Review of the Department of Agriculture's Role in Regulating Biotechnology

In response to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Department of Agriculture's (USDA) role in regulating biotechnology to determine: (1) how the programs relate to decisionmaking concerning the deliberate release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment; and (2) the relationship between USDA and other federal agencies with biotechnology responsibilities. GAO found that: (1) USDA funded 778 biotechnology research projects during 1984 and 1985; (2) 87 of the projects were expected to involve the deliberate release of genetically engineered organisms into the environment; (3) USDA has taken an active role in developing and overseeing the new biotechnologies; (4) USDA has adopted National Institutes of Health guidelines and has established an internal policy requiring compliance with these policies in order to receive USDA research funds; (5) USDA officials have expressed confidence in their ability to regulate the new biotechnologies; (6) many USDA agencies are responsible for biotechnology regulation, but their specific roles have not been clearly defined; (7) USDA decisionmaking in biotechnology is being influenced by other agency involvement; (8) USDA wants to proceed carefully in this area because of expected legal challenges; (9) there are many instances of interaction between USDA and other agencies and, while there have been disagreements, the agencies seem to be able to resolve problems; and (10) USDA has not been very effective in explaining to the public its views on biotechnology and the regulatory role it will play.