advanced Research Project Agency first of all-and we will ask that the agency stick to this for a period of time-to take these two areas, the antimissile missile and the various satellite projects that are of interest to defense and concentrate on those partly because they are likely to go in one or another direction from an operational service standpoint, and until that is cleared by the development of the weapons system itself we feel it is important to keep the research and development on that very advanced system in the Department of Defense without any particular service connection. Now, as to the future, we can only speculate about that. But one thing that seems to us in defense to be very important is that with the very innovational kinds of future weapons which I think no one can really write the ticket about, there be an agency like this in existence which can pick up a dreamed-of idea at an early stage and be sure that we don't miss the possibilities of that, and evaluate what its future possibilities may be, and may make some initial steps in researching this without any development work being spent and bring it back into the same agency for future development if that seems to be warranted. The CHAIRMAN. Well, now, two points I am trying to develop. Will there be overlapping in Mr. Holaday's department with the Advanced Research Projects Agency? I see from your language here that it could be, unless it is carefully guarded by you. Now, I also see-time is running out-that you are asking for this agency to have contract authority to make contracts by the |