[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 5, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38695-38696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13153]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Notification of Request for Emergency Clearance; Evaluation of 
the Impact of the New Conflicts of Interest Regulations on the National 
Institutes of Health's Ability To Recruit and Retain Staff

    In accordance with Section 3507(j) of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hereby publishes 
notification of request for Emergency Clearance for the information 
collection related to the Evaluation of the Impact of the New Conflicts 
of Interest Regulations on the National Institutes of Health's Ability 
to Recruit and Retain Staff.
    This information collection is essential to the mission of the NIH 
[42 U.S.C. 241 and 282(b)(1)]. In December 2003, the House Energy and 
Commerce Committee raised concerns about potential conflicts of 
interest at NIH. In response to these concerns, the NIH Director, Dr. 
Elias Zerhouni, ordered an internal investigation into consulting 
agreements at NIH and in June 2004 proposed changes to the agency's 
conflict-of-interest policies. Effective February 3, 2005, the new 
regulations (5 CFR parts 5501 and 5502, ``Supplemental Standards of 
Ethical Conduct and Financial Disclosure Requirements for Employees of 
the Department of Health and Human Services,'' Federal Register, Vol. 
70, No. 22 Thursday, February 3, 2005, 5543-5565 ) apply to all NIH 
employees and place limits on certain financial holdings of employees, 
their spouses, and minor children and on certain outside activities in 
which NIH staff may engage. In the brief time since the implementation 
of the new ethics rules, many key NIH senior scientists have chosen to 
leave NIH rather than comply with the new regulations.
    In the preamble to the rule, HHS stated its intent to evaluate the 
impact of the new rules within the next year. Gauging both the 
immediate and longer term impact of these new rules is crucial to NIH's 
ability to develop and maintain a world-class staff. This project will 
produce data that will help NIH and HHS leaders determine the impact of 
the regulations and whether changes should be made, so it is essential 
that the data are collected while the review of the regulations is 
still in progress.
    NIH cannot reasonably comply with the normal clearance procedures 
for information collection, because the use of normal procedures will 
delay the collection and hinder the agency in accomplishing its 
mission, to the detriment of the public good. NIH has taken all 
practicable steps to consult with the scientific community and the 
public in reaching the determination. Several months have elapsed since 
the publication of the new conflict of interest regulations, and NIH 
has had several meetings with employees, interviewed senior scientists 
and has made plans to survey current NIH employees, as well as reviewed 
more than 1800 comments on the regulations. At this point, NIH intends 
to survey recent applicants, applicants who have declined to accept 
employment offers from NIH and potential applicants from scientific 
organizations from which NIH has traditionally drawn leading scientific 
personnel. This will allow NIH to determine whether the regulations 
impact an individual's attitudes about employment at NIH and the 
likelihood of their joining the agency.
    NIH and HHS leaders are still examining and modifying some aspects 
of the rules. It is essential that these leaders obtain information on 
the impact of the rules on the career aims and choices of non-NIH 
scientists and the perception of the scientific community to inform 
their decision making.

Proposed Collection

    Title: Evaluation of the Impact of the New Conflicts of Interest 
Regulations on the National Institutes of Health's Ability to Recruit 
and Retain Staff. Type of Information Collection Request: Emergency. 
Need and Use of Information Collection: To assess the impact of new NIH 
ethics regulations on the agency's ability to continue to attract and 
recruit highly qualified scientific personnel. Frequency of Response: 
One time. Affected Public: Individuals and households. Type of 
Respondent: Highly

[[Page 38696]]

trained and qualified scientists engaged in medicine and life sciences 
research. The annual reporting burden is as follows: Estimated Number 
of Respondents: 900; Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: One; 
Average Burden Hours Per Response: 10 minutes; and Estimated Total 
Annual Burden Hours Requested: 150 hours. The annualized cost to 
respondents is estimated at $4,950. There are no Capital Costs, 
Operating Costs, or Maintenance Costs to report.

Request for Comments

    Written comments and/or suggestions from the public and affected 
agencies should address one or more of the following points: (1) 
Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the function of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility; (2) evaluate the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (4) minimize the burden of the 
collection of information on those who are to respond, including the 
use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

Direct Comments to OMB

    Written comments and/or suggestions regarding the item(s) contained 
in this notice, especially regarding the estimated public burden and 
associated response time, should be directed to the: Office of 
Management and Budget, Office of Regulatory Affairs, New Executive 
Office Building, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Attention: Desk 
Officer for NIH. To request more information on the proposed project 
contact Michael Rosenthal; Building 31--Claude D Pepper Bldg, Room 
3B43, 1 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892; [email protected]; 301-496-
3366.

    Dated: June 24, 2005.
Raynard S. Kington,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 05-13153 Filed 7-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P