Human Genome Project
History

The fact that the Santa Fe Workshop was motivated and supported by a federal agency opened a path, albeit a difficult and tortuous one, for converting the idea into public policy in the United States. In a memo to the Assistant Secretary for Energy Research Alvin Trivelpiece, then-Director of the OHER Charles DeLisi outlined a broad plan for the project. This started a long and complex chain of events which led to approved reprogramming of funds that enabled the OHER to launch the project in 1986, and to recommend the first line item for the HGP, which was in President Reagan's 1988 budget submission, and ultimately approved by Congress. Of particular importance in congressional approval was the advocacy of New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici, whom DeLisi had befriended. Domenici chaired the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, as well as the Budget Committee, both of which were key in the DOE budget process. Congress added a comparable amount to the NIH budget, thereby beginning official funding by both agencies.
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