[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 5 (Monday, January 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1446-1447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-44]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of 
Authority

    Part N, National Institutes of Health, of the Statement of 
Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority for the 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (40 FR 22859, May 27, 
1975, as amended most recently at 70 FR 61146, October 20, 2005, and 
redesignated from Part HN as Part N at 60 FR 56606, November 9, 1995), 
is amended as set forth below to reflect the reorganization of the NIH 
Ethics Office.
    Section N-B, Organization and Functions, under the heading Office 
of the Director (NA, formerly HNA), is amended as follows:
    Replace the current section NAT (formerly HNAT) with the following:
    NIH Ethics Office (NAT, formerly HNAT). (1) Provides oversight and 
strategic direction of NIH activities relating to ethics policy, 
oversight, and operational activities; (2) develops and administers the 
NIH policies and procedures for implementing the Government-wide 
conflict of interest statutes and regulations, the HHS

[[Page 1447]]

supplemental conflict of interest regulations, and HHS policies; (3) 
implements a program for trans-NIH ethics oversight that includes 
information technology (IT) support systems, periodic reviews, audits, 
delegations of authority, training, and records management; (4) 
determines real or potential conflicts of interest and assesses ethical 
considerations in scientific reporting, clinical trials, and scientific 
conferences and workshops; and (5) serves as the liaison and 
coordinates the NIH response to requests from Congress, the Inspector 
General, HHS, and the Office of Government Ethics, and performs 
appropriate liaison activities.
    IC Operations and Liaison Branch (NAT2, formerly HNAT2). (1) 
Provides centralized operational services to ICs in the review and 
processing of: (a) Individual ethics actions and (b) ethics actions 
having IC-wide impact such as preapproval of awards, blanket approval 
of widely attended gatherings (WAGs), and handling ethics for OD 
committees; and (2) provides advisory services in the management of IC 
ethics reviews.
    Policy and Management Review Branch (NAT3, formerly HNAT3). (1) 
Provides technical review of NIH and IC Ethics Programs and conducts 
risk assessment; (2) develops NIH-wide policies and procedures to 
ensure a rigorous NIH Ethics Program; (3) manages ethics delegations of 
authority; (4) develops and manages content for the NIH Ethics Web 
site; and (5) provides NIH-wide ethics training to staff.

Delegations of Authority

    All delegations and redelegations of authority to officers and 
employees of NIH that were in effect immediately prior to the effective 
date of this amendment and are consistent with this amendment shall 
continue in effect, pending further redelegation.

    Dated: November 10, 2005.
Elias A. Zerhouni,
Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. E6-44 Filed 1-6-06; 8:45 am]
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