36 
the Gore Report was a good beginning; but a number of working group members 
had problems with inconsistencies, the definitions, the language, and some 
of the findings and rationale of the report. 
Dr. Vidaver concurred with Dr. McGarrity’s report of the April 9 meeting 
of the Working Group on Release into the Environment. She suggested 
Dr. Brill's response (tab 1159) to the Gore Report be made part of the 
record. Drs. Fedoroff and Pirone supported Dr. Vidaver' s suggestion. 
Dr. Scandalios also concurred with Dr. McGarrity's report. He suggested 
RAC endorse Dr. Brill's response to the Gore Report. Dr. Lacy suggested 
Dr. Brill's letter be carefully evaluated. 
Dr. Tolin endorsed Dr. McGarrity's report. She said she specifically wished 
to address the sixth recomendation of the Gore Report which suggests that: 
"NIH and USDA revise the membership of their respective Recanbinant ENA 
Advisory Ccrrmittees (RAC) to include individuals specifically trained 
in ecology and the environmental sciences." 
She stated that USDA does not have an advisory ccnmittee comparable to RAC; 
the USDA Recanbinant ENA Ccmniittee (ARAC) is a USDA internal administrative 
ccmnittee and its members are appointed by virtue of their position in the 
USDA administrative hierarchy. Dr. Tolin said the current RAC is composed 
of experts from many different disciplines and institutions. This interdis- 
ciplinary approach is RAC’s strength, and USDA endorses this concept. 
Dr. McKinney said at the White House level the Chairman Pro Tempore of the 
Cabinet Council on Natural Resources and the Environment has approved estab- 
lishing a Cabinet Council Working Group on Biotechnology to undertake a 
review of the federal regulatory rules and procedures relating to biotech- 
nology. He said the Cabinet Council Working Group might set standards 
against which an interagency task force might operate. Dr. McKinney felt 
if the Cabinet Council Working Group is going to develop standards, RAC 
can anticipate a very long delay before an interagency task force is func- 
tioning in reviewing proposals involving release of modified organisms to 
the environment. He urged NIH to attempt to obtain for RAC a clarification 
of the anticipated strategy of the Cabinet Council Working Group. 
Dr. McKinney said many recent reports dealing with recanbinant ENA and 
biotechnology such as the Gore Report or the Office of Technology Assess- 
ment (OTA) report entitled Conmercial Biotechnology: An International 
Analysis have problems defining biotechnology. Dr. McKinney thought a 
clear definition of vhat constitutes biotechnology should be developed. 
Dr. Henry Miller of FDA said that the Gore Report is a substantially flawed 
document. He cited one example of the imprecision found in the document. 
The third recanrendation of the Gore Report specifies that: 
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