6 
Legislative Developments 
As you know, a Federal Interagency Committee on Recombinant DNA 
Research recommended in March 1977 that legislation be passed to 
extend the standards of the NIH Guidelines to all recombinant DNA 
activities in the public and private sectors. With your permission, 
I would like to submit a copy of that report for the record. On the 
basis of the recommendations, legislation was developed under Health, 
Education, and Welfare Secretary Joseph A. Califano, Jr., and an 
Administration bill was introduced in the Congress. The bill was 
considered in Congressional hearings, and other bills on the subject 
were introduced in the Congress. After several redrafts by the 
relevant Subcommittees, a Senate bill was reported to the Floor and 
a House bill was reported to the full Committee. 
Although the two bills reported out contain many elements of the 
original Administration bill, a number of differences concern the 
Administration. For example, the Senate bill would give responsibility 
for regulation and the enforcement of standards to an autonomous 
regulatory commission. The House provisions are preferable because 
they appropriately place many of these responsibilities in HEW. 
However, the House version does establish an advisory committee that 
would have operating functions. These approaches, especially the 
Senate bill, would necessarily involve a greater administrative burden 
and some further delays and duplication in handling the highly technical 
matters involved in standard-setting and monitoring. 
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