National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Contraception and Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Contraception and Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: The Center for Population Research of the National Institute

of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institutes

of Health (NIH), announces the availability of educational loan

repayment under the NICHD Contraception and Infertility Research Loan

Repayment Program (CIR-LRP or the Program). The CIR-LRP, which is

authorized by Section 487B of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (42

U.S.C. 288-2) as added by the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Pub. L.

103-43). provides for the repayment of the educational loan debt of

qualified health professionals (including graduate students) who agree

to commit to a period of obligated service of not less than two years

conducting research with respect to contraception and/or infertility.

The CIR-LRP will pay up to $20,000 of the principal and interest of

such individual's educational loans for each year of obligated service.

In addition to the loan repayments, the CIR-LRP will pay participants

an amount equal to 39 percent of the total amount of the loan

repayments made for the taxable year in order to provide reimbursement

for tax liability caused by the Program's loan repayments. The purpose

of the CIR-LRP is the recruitment and retention of highly qualified

health professionals conducting contraception and/or infertility

research. Through this notice, the NICHD, NIH, announces changes in the

eligibility criteria for participation in the CIR-LRP, and invites

health professionals who meet the prescribed eligibility criteria to

apply.

DATES: Interested persons who meet the eligibility requirements may

request information about the CIR-LRP beginning on March 1, 1998.

Applications for participation in the CIR-LRP can be submitted at any

time after April 1, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Information regarding the CIR-LRP may be obtained by

contacting: Dr. Louis V. DePaolo, Coordinator, Contraception and

Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program, Center for Population

Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development,

NIH, Building 61E, Rm. 8B01, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7510 (Voice: 301/

496-6515; FAX: 301/496-0692; E-Mail: [email protected]).

Applications can be submitted at any time after April 1, 1998 to:

Contraception and Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program, Center

for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development, NIH, Building 61E, Rm. 8B01, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-

7510. For courier deliveries, the following address should be used:

Contraception and Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program, Center

for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human

Development, NIH, 6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 8B01, Rockville,

Maryland 20851.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (Pub. L.

103-43) was enacted on June 10, 1993, adding section 487B of the PHS

Act (42 U.S.C. 288-2). Section 487B authorizes the Secretary of Health

and Human Services in consultation with the Director of NICHD to

establish a program of entering into contracts with qualified

professionals under which such health professionals agree to conduct

contraception and/or infertility research in consideration of the

Federal Government agreeing to repay, for each year of such service,

not more than $20,000 of the principal and interest of their

outstanding graduate and/or undergraduate educational loans. The

Secretary, in consultation with the Director of NICHD, has established

a program to provide such loan repayments. This program is known as

[[Page 20209]]

the Contraception and Infertility Research Loan Repayment Program (CIR-

LRP). In return for these loan repayments, applicants must agree to

participate in contraception and/or infertility research for a period

of obligated service of not less than two years. Selected applicants

become participants in the CIR-LRP only upon the signing of a written

contract by the Director, NICHD, the Secretary's designate.

On March 24, 1997, the NICHD, NIH published a notice in the Federal

Register announcing the availability of educational loan repayment

under the CIR-LRP (62 FR 13892). In that notice, the NICHD, NIH

announced the initial implementation of the program would be limited to

employees of the three NICHD Contraception Research Centers and two

NICHD Infertility Research Centers due to limited availability of

funds. The NICHD, NIH is modifying that original eligibility criteria

to read as follows:

Eligibility Criteria

Qualified health and allied health professionals including, but not

limited to, physicians, Ph.D.-level scientists, nurses and physician

assistants, as well as graduate students and postgraduate research

fellows training in the health professions are eligible to apply

provided that they will be or are engaged, at the time of participation

in the CIR-LRP, in employment/training at an NICHD intramural

laboratory or one of the following NICHD-supported extramural sites:

(1) A Cooperative Specialized Contraception or Infertility Research

Center; (2) a Cooperative Specialized Research Center in Reproduction

Research; (3) a Women's Reproductive Health Research Career Development

Center; or (4) a Reproductive Medicine Unit identified as a clinical

site for the National Cooperative Reproductive Medicine Network. As

such, applicants will be expected to participate in research relating

to infertility and/or contraception. For purposes of the CIR-LRP,

infertility research is defined as research whose long-range objective

is to evaluate, treat or ameliorate conditions which result in the

failure of couples to either conceive or bear young, and contraception

development is defined as research whose ultimate goal is to provide

new or improved methods of preventing pregnancy.

In order to be considered for selection into the CIR-LRP, an

applicant meeting the above eligibility requirements must submit a

completed and signed application form. In addition, the individual

must: (1) Sign and submit a CIR-LRP contract by which he/she agrees to

serve the obligated minimum period of two years conducting

contraception or infertility research at an NICHD intramural laboratory

or an eligible NICHD-supported extramural site approved by the

Director, NICHD; (2) have completely satisfied any other service

obligation for health professional service which is owed under an

agreement with the Federal Government, State Government or other entity

prior to beginning the period of service under the CIR-LRP, and (3)

certify that he/she is not delinquent on any amounts which are owed to

the Federal Government.

Participants must be U.S. citizens, nationals or permanent

residents. Individuals who are fulfilling internship, residency or

other advanced primary-care training requirements are not eligible to

participate.

Applicaiton Procedure and Selection Process

Submission of applications for participation in the CIR-LRP by

eligible individuals will be made to NICHD on behalf of the applicant

by the extramural grantee institution or the NICHD for intramural

employees/affiliates. The application will include: (1) Institutional

assurance of future employment/affiliation with the NICHD intramural

laboratory or eligible NICHD-supported extramural site (e.g., contract

between individual and institution) of not less than two years from the

anticipated effective date of the CIR-LRP contract between the

individual and NICHD; (2) a description of the applicant's proposed

role in the scientific research on contraception and/or infertility

being conducted in the NICHD intramural laboratory or eligible NICHD-

supported extramural site, and (3) a brief statement addressing the

applicant's long-range career plan for engaging in contraception or

infertility research. The application will be reviewed by the CIR-LRP

Panel (Panel), chaired by the Deputy Director, NICHD, and comprised of

representatives of the NICHD's Office of Administrative Management, the

respective Program Officers of the Center for Population Research, and

special consultants as required. The Panel will review and select

applications for approval based upon the credentials of the applicant

and other criteria the Secretary deems appropriate such as the

scientific merit of the research and the nature of the applicant's

career plan focus. Priority will be given to applicants with a clear

career focus in the specialized areas of contraception and/or

infertility research over those engaging in general reproductive

sciences research. In addition to this review, the CIR-LRP will

determine whether the educational loan debt qualifies for loan

repayment assistance under this Program (see below). All selections are

subject to final approval by the Director, NICHD. The NICHD will notify

the applicant of the outcome of the review. It is anticipated that the

selection process will take approximately six to eight weeks following

receipt of the application.

Program Administration

The applicant is required to submit: (1) a completed and signed

CIR-LRP contract, and (2) a copy of an institutional assurance of

employment/affiliation with an NICHD intramural laboratory or eligible

NICHD-supported extramural site for no less than a two-year period from

the anticipated effective date of the CIR-LRP contract. Neither the

applicant nor the Federal Government is bound by this contract until:

(1) the applicant has submitted and had approved by the Director,

NICHD, a complete, accurate application as required by this program

announcement, (2) the contract is signed by the Director, NICHD, and

(3) authorized funds are available to the NICHD to carry out the

contract.

The effective date of the contract will be the date it is signed by

the Director or the date employment/training begins at the NICHD

intramural laboratory or eligible NICHD-supported extramural site,

whichever is later. Initial contracts will be executed to cover a two-

year service period. Following conclusion of this initial contract,

participants may be considered for one-year renewal contracts, subject

to approval of the Panel, for up to two additional years. Graduate

students must maintain full-time enrollment (as determined by the

academic institution of study), and be in good academic standing (as

determined by the academic institution of study) while participating in

the CIR-LRP.

Program Benefits for Participants

The CIR-LRP will pay up to $20,000 of the principal and interest of

a participant's preexisting, nondelinquent qualified (see below)

educational (graduate and/or undergraduate) loan balance for each year

of obligated service that is fulfilled by the applicant.

The CIR-LRP's payments to lenders on behalf of the participants

represent taxable income to the participant. The CIR-LRP reports each

year to the Internal Revenue Service the payments it makes to all

participants. Section 338B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.

2541-1), incorporated by reference in section 487B, provides,

[[Page 20210]]

however, that in addition to the loan payments made to lenders, the

CIR-LRP will also pay to the participants an amount equal to 39 percent

of the total amount of the loan repayments made for the taxable year.

Participants should note that this payment is also considered taxable

income by the Internal Revenue Service and many State and local taxing

authorities.

The CIR-LRP will make quarterly payments to the lenders. Payment is

made by a U.S. Treasury check shortly after the end of each full

quarter of satisfactory service. Since the first payment to lenders

will not be made until after the end of the first quarter of obligated

service, participants should continue to make monthly loan payments for

the first three months of his/her service to avoid defaulting on his/

her loans and affecting his/her credit ratings.

Loan Documentation and Qualification

A copy of the promissory note for each outstanding loan must be

submitted with the application. (This usually may be obtained upon

request to the lenders.) the CIR-LRP will determine if the loans were

reasonably necessary to meet the costs of education, in terms of each

individual loan and in terms of each applicant's total educational loan

debts. Loans qualifying for repayment include preexisting loans

obtained by the participant for:

(1) Undergraduate and graduate tuition expenses;

(2) All other reasonable educational expenses including fees,

books, supplies, educational equipment and materials required by the

school, and laboratory expenses; and

(3) Reasonable living expenses including the costs of room and

board, transportation, commuting and other costs incurred during an

individual's attendance at school as determined by the Secretary.

Applicants must complete a lender verification form for each loan.

The most current balance of each loan--principal plus interest plus

loan expenses (such as the required insurance premiums on the unpaid

balances of some loans)--should be determined as accurately as possible

and reported by the applicant on each form. This enables the CIR-LRP to

reserve adequate funds for loan repayments under the contract should

the applicant become a CIR-LRP participant. The CIR-LRP will send the

loan verification forms to each lender for verification. If the CIR-LRP

is unable to obtain adequate loan verification from the lender, the

applicant may be asked to submit other document, such as copies of the

original loan application, to document that the loan (or a stated

portion of the loan) was obtained for the education purposes stated

previously.

Financial obligations not qualifying for repayment include:

(1) Physician Shortage Area Scholarship Program;

(2) Public Health Service and National Health Service Corps

Scholarship Programs;

(3) Armed Forces (Army, Navy or Air Force) Health Professions

Scholarship Programs;

(4) Indian Health Service Scholarship Program;

(5) National Research Service Award Program;

(6) Loans for which contemporaneous documentation is not available;

(7) Loans or ``scholarship'' arrangements which impose financial

obligations upon the applicant if service is not performed;

(8) Loans without a promissory note made when the loan was given;

(9) Loans that are delinquent, defaulted, or in any manner not in a

current payment status as determined by the lender;

(10) Loans, or those parts of loans, obtained for educational or

living expenses while at school, which exceed the ``reasonable'' level,

as determined by a review of the school's standard school budget or

additional contemporaneous documentation for the year in which the loan

was made, as determined by the CIR-LRP;

(11) Loans which have been paid in full;

(12) Loans not obtained from a Government entity or commercial or

other charter lending institution, such as loans from friends and

relatives or other private individuals;

(13) Loans for graduate studies obtained following entry into the

CIR-LRP.

Breach of the Loan Repayment Agreement

In the event that the participant fails to begin or complete the

two-year minimum period of obligatory participation in contraception or

infertility research at an NICHD intramural laboratory or eligible

NICHD-supported extramural site as set forth in the contract, and

payments have been rendered to the lenders on behalf of the individual,

he/she is in breach of the contractual agreement, and is liable to pay

monetary damages to the United States Government. Participants who

leave during the first year of the initial contract are liable for

amounts already paid by the Program plus an amount equal to $1,000

multiplied by the number of months of the original obligation.

Participants who leave during the second year of the contract are

liable for (a) the total of the amounts the Program paid the lenders,

plus (b) an ``unserved obligation penalty'' of $1,000 for each month

unserved. If a participant completed the two-year minimum obligatory

period, but cannot complete additional obligatory periods, no

obligation penalties will be levied, but the participant will owe the

United States for any payments the CIR-LRP made to the lenders for

which service by the participant was not performed unless, in the

opinion of the CIR-LRP Panel, they continue to participate in

contraception and/or infertility research during the additional

obligatory periods. If a participant must terminate employment/training

at an NICHD intramural laboratory of NICHD-supported extramural site

for reasons beyond his/her control, and transfers to a site other than

an NICHD intramural laboratory or eligible NICHD-supported extramural

site, payments will cease upon transfer. He/she may not be liable for

monetary damages as described above, if, in the judgement of the CIR-

LRP Panel, he/she continues to participate in contraception and/or

infertility research. However, if he/she transfers to another NICHD

intramural laboratory or eligible NICHD-supported extramural site and

participates in contraception and/or infertility research with the

approval of the Director, NICHD, the contract will be amended and the

participant will still be considered bound by the ongoing contract

obligations, and the lenders will continue to receive payments on

behalf of the participant according to schedule.

Additional Program Information

This Program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order

12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

This Program is subject to OMB clearance under the requirements of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. A Request for OMB Review and

Approval of information collection associated with the Program is being

prepared by the NIH and will be sent to OMB for review and approval

prior to implementation of the CIR-LRP.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for the CIR-

LRP is 93.209.

[[Page 20211]]

Dated: April 7, 1998.

Ruth L. Kirschstein,

Deputy Director, NIH.

[FR Doc. 98-10872 Filed 4-22-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4140-01-M