[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9949-9951]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-4837]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

42 CFR Part 61

RIN 0991-AA96


Service Fellowships

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending 
the regulations governing service fellowships by revising the current 
authority citation, extending the time limitation on initial 
appointments from 2 years to 5 years, permitting extensions of 
appointments for up to 5 years rather than year-to-year, and deleting 
obsolete references to the Surgeon General. These changes are being 
made to provide HHS health agencies with greater flexibility to recruit 
and retain talented scientists and to update obsolete references.

DATES: Effective Date: February 27, 1998. Comment Date: The Secretary 
is requesting written comments on this interim final rule which must be 
received on or before April 28, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the interim final rule may be sent to 
Jerry Moore, NIH Regulations Officer, National Institutes of Health, 31 
CENTER DR MSC 2075, BETHESDA, MD 20892-2075. Comments may also be sent 
electronically by facsimile (301-402-0169) or by e-mail 
([email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Moore at the address above or by 
telephone (301) 496-4607; (not a toll-free number). For information 
with regard to service fellowships contact Edie Bishop, Office of Human 
Resource Management, National Institutes of Health, 31 CENTER DR MSC 
0424, BETHESDA, MD 20892-0424, telephone (301) 402-9484 (not a toll-
free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 207(g) of the Public Health Service 
Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary to designate individual 
scientists, other than Commissioned Officers of the Public Health 
Service (PHS), to receive fellowships; to be appointed for duty with 
the Service and compensated without regard to the civil service 
classification laws; to hold their fellowships under conditions 
prescribed therein; and to be assigned for studies or investigations 
either in the United States or foreign countries during the terms of 
their fellowships.
    Consistent with the legislative intent of the PHS Act, Sec. 61.32 
of the implementing regulations codified at 42 CFR Part 61, states that 
service fellowships ``may be provided to secure the services of 
talented scientists for a period of limited duration for health-related 
research, studies, and investigations where the nature of the work or 
the character of the individual's services render customary employing 
methods impracticable or less effective.''
    Section 61.38 currently restricts initial fellowship appointments 
to a period not to exceed two years, with extensions on a year-to-year 
basis. HHS is amending Sec. 61.38 of the service fellowship regulations 
to make time limitations more flexible. Specifically, HHS is extending 
the current time limitation on initial appointments from 2 to 5 years, 
and revising the requirements with respect to extensions to permit 
extensions for up to 5 years rather than year-to-year. These changes 
are being made to provide HHS health agencies with greater flexibility 
to recruit and retain their scientists. It is anticipated that the 
increased flexibility will provide for simplified recruitment and 
classification. Employment will continue to be linked to scientific 
excellence as determined by agency peer review processes.
    The authority citation and the references to the Surgeon General in 
Sec. 61.33, Sec. 61.34, Sec. 62.35, Sec. 61.36, Sec. 61.37, and 
Sec. 61.38 are being revised to reflect that the authority for the 
service fellowships are vested in the Secretary, Sec. 61.30 is amended 
to remove the paragraph designations and the definition for the term 
``Surgeon General'' and to add the definition for the term 
``Secretary,'' and Sec. 61.34 is amended to remove clause (b) and 
redesignate clause (c) as (b) to reflect current policy.
    Notice and public comment and delayed effective date have been 
waived for these amendments because it has been found for good cause in 
accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that notice and comment are 
``impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.'' 
Notice and comment are unnecessary and contrary to the public interest 
because the changes in the duration of service fellowship appointments 
will not in any way adversely affect service fellowship recipients or 
others, and the other changes are not substantive or remove obsolete 
requirements regarding the qualifications of applicants. Extending the 
permissible duration of the fellowships will make it possible for the 
Public Health Service to better fulfill the purpose of encouraging and 
promoting research through the fellowships and provide a broader range 
of research options for the fellows. For the same reasons, this 
regulation is effective immediately. This will enable both the Public 
Health Service and the service fellows to benefit promptly from 
appointments of longer duration. Applicants for fellowships or 
recipients do not need any lead time to prepare for the changes because 
all application requirements and conditions of the

[[Page 9950]]

appointment remain the same. The only substantive change is that the 
permissible duration of the appointment is extended.
    Although the amendments are published as an interim final rule and 
are effective immediately, the Secretary requests comments on the 
regulations. The Secretary will consider all comments and thereafter 
will promptly publish a final rule.
    The following statements are provided for public information.

Executive Order No. 12866

    Executive Order No. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, requires 
that all regulatory actions reflect consideration of the costs and 
benefits they generate, and that they meet certain standards, such as 
avoiding the imposition of unnecessary burdens on the affected public. 
If an action is deemed to fall within the scope of the definition of 
the term ``significant regulatory action'' contained in Sec. 3(f) of 
the Order, a pre-publication review by the Office of Management and 
Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is 
necessary. This interim final rule was reported to OIRA, and it was 
deemed not to be a significant regulatory action.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) 
requires that regulatory actions be analyzed to determine whether they 
will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. The Secretary certifies that this interim final rule 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities and, therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis, as 
defined under the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 is not required. 
This rule applies to individuals who apply for and may receive service 
fellowships. The rule does not apply or affect ``small entities'' as 
that term is defined in 5 U.S.C. 601.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This interim final rule does not contain any information collection 
requirements that are subject to OMB approval under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 61

    Fellowships.

    Approved: November 6, 1997.

Harold Varmus,
Director, National Institutes of Health.
    Dated: February 12, 1998.
Donna Shalala,
Secretary.

    Accordingly, subpart B of part 61 of title 42 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations is amended to read as set forth below.

PART 61--FELLOWSHIPS

Subpart B--Service Fellowships

    1. The authority citation to subpart B is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 209, 210, 216.

    2. Section 61.30 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 61.30  Definitions.

    As used in this part:
    Continental United States does not include Hawaii or Alaska.
    Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services and any 
other officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human 
Services to whom the authority involved may be delegated.
    Service Fellowship is one which requires the performance of 
services, either full or part time, for the Public Health Service.
    3. Sections 61.33, 61.34, 61.35, and 61.36 are revised to read as 
follows:


Sec. 61.33  Establishment of service fellowships.

    All service fellowships shall be established by the Secretary. In 
establishing a service fellowship, or a series of service fellowships, 
the Secretary shall prescribe in writing the conditions (in addition to 
those provided in the regulations in this part) under which service 
fellows will be appointed and will hold their fellowships.


Sec. 61.34  Qualifications.

    Scholastic and other qualifications shall be prescribed by the 
Secretary for each service fellowship, or series of service 
fellowships. Each individual appointed to a service fellowship shall:
    (a) Have presented satisfactory evidence of general suitability, 
including professional and personal fitness; and
    (b) Possess any other qualifications as reasonably may be 
prescribed.


Sec. 61.35  Method of application.

    Application for a service fellowship shall be made in accordance 
with procedures established by the Secretary.


Sec. 61.36  Selection and appointment of service fellows.

    The Secretary shall:
    (a) Prescribe a suitable professional and personal fitness review 
and an examination of the applicant's qualifications;
    (b) Designate in writing persons to receive service fellowships; 
and
    (c) Establish procedures for the appointment of service fellows.
    3a. Section 61.37a is amended by redesignating the undesignated 
paragraph following paragraph (b)(3) as paragraph (b)(4), and revising 
paragraphs (a), (b) introductory text, and newly designated (b)(4) to 
read as follows:


Sec. 61.37  Stipends, allowances, and benefits.

    (a) Stipends. Service fellows shall be entitled to such stipend as 
is authorized by the Secretary for each service fellowship or series of 
service fellowships.
    (b) Travel and transportation allowances. Under conditions 
prescribed by the Secretary, an individual appointed as a service 
fellow may be authorized personal travel allowances or transportation 
and per diem, travel allowances or transportation for his or her 
immediate family, and transportation of household goods and personal 
effects, in conjunction with travel authorized by the Secretary.
* * * * *
    (4) A service fellow shall be entitled to travel allowances or 
transportation and per diem while traveling on official business away 
from his or her permanent duty station during the term of the 
fellowship. Except as otherwise provided herein, a service fellow shall 
be entitled to travel and transportation allowances authorized in this 
part at the same rates as may be authorized by law and regulations for 
other civilian employees of the Public Health Service. If a service 
fellow dies during the term of a fellowship, and the place of residence 
that was left by the service fellow to accept the fellowship was 
outside the continental United States, the payment of expenses of 
preparing the remains for burial and transporting them to the place of 
residence for interment may be authorized. In the case of deceased 
service fellows whose place of residence was within the continental 
United States, payment of the expenses of preparing the remains and 
transporting them to the place of residence for interment may be 
authorized as provided for other civilian employees of the Public 
Health Service.
* * * * *

[[Page 9951]]

    4. Section 61.38 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 61.38  Duration of service fellowships.

    Initial appointments to service fellowships may be made for varying 
periods not in excess of 5 years. Such an appointment may be extended 
for varying periods not in excess of 5 years for each period in 
accordance with procedures and requirements established by the 
Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-4837 Filed 2-26-98; 8:45 am]
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