to govern research in these sectors and, if necessary, to recommend 
appropriate legislative or executive action. The membership of the 
Committee consists of all Federal departments and agencies that support 
and conduct such research and all regulatory agencies which have potential 
authority to govern the conduct of this research. Activities pertinent 
to the research agencies were reviewed by the full Committee in its 
initial meetings in the Fall of 1976. All research agencies endorsed 
the NIH Guidelines as standards for the conduct of this research; 
these included Agriculture, Defense, the Energy Research and Development 
Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the 
Veterans Administration, and the National Science Foundation (NSF). 
Of these, only Agriculture, NSF, and the Veterans Administration (as well 
as the NIH) are currently supporting and conducting recombinant DNA 
research . 
After an initial review by the Committee, it was recommended that a 
special subcommittee be created, comprising all the regulatory agen- 
cies, to analyze the relevant statutory authority for the regulation 
of such research. 
MAJOR EVENTS: 1977 
March 7-9, 1977 NAS_ FORUM: "RESEARCH WITH RECOMBINANT DNA" 
The Academy Forum was initiated by the National Academy of Sciences to 
make a contribution to national policy in areas at the interface of 
science and society. Past Forums have dealt with such controversial 
issues as drug safety, experimentation with humans, utilization of energy 
resources, and the roles of the citizen and the expert. This Forum was 
devoted to an examination of the scientific, legal, ethical, and public 
policy issues raised by recombinant DNA research. The published 
proceedings of this NAS Forum contain a variety of insights and infor- 
mation concerning recombinant DNA research, as well as the controversy 
that has encompassed it. 
March 15, 1977 INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE INTERIM REPORT ON LEGISLATION 
A Subcommittee, assisted by the members' general counsels, conducted 
a review and concluded that the legal authorities of no single depart- 
ment, agency, or combination thereof are sufficient to govern the 
conduct and registration of this research. The Interagency Committee 
submitted an interim report to the Secretary, HEW, recommending that 
legislation be passed to regulate the production and use of recombinant 
DNA molecules. On the basis of that report, the Department drafted 
legislation which became the Administration bill, introduced in the 
Senate by Senator Kennedy and in the House by Representative Rogers. 
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