new technologies to the health care community deserves 

 careful study. By accelerating the incorporation of prom- 

 ising cost-effective biomedical science and technology 

 into the health care system, these types of programs can 

 help ensure a better return on Federal investments in 

 biomedical research (p. 48). 



REGULATION OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE AND 

 TECHNOLOGY 



There is widespread concern that Federal regulations de- 

 signed to protect medical patients and subjects of research 

 may pose a significant constraint on the implementation of 

 advances in biomedical science and technologies. For this 

 reason, regulatory procedures to protect human subjects 

 of biomedical research are normally administered by local 

 committees of physicians, other health care personnel, 

 and lay persons. The regulations are being substantially 

 revised so that they can provide adequate safeguards for 

 research subjects without unduly inhibiting the research 

 process. Federal regulations associated with testing and 

 assessing new drugs and new medical technologies are 

 subject to intense controversy. Steps are being taken to 

 assure that anticipated compliance costs and regulatory 

 uncertainties do not seriously inhibit the development of 

 many promising new drugs and technologies (p. 49). 



HUMAN RESOURCES 



While the pressure for admission to medical schools con- 

 tinues unabated, the perennial problem of the geograph- 

 ical distribution of physicians remains. There has also 

 been a diminution in the number of young physicians 

 entering academic medicine, as evidenced, for example, 

 by vacancies on medical school faculties. Continuation of 

 that trend could seriously inhibit further advances in bio- 

 medical research and in incorporating the results of that 

 research into the U.S. health care system (p. 49). 



ENERGY 



The Administration's energy policy is an integral part of 

 the President's comprehensive Program for Economic Re- 

 covery and is based on the assumption that, with regard to 

 the development of energy sources, the collective judg- 

 ment of the market is generally superior to centralized 

 programming. The Federal Government will continue to 

 invest in long-term, energy-related research with high 

 risks and potentially high payoffs. However, it will no 

 longer assume responsibility for accelerating the develop- 

 ment of advanced energy technologies, nor will public 

 funds be used to subsidize domestic energy production or 

 conservation (p. 50). 



The power of the free market in alleviating short-term 

 energy shortages is suggested by the moderated growth of 

 energy consumption in the United States, and especially 

 in oil and transportation fuels use, that has resulted from 

 higher prices. Energy demand growth through 1990 is 

 now projected to be slightly more than 1 percent per year, 

 well below the 2 percent forecast of 1979. The mix of 

 energy sources the United States will use in the near and 

 more distant future will depend on domestic and interna- 

 tional demand for available fossil fuels and relative prices 

 of various alternatives (pp. 50-52). 



MAINTAINING PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS SUPPLIES 



Until industry develops and commercializes competitive 

 alternative fuel sources to supplement declining domestic 

 oil and gas reserves, vigorous pursuit by the private sector 

 of technologies to facilitate the exploration and develop- 

 ment of new domestic reserves and to enhance the recov- 

 ery of oil from existing wells is anticipated. Administra- 

 tion actions to decontrol oil prices and to stimulate the 

 investment climate through regulatory and tax reform 

 should provide the necessary market conditions for these 

 activities. Any undiscovered oil fields in the United States 

 are likely to be in locations with harsh environments that 

 will make exploration and commercial development diffi- 

 cult and expensive. Industry is expected to improve tech- 

 nologies for offshore exploration and drilling operations 

 during the next 5 years. Additionally, field tests, sup- 

 ported by laboratory investigations, are likely to be car- 

 ried out to improve techniques for enhanced recovery of 

 petroleum from known domestic sources (p. 52). 



The prospects for discovering new domestic reserves 

 and exploiting known, unconventional sources of natural 

 gas are considered good. Since domestic natural gas sup- 

 plies are unlikely to be depleted as rapidly as domestic 

 petroleum, gas could serve as a substitute for petroleum in 

 some applications (p. 52). 



UNCONVENTIONAL SOURCES OF OIL 



Vast deposits of such unconventional and ultimately more 

 costly fuel sources as heavy oils, tar sands, and shale exist 

 in several countries, including the United States and Can- 

 ada. They might be exploited if economic conditions 

 become favorable. Plans to proceed with commercial 

 mining and production of fuel from oil shale in the Rocky 

 Mountains have been announced, and future production 

 efficiencies that will reduce environmental problems and 

 use water more efficiently than at present seem possible 

 (pp. 52-53). 



xvn 



