The best Congress money can buy

Any good Government major knows that if you want to get a bill passed in Congress you have to lobby for it. So when Harvard wanted to draft a bill that would base guidelines for recombinant DNA research on federal, rather than state or local, standards, it hired a lobbyist. Was the effort a success? Does Harvard have ivy? Harvard had the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment in the palm of its hand. One committee aide said, "This new bill is just the Harvard bill in dressed-up form. They capitulated to Harvard's demands."

But Harvard hasn't mastered Congress completely; the bill is being held up in the Senate. The clause that Harvard pressed for--which would force communities to apply to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare if they want to apply standards stricter than the federal guidelines mandate--has caused the snafu. It could require a few upper level Government courses before Harvard finally pushes the bill into law.