[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 19 (Monday, January 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4922-4923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-845]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Proposed Collection; Comment Request Evaluation of the Impact of 
the New Conflicts of Interest Regulations on the National Institutes of 
Health's Ability To Recruit and Retain Staff

    Summary: In compliance with the requirement of Section 
3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, for opportunity 
for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the Office of 
Human Resources (OHR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will 
publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the 
office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.

Proposed Collection

    Title: Evaluation of the Impact of the Conflicts of Interest 
Regulations on the National Institutes of Health's Ability to Recruit 
and Retain Staff. Type of Information Collection Request: New 
Collection. Need and Use of Information Collection: To assess the 
impact of new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ethics 
regulations on the NIH's ability to continue to attract and recruit 
highly qualified scientific personnel. This information collection

[[Page 4923]]

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,'' FR Vol. 70, No. 22, Thursday, February 3, 2005, 5543-
5565, and Vol. 70, No. 168, Wednesday, August 31, 2005, 51559-51574) 
apply to all NIH employees and, among other things, place limits on 
certain financial holdings of the most senior NIH employees, their 
spouses, and minor children and on certain outside activities in which 
NIH staff may engage. 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 how to 
minimize the effect of the regulations on NIH's ability to recruit and 
retain staff. NIH intends to survey potential applicants for NIH 
employment from scientific organizations from which NIH has 
traditionally drawn leading scientific personnel, and those senior 
scientists and administrators who have voluntarily left NIH since 
February 2005. This will allow NIH to determine whether the regulations 
impact individuals' attitudes about employment at NIH and the 
likelihood of their joining and/or leaving the agency.
    Frequency of Response: One time. Affected Public: Individuals and 
households. Type of Respondent: Highly trained and qualified scientists 
engaged in medicine and life sciences research. The annual reporting 
burden is as follows: Estimated Number of Respondents: 500; Estimated 
Number of Responses per Respondent: One; Average Burden Hours Per 
Response: 15 minutes; and Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours 
Requested: 117 hours. The annualized cost to respondents is estimated 
at $3,850. 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.

Comments Due Date

    Comments regarding this information collection are best assured of 
having their full effect if received within 60 days of the date of this 
publication.
    For More Information or to Direct Comments: To submit comments, to 
request more information on the proposed project, or to obtain a copy 
of the data collection plans and instruments, contact Mr. Richard M. 
Taffet, Acting Director, Client Services Division; Office of Human 
Resources, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Room 
2-D234, East Jefferson Street, Bethesda, MD 20892-8502, or call the 
non-toll-free number (301) 402-6627, or e-mail your comments or 
request, including your address, to: [email protected].

    Dated: January 23, 2006.
Raynard S. Kington,
Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 06-845 Filed 1-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M