4 
• Federal agencies may elect to keep their own registries of 
projects they fund and then provide registration information to 
NIH. In this case, institutions would send Memoranda of 
Understanding and Agreement (MUAs) to the funding agency only 
and not to NIH. 
• If an agency does not decide to keep a registry and provide NIH 
with registration information, then institutions will send MUAs 
to both NIH and the funding agency. 
In institutions where recombinant DNA research is conducted and 
funded by Federal agencies other than NIH, it is hoped that the 
funding agency on a voluntary basis will provide registration 
information to NIH, in order to insure a more comprehensive 
national registry. 
E. Non-Compliance 
If NIH receives an MUA or registration information for research 
funded by another Federal agency and ORDA believes it is in 
non-compliance, NIH will notify the Federal agency before notifying 
the institution where the research is conducted. This process will 
be in effect if NIH-funded projects are being conducted at the 
institution. If there are no NIH funded projects, then only the 
Federal agency will be notified by NIH. 
III. Agency Comments on the Proposed Revised Guidelines 
The Committee was surveyed by Dr. Fredrickson for their comments on 
the Proposed Revised Guidelines. He noted those agency comments 
received in correspondence and requested that agencies in 
particular address the extent to which the above proposed 
procedural changes respond to their concerns. 
A. Research Agencies 
Department of Agriculture 
Concern over prohibited agricultural pathogen risk assessment 
experiments and the release prohibition were cited. USDA will name 
a liaison member to the RAC. A Committee has been established 
within USDA to address recombinant DNA research and one of its 
functions will be to consider appeals from scientists funded by 
USDA. A registration scheme is in place with plans to share 
information with NIH. USDA endorses institutions having a single 
IBC, rather than a separate committee in its agricultural station. 
There are no special concerns with the experimental guidelines and 
it is generally felt that the proposed procedures will assist in 
USDA' s particular concern over the release prohibition. 
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