Service Fellowships

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

42 CFR Part 61

RIN 0991-AA96

Service Fellowships

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HHS.

ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is amending

the regulations governing service fellowships by revising the current

authority citation, extending the time limitation on initial

appointments from 2 years to 5 years, permitting extensions of

appointments for up to 5 years rather than year-to-year, and deleting

obsolete references to the Surgeon General. These changes are being

made to provide HHS health agencies with greater flexibility to recruit

and retain talented scientists and to update obsolete references.

DATES: Effective Date: February 27, 1998. Comment Date: The Secretary

is requesting written comments on this interim final rule which must be

received on or before April 28, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the interim final rule may be sent to

Jerry Moore, NIH Regulations Officer, National Institutes of Health, 31

CENTER DR MSC 2075, BETHESDA, MD 20892-2075. Comments may also be sent

electronically by facsimile (301-402-0169) or by e-mail

([email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Moore at the address above or by

telephone (301) 496-4607; (not a toll-free number). For information

with regard to service fellowships contact Edie Bishop, Office of Human

Resource Management, National Institutes of Health, 31 CENTER DR MSC

0424, BETHESDA, MD 20892-0424, telephone (301) 402-9484 (not a toll-

free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 207(g) of the Public Health Service

Act, as amended, authorizes the Secretary to designate individual

scientists, other than Commissioned Officers of the Public Health

Service (PHS), to receive fellowships; to be appointed for duty with

the Service and compensated without regard to the civil service

classification laws; to hold their fellowships under conditions

prescribed therein; and to be assigned for studies or investigations

either in the United States or foreign countries during the terms of

their fellowships.

Consistent with the legislative intent of the PHS Act, Sec. 61.32

of the implementing regulations codified at 42 CFR Part 61, states that

service fellowships ``may be provided to secure the services of

talented scientists for a period of limited duration for health-related

research, studies, and investigations where the nature of the work or

the character of the individual's services render customary employing

methods impracticable or less effective.''

Section 61.38 currently restricts initial fellowship appointments

to a period not to exceed two years, with extensions on a year-to-year

basis. HHS is amending Sec. 61.38 of the service fellowship regulations

to make time limitations more flexible. Specifically, HHS is extending

the current time limitation on initial appointments from 2 to 5 years,

and revising the requirements with respect to extensions to permit

extensions for up to 5 years rather than year-to-year. These changes

are being made to provide HHS health agencies with greater flexibility

to recruit and retain their scientists. It is anticipated that the

increased flexibility will provide for simplified recruitment and

classification. Employment will continue to be linked to scientific

excellence as determined by agency peer review processes.

The authority citation and the references to the Surgeon General in

Sec. 61.33, Sec. 61.34, Sec. 62.35, Sec. 61.36, Sec. 61.37, and

Sec. 61.38 are being revised to reflect that the authority for the

service fellowships are vested in the Secretary, Sec. 61.30 is amended

to remove the paragraph designations and the definition for the term

``Surgeon General'' and to add the definition for the term

``Secretary,'' and Sec. 61.34 is amended to remove clause (b) and

redesignate clause (c) as (b) to reflect current policy.

Notice and public comment and delayed effective date have been

waived for these amendments because it has been found for good cause in

accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) that notice and comment are

``impracticable, unnecessary or contrary to the public interest.''

Notice and comment are unnecessary and contrary to the public interest

because the changes in the duration of service fellowship appointments

will not in any way adversely affect service fellowship recipients or

others, and the other changes are not substantive or remove obsolete

requirements regarding the qualifications of applicants. Extending the

permissible duration of the fellowships will make it possible for the

Public Health Service to better fulfill the purpose of encouraging and

promoting research through the fellowships and provide a broader range

of research options for the fellows. For the same reasons, this

regulation is effective immediately. This will enable both the Public

Health Service and the service fellows to benefit promptly from

appointments of longer duration. Applicants for fellowships or

recipients do not need any lead time to prepare for the changes because

all application requirements and conditions of the

[[Page 9950]]

appointment remain the same. The only substantive change is that the

permissible duration of the appointment is extended.

Although the amendments are published as an interim final rule and

are effective immediately, the Secretary requests comments on the

regulations. The Secretary will consider all comments and thereafter

will promptly publish a final rule.

The following statements are provided for public information.

Executive Order No. 12866

Executive Order No. 12866, Regulatory Planning and Review, requires

that all regulatory actions reflect consideration of the costs and

benefits they generate, and that they meet certain standards, such as

avoiding the imposition of unnecessary burdens on the affected public.

If an action is deemed to fall within the scope of the definition of

the term ``significant regulatory action'' contained in Sec. 3(f) of

the Order, a pre-publication review by the Office of Management and

Budget's (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is

necessary. This interim final rule was reported to OIRA, and it was

deemed not to be a significant regulatory action.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

The Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. chapter 6)

requires that regulatory actions be analyzed to determine whether they

will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of

small entities. The Secretary certifies that this interim final rule

will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of

small entities and, therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis, as

defined under the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 is not required.

This rule applies to individuals who apply for and may receive service

fellowships. The rule does not apply or affect ``small entities'' as

that term is defined in 5 U.S.C. 601.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This interim final rule does not contain any information collection

requirements that are subject to OMB approval under the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35).

List of Subjects in 42 CFR Part 61

Fellowships.

Approved: November 6, 1997.

Harold Varmus,

Director, National Institutes of Health.

Dated: February 12, 1998.

Donna Shalala,

Secretary.

Accordingly, subpart B of part 61 of title 42 of the Code of

Federal Regulations is amended to read as set forth below.

PART 61--FELLOWSHIPS

Subpart B--Service Fellowships

1. The authority citation to subpart B is revised to read as

follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 209, 210, 216.

2. Section 61.30 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 61.30 Definitions.

As used in this part:

Continental United States does not include Hawaii or Alaska.

Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services and any

other officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human

Services to whom the authority involved may be delegated.

Service Fellowship is one which requires the performance of

services, either full or part time, for the Public Health Service.

3. Sections 61.33, 61.34, 61.35, and 61.36 are revised to read as

follows:

Sec. 61.33 Establishment of service fellowships.

All service fellowships shall be established by the Secretary. In

establishing a service fellowship, or a series of service fellowships,

the Secretary shall prescribe in writing the conditions (in addition to

those provided in the regulations in this part) under which service

fellows will be appointed and will hold their fellowships.

Sec. 61.34 Qualifications.

Scholastic and other qualifications shall be prescribed by the

Secretary for each service fellowship, or series of service

fellowships. Each individual appointed to a service fellowship shall:

(a) Have presented satisfactory evidence of general suitability,

including professional and personal fitness; and

(b) Possess any other qualifications as reasonably may be

prescribed.

Sec. 61.35 Method of application.

Application for a service fellowship shall be made in accordance

with procedures established by the Secretary.

Sec. 61.36 Selection and appointment of service fellows.

The Secretary shall:

(a) Prescribe a suitable professional and personal fitness review

and an examination of the applicant's qualifications;

(b) Designate in writing persons to receive service fellowships;

and

(c) Establish procedures for the appointment of service fellows.

3a. Section 61.37a is amended by redesignating the undesignated

paragraph following paragraph (b)(3) as paragraph (b)(4), and revising

paragraphs (a), (b) introductory text, and newly designated (b)(4) to

read as follows:

Sec. 61.37 Stipends, allowances, and benefits.

(a) Stipends. Service fellows shall be entitled to such stipend as

is authorized by the Secretary for each service fellowship or series of

service fellowships.

(b) Travel and transportation allowances. Under conditions

prescribed by the Secretary, an individual appointed as a service

fellow may be authorized personal travel allowances or transportation

and per diem, travel allowances or transportation for his or her

immediate family, and transportation of household goods and personal

effects, in conjunction with travel authorized by the Secretary.

* * * * *

(4) A service fellow shall be entitled to travel allowances or

transportation and per diem while traveling on official business away

from his or her permanent duty station during the term of the

fellowship. Except as otherwise provided herein, a service fellow shall

be entitled to travel and transportation allowances authorized in this

part at the same rates as may be authorized by law and regulations for

other civilian employees of the Public Health Service. If a service

fellow dies during the term of a fellowship, and the place of residence

that was left by the service fellow to accept the fellowship was

outside the continental United States, the payment of expenses of

preparing the remains for burial and transporting them to the place of

residence for interment may be authorized. In the case of deceased

service fellows whose place of residence was within the continental

United States, payment of the expenses of preparing the remains and

transporting them to the place of residence for interment may be

authorized as provided for other civilian employees of the Public

Health Service.

* * * * *

[[Page 9951]]

4. Section 61.38 is revised to read as follows:

Sec. 61.38 Duration of service fellowships.

Initial appointments to service fellowships may be made for varying

periods not in excess of 5 years. Such an appointment may be extended

for varying periods not in excess of 5 years for each period in

accordance with procedures and requirements established by the

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-4837 Filed 2-26-98; 8:45 am]

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