Alleged Misuse of NIH Grants Warrants Greater Scrutiny, Committee Leaders Say

HHS-OIG Request 2

WASHINGTON - House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have asked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) inspector general to examine the alleged misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars at some of America's top universities.

In the past 17 months, the Justice Department has reached large settlements with Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, the Mayo Clinic and others over claims that they misspent federal grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

"The alleged misuse of NIH grant funds raises serious public policy concerns of waste, effectiveness, and integrity of taxpayer-supported research programs," Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield, R-Ky., wrote in a letter this week.

The committee has asked HHS to:

• Determine whether there are widespread disparities between the numbers of research activities grantees projected to obtain taxpayer funds from the NIH and the numbers of research activities actually performed with these funds;
• Audit some of the largest NIH clinical research grants to review the number of research activities each respective institution projected to the NIH and what research activities these institutions actually performed;
• Look for discrepancies such as false statements, improper accounting, improper charges, and even double-billing of the Medicaid program for in-patient fees charges; and
• Review new allegations the committee has received involving NIH grant money used by the University of California at Davis to compensate graduate research assistants at rates approaching six times the salary of more experienced, post-doctoral researchers.

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