2 
RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER FEDERAL LAWS 
Sec. 108. (a) Ths title shall not affect the authority of any Execu- 
tive agency (as that term is defined in section 105 of title 5, United 
States Code) to regulate under any other Act recombinant DNA 
activities. 
(b) In exercising any authority under this title, the Secretary, or 
any person acting on behalf of the Secretary or pursuant to this title, 
shall not, for purposes of section 4(b) (1) of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970, be deemed to be exercising statutory authority 
to prescribe or enforce standards or regulations affecting occupational 
safety and health. 
Page 19, line 16, strike out “(a)” and insert in lieu thereof “(b)”. 
PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION 
The purpose of the legislation is to assure that all research and 
other activities involving recombinant DNA molecules are conducted 
in accordance with national safety standards designed to prevent 
the creation and escape of genetically modified organisms or viruses 
which could pose a threat to public health or the environment. At the 
same time, however, the use of recombinant DNA methods is recog- 
nized to be of exceptional value to science. Thus, an additional pur- 
pose of the legislation is to prevent the imposition of unnecessarily 
restrictive state and local requirements. 
At present, work in this area supported or conducted by the Na- 
tional Institutes of Health must be carried out in accordance with 
safety guidelines prepared and released by NIH. Most other Federal 
agencies have adopted the NIH Guidelines as agency policy. However, 
some public and all private recombinant DNA activities are not bound 
to follow any set of safety precautions. 
H.R. 11192 is a 2-year interim control bill which would : 
(1) Require that the sections of the NIH Guidelines, as cur- 
rently amended, on Containment (Section II) and Experimental 
Guidelines (Section III) apply to all parties conducting re- 
combinant DNA activities ; 
(2) Empower the Secretary of Health, Education and Wel- 
fare to promulgate administrative regulations, revise the Guide- 
lines to reflect new scientific data, and exempt from the Guide- 
lines activities determined to present no significant risk to health 
or the environment or for specific risk assessment studies ; 
(3) Give inspection authority to the Secretary of HEW and 
empower him to enforce the Guidelines, as appropriate, by (a) 
suspension of research grant funds, (b) a civil penalty ($5,000) 
or (c) seeking an injunction through the courts ; 
(4) Preempt States or political subdivisions thereof from es- 
tablishing or continuing in effect any requirement for the regu- 
lation of recombinant DNA activities. However, the Secretary 
would be authorized, upon application and after considering 
local conditions, to approve a State or local requirement if it is 
the same as, or more stringent than a Federal requirement and 
if the additional requirement is necessary to protect health or 
the environment ; and 
[Appendix B — 132] 
