9 
National Science Foundation, the Veterans Administration, and the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture are supporting or conducting such research. 
The Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 
and the Energy Research and Development Administration do not at present 
conduct such research, but all have endorsed the NIH Guidelines to govern 
future research should it be undertaken. 
Subcommittee Review of Existing Legislation 
At the November 23 meeting, the Federal regulatory agencies reported 
on their regulatory functions. Following that review, a special Subcom- 
mittee was formed to analyze the relevant statutory authorities for the 
possible regulation of recombinant DNA research. All regulatory agencies 
were represented on the Subcommittee, assisted by attorneys from their 
offices of general counsel. 
The Subcommittee was charged to determine whether existing legislative 
authority would permit the regulation of all recombinant DNA research in 
the United States (whether or not federally funded) and would include at 
least the following regulatory requirements: 
(1) Review of such research before it is undertaken by an institutional 
biohazards committee. 
(2) Compliance with physical and biological containment standards 
and prohibitions in the NIH Guidelines. 
(3) Registration of such research with a national registry at the 
time this research is undertaken (subject to appropriate 
safeguards to protect proprietary interests) . 
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