Minutes of the NIH Intramural Administrative Officers' Meeting
January 6, 2000
NIH Principal Administrative Officers Present:
Robert Dennis, NIMH, Chair
Ruth Ann Talley, NCI, Co-chair
Janis Mullaney, OD/OIR Liaison, Co-Chair
Rich Freed, NIAID
Marsha Hennings, NIAMS
Bonnie Cramer, NINR
Linda Adams, NHGRI (Alt)
Mary Affeldt, NIDA
Evelyn Burrell, NICHD (Alt)
Byron Mason, NIDDK Guests: Marc Horowitz, OD/OLR
Betty Fitzpatrick, NCI (Alt)
Ron Adams, NIDCR (Alt)
Brenda Sandler, NIAAA
I. Meeting of Principal Administrative Officers:
1. Office of Intramural Research (OIR) ISSUES - Ms. Janis Mullaney presented the following topics:
a) Specialty Allowances - These stipend differentials are special pays for hard-to-recruit postdoctoral fellows with a degree in a speciality category. Visiting Fellows and IRTAs can now get up to $10K in specialty allowances. This is designed to offset the difficulty in recruiting fellows. It has been requested that this be set up as a separate line item in the system. Both this and the 5% increase approved by Dr. Varmus can be done in the FPS on one or two lines, as desired. ACL and direct deposits still need to go to OFM.
b) VF/IRTA 5% increase -- Spreadsheets for VF/IRTA increases are due to OFM January 20th, and should be sent to respective FPS contacts - those who normally handle fellowship payments.
2. General Discussion - Mr. Dennis presented the following topics:
c) Management Control Document - Mr. Dennis mentioned that the reports are due this week, and can be submitted electronically as well as hard copy. Minor typos and formatting errors were also discussed. Ms. Mullaney indicated the planned addition of unsupervised minors to the workforce table and the addition of shipment of hazardous materials. She also asked the AOs to provide her with comments that would correct errors or help improve the form.
New Travel Contractor -- Tim Tosten made a presentation at the last Executive Officers meeting, reporting that World Travel Services has bought out Ober Travel and successfully competed for the NIH contract to provide travel services. However, the award process is in dispute and being resolved. ICs will not be billed for changes prior to a ticket being created in the system. Question: Must WTS be used instead of a credit card? Probably should use a credit card only for exceptional needs. Question: Will there be tickets issued without travel orders? It is possible, but it should be minimal. It was agreed that we should invite Tim Tosten to give a presentation to the IAOs.
d) Dual Compensation - OHRM has indicated that consideration of the level of compensation for those who have retired from the Commissioned Corps and would convert to other systems should consider "total compensation". Ms. Talley mentioned a checklist in use at NCI for processing such cases, and indicated that she would make it available to the AOs.
e) Compensation Policy - Sometime in February, the Office of the Secretary, DHHS will be participating in an IAG working group to discuss Government-wide compensation policies and programs. They have invited NIH Executive Officers to offer any priorities/concerns about pay and compensation so OHR can represent our needs effectively. Among the agenda issues that have been suggested are the new pay adjustments and caps, regulatory changes, new or expanded leave policies, and lump-sum leave. However, we can go beyond the agenda to a broader focus, e.g., alternate compensation strategies, needed pay flexibilities, known problems with existing authorities, demonstration projects, special pay authorities. In turn, AOs may want to provide comments to their EOs.
f) Special Volunteers -OHRM asked that ICs review all Special Volunteer situations to ensure that each special volunteer is covered by a written agreement that explicitly states the nature of the work the individual will perform. It was determined that the form 590 did not capture the information and that it requires supplementation to ensure parents' consent. Also, the list of hazardous materials will be extended by ODDIR. NHLBI has a model memorandum used for Principal Investigators to inform parents of the full circumstances of dependents' assignments, and they will share it with the other ICs. (Follow-up: This was received and e-mailed to all IAOs)
g) Shipment of Hazardous Materials -- Debbie Wilson, of the Division of Safety, has asked that each IC designate a single contact person to be responsible for getting shippers of hazardous materials trained and certified, ensuring that only certified employees do such packing and shipping, and notifying DS of those whose names should be given to FedEx to allow for shipments.
I. Open Meeting
NIH Loan Repayment Program - Marc Horowitz, OD/LRP Mr. Horowitz gave a presentation on the background of the LRP and recent changes, as well as a demonstration of the LRP web page. He addressed issues that have commonly been raised as well and recent enhancements.
a) The Clinical LRP. It requires that the individual have Clinical Center credentialing, a full 3-year commitment in an FTE, and documentation that they are "disadvantaged" That is, that the applicant had loans indicating need or hardship during schooling, or show that they were from an environment that inhibited schooling - e.g., Health Professions Student Loans [HPSL] Loans for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds Loans for Individuals with Exceptional Financial Need (EFN) [any loan with EFN in its title]
b) General provisions. Reviews for approval of LRP applications are based on science scores, not on the amount of loans. All funding for the program is specifically appropriated for this purpose and not at the expense of IC, such as a tap. There are two dollar pools - one for AIDS and one for non-AIDS; both from the OD. NIH generates about 48 applications annually.
c) The General LRP. The General LRP requires an initial 3-year appointment and contract. An approved contract will provide from $5,000 to $35,000 per year, and is "tax neutral" in that NIH pays the taxes. He has met with the IC Training Directors, and as of now, it is agreed that since all tenure-track recruits have already undergone a critical scientific review, all will quickly qualify for the General LRP, and all who are accepted into ACGME-accepted programs will already qualify for the General LRP, and can submit a short-form application for administrative review only. He currently expects about 25 such applications. NHLBI includes a statement in their recruitment ads that "You may qualify for the LRP.....". The allocation of slots is for the General LRP only
d) The LRP web page address is <http://lrp.info.nih.gov> It allows all employees and recruits to review the eligibility criteria for the various programs, to download all application forms, and once approved for the program, to view their personal portfolio of past and scheduled payments. In addition, the Accomplishments report allows IC coordinators to review charts of IC participants, the IC's track record of applications and approved contracts.
e) He indicated he wants to improve getting information about the program to supervisors in relation to recruitments. Development of the web page and using the DDIR Bulletin Board has helped. He is also available to make presentations to Lab/Branch Chiefs, and has had good results from those presentations already made (NCI, NINDS, NHLBI, and NIAID), and has others scheduled.
DISTRIBUTION:
Administrative Officers (For distribution to staff members)
Scientific Directors
Executive Officers