11 
For tomorrow's agenda, Dr. LeRoy Walters will introduce the proposed 
revisions to the roles and responsibilities section of the Guidelines. The 
morning and part of the afternoon will be for witness presentations and 
for Committee discussion. And to conclude tomorrow's meeting, Committee 
members will discuss the issues raised by the commentators. I am especially 
interested that you, the members of the Committee about this table, provide 
us with your judgments on the merits of the proposed revisions. Ideally I 
hope that each of you will be able to provide us with a brief oral summary 
of your impressions sometime tomorrow afternoon, taking into account all 
the comments that you have heard from the witnesses and the scientific and 
other developments of the past year. Your reaction to the proposed mecha- 
nisms for monitoring the research is especially important. 
I will urge the Committee members to follow up this meeting with a 
letter that may expand upon their opinions and any additional thoughts they 
may have. Indeed, I urge all the witnesses who appear today to please do 
so, too, if they choose. Comments and questions from other members of the 
public will also be welcome, and will be made part of the written record of 
these proceedings. 
I believe that we can achieve very much at this hearing to assure a 
full exploration of all the relevant facts and the alternatives. The ulti- 
mate decision, which will be based on this exploration, will be as correct 
and as wise as we can make it, and consistent with procedural and statutory 
safeguards. We are trying here to achieve a due process, not only for the 
scientific community but for all the community. 
Justice Brandeis once wrote that sunlight is the best disinfectant. 
I agree. Openness and the observance of procedural safeguards have guided 
us thus far in this matter, and we intend that this hearing shall follow 
that precedent. 
Finally, may I remind you as we begin that the official text of this 
meeting is the Federal Register text, and not that of the Recombinant DNA 
Technical Bulletin , which is far easier to read but which has not been 
distributed to everyone here. 
With that introduction, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to begin 
our proceedings. First we would like to ask Dr. John Littlefield, a Pro- 
fessor of Pediatrics, a geneticist, and a member of the Recombinant Advisory 
Committee, to introduce this matter of the revisions. Dr. Littlefield, 
if you and all others will please use the podium. 
DR. LITTLEFIELD: Thank you, Dr. Fredrickson. 
As you have heard, at the meeting last January of the RAC, Dr. Stetten 
appointed a subcommittee to propose revisions of the Guidelines, consisting 
of Drs. Barkley, Gottesman, Helinski, Rowe, Walters, Day, and myself, and 
you will hear from all of them later. We met first in February 1977 to 
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