The SRA Symposium - College of Medicine

lowed holdings capped at $15,000.00. (70 FR 22 (2005), at 5550 - 55510.) But even this exception,
the HHS Federal Register Notice cautioned, might violate the provisions of the criminal conflict of
interest statute at 18 U.S.C. §208.
Mandatory divestitures by NIH employees had to come within 90 days—180 days on showing of
“good cause.” Certificates of financial divestiture could provide deferred tax consequences under
subpart J of 5 C.F.R. part 2634—but only if the employee delayed divestiture until having complied
with “the requisite procedures.” (70 FR 22 (2005), at 5551.)
Under the February 2005 Notice and the provisions of 5 C.F.R. §5501.111, HHS “depart[ed] from
executive branch uniformity” such that senior NIH employees “and others with official responsibility
for matters affecting donor organizations” were prohibited from accepting certain awards
from outside sources—and in any case awards in excess of $200.00. (70 FR 22 (2005), at 5552.)
The Notice allowed the NIH Director to grant a written exception for acceptance of a Nobel Prize
in Physiology or Medicine or a Lasker Medical Research Award because “the award will further an
agency interest because it confers and exceptionally high honor * * *.” (70 FR 22 (2005), at 5553.)
HHS amendments at of 5 C.F.R. §5501.112 generally barred any NIH employee who have accepted
an award within a year otherwise permitted under of 5 C.F.R. §2635.204(d) or §5501.111 from
participating in any matter in which the award donor was involved. (70 FR 22 (2005), at 5554.)
3. The New-est Predicate: August 31, 2005
In the wake of the 2003 dawn attack, the 2004 Congressional hand-wringing and public thrashings
and the Februry 2005 first round of draconian regulations, NIH employees were promised on August
26, 2005, that the new and Final Rule would be posted on the agency website by the next day.
HHS missed its self-imposed deadline. (To be wholly accurate, the deadline had been announced
by NIH management.)
But on Wednesday, August 31, 2005, the agency published its Final Rule at 70 FR 168, at 51559
– 51574. (70 FR 168 (2005)).
Some of the changes from the February 3, 2005, rules follow.
Papers
The regulations at 5 C.F.R. §5501.101(c) provided that terms used in part 5501 were—unless specifically
defined otherwise—to be defined and understood consistently with the meanings set out
in parts 2635 and 2640 of the regulation. Terms included in that listing include “holdings,” “pension
plan,” and “sector mutual funds.” (70 FR 168 (2005), at 51560.)
Changes in the regulations at 5 C.F.R. §5501.102, HHS said, clarified a prior ambiguity in the
definition of an “employee” to focus on “the regularly assigned duties and responsibilities of an
individual employee rather than that person’s location within the organization.” (70 FR 168 (2005),
at 51560.)
The amendments at 5 C.F.R. §5501.106 revised the exception to the FDA prohibited outside activity
rule at §5501.106(c)(3). The Notice continued:
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