Ch. 7 — The Use of Genetically Engineered Micro-Organisms in the Environment • 129 
rhe creation of an organization such as the Na- 
tional Technolog)’ Foundation (H R. (S910) would 
represent the kind of commitment to engineer- 
ing. in general, that currently does not exist. 
C^ompetition for funds \\ ithin other agencies 
would i)e a\ oided, since funding \\ oukl now oc- 
cur at the le\ el of congressional appropriations. 
.A separate institute, carrying the stamp of 
(io\ernment recognition, would make it clear to 
the puhlic that this is a major new area with 
great potential. This might foster greater aca- 
demic and commercial interest in hiotechnolog\’ 
and genetic engineering. 
On the other hand, hiotechnolog\' and genetic 
engineering co\ er such a broad range of disci- 
plines that a single agency would over lap the 
mandates of existing agencies. Furthermoi'e, the 
creation of yet another agency carries w ith it all 
the disadv antages of incr'eased bui'eauci'acy and 
competition for funds at the agency level. 
C. Congress could establish research centers in 
universities to foster interdisciplinary ap- 
proaches to biotechnology'. In addition, a pro- 
gram of training grants could be offered to 
train scientists in biological engineering. 
The successful use of biological techniques in 
industry depends on a multidisciplinary ap- 
proach involving biochemists, geneticists, mi- 
crobiologists, process engineers, and chemists. 
Little is now being done, publicly or privately, 
to develop expertise in this interdisciplinary 
area. 
In 1979, President Carter proposed the crea- 
tion of generic technology centers (useful to a 
broad range of industries) as one way to stim- 
ulate innovation. The centers would conduct 
the kind of research that an individual company 
might not consider cost effective, but that might 
ultimately benefit sev eral companies. Each cen- 
ter would be jointly funded by Government and 
industry, with Government prov iding the seed 
money and industry carrying most of the costs 
within 5 years. If the centers were established 
at universities, startup costs could be mini- 
mized. _ 
Several congressional bills contain prov isions 
for centers similar to these. For example, on 
October 21, 1980, President Carter signed into 
law a bill (S. 1250) that would establish Centers 
for Industrial Technology to foster research 
links between industry and universities. They 
would he affiliated with a university or non- 
profit institution. 
One or more of these centers could be specifi- 
cally designated to specialize in biotechnology. 
In addition, training grants could be used to 
support the education of hiotechnologists at the 
centers or elsewhere. Currently, there is no na- 
tionwide training program to train students in 
this discipline. Education programs, especially 
for the postgraduate and graduate training of 
engineers, could further the idea of using bio- 
logical techniques to solve engineering prob- 
lems. 
D. Congress could use ta^ incentives to stimulate 
biotechnology'. 
The tax laws could be used to stimulate bio- 
technologv' in several ways. First, they could ex- 
pand the supply of capital for small high-risk 
firms, which are generally considered more in- 
novative than established firms, because of 
their willingness to undertake the risks of in- 
novation. \luch of the pioneering work in the 
industrial application of genetic techniques has 
been done by such firms. By nature, they are 
speculative, high-risk investments. Second, the 
tax law could provide special subsidies to new 
high-technology firms, which cannot use the 
standard investment incentives, such as the in- 
vestment tax credit, because they usually have 
no taxable profits for the first several years 
against which to apply the tax credit. Third, tax 
incentives could be provided for both estab- 
lished and new firms to make the investment of 
money for R&D more attractive. 
There are a number of ways to expand the 
supply of venture capital. One is to decrease the 
tax rate on capital gains or the period an asset 
must be held for it to be considered a capital 
gain rather than ordinary income. This change 
could be limited to stocks in high-technology 
firms in order to focus its impact and minimize 
revenue loss. Other options involving the stock 
of high-technology companies are; a tax credit 
to the investor who purchases the stock; defer- 
