- 4 - 
Subsequent to the meeting, representatives from the Departments of State 
and Transportation asked to be recorded in favor of this recommendation. 
As NIH representative. Dr. Fredrickson also concurred on the basis that 
the NIH standards might be extended to the private sector, pending legis- 
lation, and suggested that the Commerce Department, if it were to reinstate 
the Order, should publish it for public comment rather than as a final rule. 
Representatives of the EPA and OSTP recommended that the Order not be 
reinstated. Both believed that the advantages to be derived through 
earlier disclosure of information were more than outweighed by the 
public perception of this Order as being a means to rush recombinant DNA 
activities through to the stage of commercial development. In addition, 
the EPA representative noted that the Order might require the filing of 
an environmental impact statement. Dr. Ancker Johnson stated the 
Commerce Department view that this Order is merely the speeding-up of an 
administrative procedure and therefore does not constitute a major Federal 
action as defined in the National Environmental Policy Act. 
Representatives from the following Departments abstained: Labor and 
Justice. The following agency representatives were absent during the 
discussion of the Patent Order at the meeting: Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Health (DIIEW) , Department of Interior, Council on Environ- 
mental Quality of the Executive Office of the President, and U.S. Arms 
Control and Disarmament Agency. 
Dr. Fredrickson noted that the Committee review and comments would be 
forwarded to the Secretary of HEW for his review. 
[ 350 ] 
