Ronald Atlas, cochair of the ASM Public and Scientific Affairs Board Committee on Biodefense, participated in the 23 June public consultation meeting held by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to discuss proposed changes to the NIH Guidelines for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules. Atlas presented comments on the revision to Section III-A-1 concerning experiments involving the deliberate transfer of a drug resistance trait to microorganisms. In the current NIH Guidelines, if the microorganism is known to acquire the trait naturally, then the transfer of the drug resistance does not require approval by the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee and the NIH Director. ASM forwarded a letter to NIH on 9 April commenting on the proposed change, stating that the current system of oversight in the NIH Guidelines has provided appropriate measures to protect the public health, that it is not clear that changes in the NIH Guidelines are needed, and that guidance regarding which experiments require RAC review and how Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) and investigators can enhance protection of public health is a sound approach.