3 
molecules was an important element of regulation and that registration 
should occur prior to the initiation of the project. 
The representatives of the Department of Defense noted their concern 
about the handling of material classified on national security grounds. 
It was decided that the mandate of the Committee does not extend to 
considerations of national security, and that this matter might be 
addressed by the National Security Council. 
Disclosure of Information 
Debate on this element of the suggested legislation began in the first 
meeting and was concluded at the meeting on March 14. Dr. Ancker- Johnson, 
Commerce Department, proposed a suggested element for legislation as did 
representatives from DoD and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for 
Health (OASH/DHEW) . It was the position of the former two representatives 
that the submitter of a proposal would best be encouraged to fully disclose 
relevant information if he was given strong assurance that such information 
would be protected from public disclosure. The suggested element of the 
latter would give the Secretary of HEW greater discretion in determining 
what information would be protected from disclosure and was the language 
selected by the Committee to appear in the Interim Report. 
Commerce Department Order for Accelerated Processing of Patents 
Dr. Ancker-Johnson requested the Committee's views on the recently 
published Commerce Department Order concerning accelerated processing 
of patent applications for recombinant DNA inventions. This Order was 
partially withdrawn pending review by the Interagency Committee. However, 
because most of the meeting on March 14 had been devoted to the Interim 
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