- 5 - 
As NIH representative, Dr. Fredrickson also concurred on the basis that the 
NIH standards might be extended to the private sector, pending legislation, 
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 Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of 
Science and Technology Policy recommended that the Order not be reinstated. 
Both believed that the advantages to be derived through earlier disclosure of 
information contained in the patent application were more than outweighed by the 
public perception of this Order being a means to rush recombinant DNA activities 
through to the stage of commercial development. In addition, the EPA representa- 
tive 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 Environ- 
mental 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 
(DHEW) , Department of Interior, Council on Environmental Quality of the Execu- 
tive 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 Secretary Califano for his review. 
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