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Correspondence The Committee on Energy and Commerce W.J. "Billy" Tauzin, Chairman Tauzin, Greenwood Initiate Examination Of NIH Management and Oversight of Research
March 13, 2003 Dr. Elias Zerhouni Dear Dr. Zerhouni: Over the past five years, Congress has increased
its appropriations to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), enabling NIH to
expand its pursuit of advances in biomedical research. Between 1998 and
2002, Congress increased NIH's appropriations from $13.6 billion to $23.1
billion, an increase of $9.5 billion. During that same period of time, NIH
has increased the amount of grant awards it has given out from $9.5 billion to
$16.6 billion, an increase of $7 billion. According to an article in the
October 23, 2002 Washington Post, your message as the leader of the
nation's largest funder of biomedical research has been one of building public
and congressional confidence in the NIH- an institution poised to enjoy its
fifth consecutive year of major budget increases and whose portfolio has
recently expanded to include bioterrorism and homeland defense. The
same article also notes that you are documenting how the NIH intends to make the
most of Congress' recent budget increases. Given these significant budget increases over
the last five years, the NIH-admitted need for confidence building, and the
public interest in wise management of government resources, the Committee is
conducting an examination of NIH management and oversight of its federally
funded research. Accordingly, we request, pursuant to Rules X and
XI of the U.S. House of Representatives, that NIH provide the following by March
26, 2003: A detailed
description of how NIH oversees grantees' financial management of grant
funds, including training required of those who review this information,
steps taken in the review, and the number of full time equivalents involved.
If this description varies by institute, please identify the differences and
the rationale for those differences. A list of
all grantees receiving grants from NIH over the last two years, including
the total amount of funds provided to each grantee over the two-year period. A summary
of allegations for all 54 active grant reviews that the Office of Management
Assessment (OMA) is currently conducting. Include any notifications
NIH has received from federal or state agencies of violations of statutes or
regulations by these grantee institutions. Summaries
of OMA reports of fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement relating to grants
or individual cases of non-compliance with grant funding requirements. Federal
guidelines on how grant funds may be spent with respect to administrative
expenses. Include an explanation of what due diligence NIH performs in
overseeing use of grant funds for administrative expenses. Has NIH
identified any specific grantees who have exceeded limits on administrative
costs during the past five years (since January 1, 1998), and if so, list
the grantees, the amount of excess cost, and the year the excess cost was
incurred. Are there limits on what portion of a grant may be used for
other expenses, such as travel or construction costs, and if so, what are
they? Do individual NIH institutes have different guidelines on
administrative expenses? If so, explain the rationale for the
different guidelines. Provide a
list of the administrative costs incurred by each institute or center each
year over the last five years (since January 1, 1998), including a
categorical breakdown of how these administrative costs were spent. During one
of the Committee's investigations last year, the Committee became aware that
NIH was providing grants to the Coulston Foundation (TCF), a registered
animal research facility in Alamagordo, New Mexico that has recently
declared bankruptcy. In addition to TCF's poor financial health, the
Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of Agriculture had
cited TCF for violations of various regulations. Please provide a copy
of all files relating to TCF maintained by the grants management and program
officers who have overseen NIH grants to TCF. Include documentation of
all notifications NIH received about TCF's violations of regulations or
statutes by federal or state agencies. If you have any questions regarding this matter,
please contact Casey Hemard or Ann Washington of the Committee staff at (202)
226-2424. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, W.J. "Billy" Tauzin James C. Greenwood, Chairman cc: The Honorable John D. Dingell, Ranking
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