National Institutes of Health Town Hall Meeting on Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Tuition, Fees and Health Insurance Policies, 61464-61465 [05-21134]
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 2005 / Notices
Dated: October 14, 2005.
Anthony M. Coelho, Jr.,
Acting Director, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 05–21131 Filed 10–21–05; 8:45 am]
Dated: October 14, 2005.
Anthony M. Coelho, Jr.,
Acting Director, Office of Federal Advisory
Committee Policy.
[FR Doc. 05–21132 Filed 10–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–M
BILLING CODE 4140–01–M
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences; Notice of Closed
Meeting
National Institutes of Health Town Hall
Meeting on Ruth L. Kirschstein
National Research Service Award
(NRSA) Tuition, Fees and Health
Insurance Policies
Pursuant to section 10(d) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act, as
amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice
is hereby given of the following
meeting.
The meeting will be closed to the
public in accordance with the
provisions set forth in sections
552b(c)(4) and 552b(c)(6), Title 5 U.S.C.,
as amended. The grant applications and
the discussions could disclose
confidential trade secrets or commercial
property such as patentable material,
and personal information concerning
individuals associated with the grant
applications, the disclosure of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy.
Name of Committee: National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences Special
Emphasis Panel Review of Institutional
National Research Service Award (T32) and
NRSA Short-Term Research Training (T35)
Date: November 15, 2005
Time: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Agenda: To review and evaluate grant
applications.
Place: Nat. Inst. of Environmental Health
Sciences, Building 101, Rodbell Auditorium,
111 T. W. Alexander Drive, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27709, (Telephone
Conference Call).
Contact Person: Leroy Worth, PhD,
Scientific Review Administrator, Scientific
Review Branch, Division of Extramural
Research and Training, Nat. Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, P.O. Box
12233, MD EC–30/Room 3171, Research
Triangle Park, NC 27709, 919/541–0670,
worth@niehs.nih.gov.
(Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance
Program Nos. 90.115, Biometry and Risk
Estimation-Health Risks from Environmental
Exposures; 93.142, NIEHS Hazardous Waste
Worker Health and Safety Training; 93.143,
NIEHS Superfund Hazardous SubstancesBasic Research and Education; 93.894,
Resources and Manpower Development in
the Environmental Health Sciences; 93.113,
Biological Response in Environmental Health
Hazards; 93.114, Applied Toxicological
Research and Testing; National Institutes of
Health, HHS)
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:19 Oct 21, 2005
Jkt 208001
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is
to announce that the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) will hold a Town Hall
meeting to hear comments and insights
concerning possible revisions to certain
fiscal policies that govern the Ruth L.
Kirschstein National Research Service
Awards (NRSA), which comprise
institutional training grants (T32 and
T34s) and individual fellowships (F30,
F31, F32, F33). The meeting which is
open to the public will focus primarily
on the funding of educational costs such
as tuition, fees and health insurance
provided through institutional training
grants. The meeting will be held
November 30, 2005 in the Natcher
Conference Center, Room E1/E2 on the
NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
Background: NRSA programs
currently support over 17,000
predoctoral and postdoctoral research
training positions mostly in the nation’s
academic laboratories. While the budget
for the NRSA programs grew smartly
during the five years in which the
overall appropriation for the NIH was
doubled, since fiscal 2003, the last of
the growth years, the appropriation for
NRSA training programs has grown
rather modestly. Given this reality, the
NIH must re-examine aspects of its
NRSA policies that may not be
sustainable in a period of limited budget
expansion.
The largest of the NRSA programs
funds institutional training grants that
use the T32 mechanism to support both
pre- and post-doctoral research training.
Currently, the direct cost funding of
these programs is segmented into four
categories: stipend, tuition/fees/health
insurance (referred to collectively as
tuition), travel, and training related
expenses. The funding levels for three of
these (stipend, travel, and training
related expenses) are stipulated and
controlled by NIH, although each can be
adjusted as fiscal circumstances and
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
program needs evolve. The funding for
tuition, on the other hand, is not fully
controlled by NIH; the funding for
tuition is governed by a formula tied to
the amount each institution requests for
this expense. The formula provides for
each T32 trainee the sum of $3,000 plus
sixty percent of the requested tuition in
excess of $3,000. This formula is used
to determine the tuition level provided
via each competing grant; that level,
once established for a given competing
grant, is used for the subsequent noncompeting renewal awards during the
project period. This formula has been
employed since fiscal 1996 and has
been modified once.
During the five year growth period,
the increased funding devoted to NRSA
activities was used for meaningful, and
long overdue, trainee stipend increases
and for covering some of the escalating
requests in the tuition category of
training grants. However, in fiscal 2004
and 2005, when there was limited
NRSA budget growth, the requests and
outlays for tuition continued to rise
substantially. Barring other adjustments,
the continuation of this trend in tuition
growth will result in a significant
annual decrease in the number of NRSA
trainee positions, and to fewer programs
supported by T32 training grants. Since
these outcomes could have a substantial
disruptive effect on biomedical research
training, NIH has frozen the tuition
expenses on competing renewals of T32
awards in fiscal 2006. (See https://
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/
NOT-OD–05–059.html) Moreover, NIH
training officials have decided to study
various options for handling the funding
of trainee tuition in the future. The goal
of this effort is to find an approach that
equips the agency both to adjust to
budgetary challenges and to continue to
provide appropriate support to
institutions to help defray the
educational costs of NRSA trainees.
This town hall meeting is being held to
gather the views of the training
community on this issue.
Among the options that will be
studied are the following:
1. The current tuition formula could
be applied in conjunction with a ceiling;
the funds provided would be the
amount dictated by the currently-used
formula or the amount dictated by the
ceiling, whichever is less. The
magnitude of the ceiling would be based
on the fiscal resources available as well
as on applicable data. For the sake of
discussion, those offering comments
may assume the ceiling could be in the
range of $16,000 to $18,000.
2. A fixed allowance could be
provided for tuition; the same allowance
per trainee would be provided to each
E:\FR\FM\24OCN1.SGM
24OCN1
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 204 / Monday, October 24, 2005 / Notices
grantee institution. This approach is
employed by the National Science
Foundation for its graduate research
fellowship program. For the sake of
discussion, those offering comments
may assume the allowance could be in
the range of $16,000 to $18,000. The
allowance could be adjusted
periodically by the NIH as fiscal
circumstances warranted.
3. The current tuition formula could
be retained without modification. Those
offering comments may assume that
under this option the number of NRSA
trainees and funded training grant
programs will likely experience a series
of year-to-year decreases as long as the
current fiscal patterns prevail.
Participation: Those who wish to
attend the Town Hall meeting are
invited to submit a brief statement, not
to exceed two pages, summarizing views
and experiences relevant to the topic of
the meeting. Some of those submitting
statements will be asked to make brief
oral presentations at the meeting. In
selecting those to make presentations
and in allocating time, the organizers
hope to ensure that a full range of
opinions is heard and that all parts of
the NRSA constituency are represented.
Those not asked to present will be
welcome at the meeting and will be
given a brief opportunity to contribute
during two ‘‘open mike’’ sessions.
Individuals should submit their
statements along with their name,
affiliation, and contact information to
NRSATownHall@mail.nih.gov by
November 4, 2005. Individuals chosen
to make presentations at the Town Hall
meeting will be notified on or around
November 14, 2005. Those unable to
attend but who wish to provide
statements are welcome to do so. All
statements will be considered by NIH
staff. Those who do not submit
statements but wish to observe the
meeting will be admitted on a spaceavailable basis. An NIH official will
present background information on
NRSA tuition support at the outset of
the meeting.
All individuals who wish to attend
the meeting should register through the
Town Hall meeting’s Web site at
https://pub.nigms.nih.gov/nrsameeting,
available on or about October 24, 2005.
The detailed schedule for the meeting,
when completed, will be posted on this
Web site along with any meeting
updates. Participants are responsible for
their own expenses associated with
participating in this meeting, such as for
travel.
Inquiries: Questions concerning this
notice should be directed to: Dr. Warren
Jones, National Institute of General
Medical Sciences, National Institutes of
VerDate Aug<31>2005
15:19 Oct 21, 2005
Jkt 208001
Health, 301–594–3827,
jonesw@nigms.nih.gov.
Dated: October 13, 2005.
Norka Ruiz Bravo,
Deputy Director for Extramural Research,
National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 05–21134 Filed 10–21–05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS–2005–0041]
Notice of Meeting of Homeland
Security Science and Technology
Advisory Committee
Office of Studies and Analysis,
Science and Technology Directorate,
DHS.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Homeland Security
Science and Technology Advisory
Committee (HSSTAC) will meet at 3811
N. Fairfax Drive, 6th Floor Conference
Room, Arlington, Virginia 22209, in
closed session on November 8, 2005,
from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and from 4 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m. in open session.
DATE: The meeting date is November 8,
2005.
ADDRESSES: If you wish to submit
comments, you must do so by November
4, 2005. Comments must be identified
by DHS–2005–0041 and may be
submitted by one of the following
methods:
• Federal Partner EDOCKET Web
Site: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow
instructions for submitting comments
on the Web site.
• E-mail: HSSTAC@dhs.gov. Include
docket number in the subject line of the
message.
• Fax: (202) 254–6177.
• Mail: Ms. Brenda Leckey, Office of
Studies and Analysis, Science and
Technology Directorate, Department of
Homeland Security, Washington, DC
20528.
Docket: For access to the docket to
read background documents or
comments received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brenda Leckey, Office of Studies and
Analysis, Science and Technology
Directorate, Department of Homeland
Security, Washington, DC 20528,
HSSTAC@dhs.gov, 202–254–5041.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of
this meeting is given under the Federal
Advisory Committee Act (FACA), Pub.
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
61465
L. 92–463, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.
1 et seq.). The HSSTAC will meet for
purposes of: (1) Reviewing Homeland
Security Institute (HSI) work on riskbased strategic planning; (2) receiving
subcommittee reports; (3) providing the
Under Secretary with preliminary
HSSTAC recommendations; (4)
addressing future subcommittee
activities; and (5) discussing the Annual
Report to Congress and the Under
Secretary. Specifically, the HSSTAC
will review the results of its
subcommittees’ activities undertaken
since the last quarterly meeting in
August 2005, and discuss any proposed
subcommittee recommendations to be
included in the annual report to
Congress. The Committee will receive a
briefing from the HSI on the status of
the framework under development to
link DHS and S&T investments to
national homeland security strategies.
And lastly, the Committee will discuss
areas of interest for future subcommittee
activities, and dispense subcommittee
assignments for the annual report to
Congress due in January.
Public Attendance: Due to meeting
space restrictions, the maximum
number of public attendees will be 25.
Members of the public will be registered
to attend the public session on a firstcome, first-served basis per the
procedures that follow. Any member of
the public who wishes to attend the
public session must provide his or her
name, affiliation, social security
number, and date of birth no later than
5 p.m. e.s.t., Friday, November 4, 2005.
Please provide the required information
to Craig Wilson via e-mail at
HSSTAC@dhs.gov, or via phone at (202)
254–5723. Persons with disabilities who
require special assistance should
indicate so in their admittance request.
Photo identification will be required for
entry into the public session, and
everyone in attendance must be present
and seated by 4 p.m. on November 8,
2005.
In accordance with section 10(d) of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act,
Pub. L. 92–463, as amended (5 U.S.C.
App. 1 et seq.) and pursuant to the
authority delegated to him by the
Secretary in DHS Management Directive
2300, the Under Secretary for Science
and Technology has determined that
this HSSTAC meeting will address
matters the disclosure of which would
be likely to frustrate significantly
proposed agency actions. Accordingly,
consistent with the provisions of 5
U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B), the meeting will be
partially closed to the public.
E:\FR\FM\24OCN1.SGM
24OCN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 204 (Monday, October 24, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61464-61465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-21134]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health Town Hall Meeting on Ruth L.
Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Tuition, Fees and
Health Insurance Policies
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to announce that the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) will hold a Town Hall meeting to hear
comments and insights concerning possible revisions to certain fiscal
policies that govern the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service
Awards (NRSA), which comprise institutional training grants (T32 and
T34s) and individual fellowships (F30, F31, F32, F33). The meeting
which is open to the public will focus primarily on the funding of
educational costs such as tuition, fees and health insurance provided
through institutional training grants. The meeting will be held
November 30, 2005 in the Natcher Conference Center, Room E1/E2 on the
NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
Background: NRSA programs currently support over 17,000 predoctoral
and postdoctoral research training positions mostly in the nation's
academic laboratories. While the budget for the NRSA programs grew
smartly during the five years in which the overall appropriation for
the NIH was doubled, since fiscal 2003, the last of the growth years,
the appropriation for NRSA training programs has grown rather modestly.
Given this reality, the NIH must re-examine aspects of its NRSA
policies that may not be sustainable in a period of limited budget
expansion.
The largest of the NRSA programs funds institutional training
grants that use the T32 mechanism to support both pre- and post-
doctoral research training. Currently, the direct cost funding of these
programs is segmented into four categories: stipend, tuition/fees/
health insurance (referred to collectively as tuition), travel, and
training related expenses. The funding levels for three of these
(stipend, travel, and training related expenses) are stipulated and
controlled by NIH, although each can be adjusted as fiscal
circumstances and program needs evolve. The funding for tuition, on the
other hand, is not fully controlled by NIH; the funding for tuition is
governed by a formula tied to the amount each institution requests for
this expense. The formula provides for each T32 trainee the sum of
$3,000 plus sixty percent of the requested tuition in excess of $3,000.
This formula is used to determine the tuition level provided via each
competing grant; that level, once established for a given competing
grant, is used for the subsequent non-competing renewal awards during
the project period. This formula has been employed since fiscal 1996
and has been modified once.
During the five year growth period, the increased funding devoted
to NRSA activities was used for meaningful, and long overdue, trainee
stipend increases and for covering some of the escalating requests in
the tuition category of training grants. However, in fiscal 2004 and
2005, when there was limited NRSA budget growth, the requests and
outlays for tuition continued to rise substantially. Barring other
adjustments, the continuation of this trend in tuition growth will
result in a significant annual decrease in the number of NRSA trainee
positions, and to fewer programs supported by T32 training grants.
Since these outcomes could have a substantial disruptive effect on
biomedical research training, NIH has frozen the tuition expenses on
competing renewals of T32 awards in fiscal 2006. (See https://
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-059.html) Moreover,
NIH training officials have decided to study various options for
handling the funding of trainee tuition in the future. The goal of this
effort is to find an approach that equips the agency both to adjust to
budgetary challenges and to continue to provide appropriate support to
institutions to help defray the educational costs of NRSA trainees.
This town hall meeting is being held to gather the views of the
training community on this issue.
Among the options that will be studied are the following:
1. The current tuition formula could be applied in conjunction with
a ceiling; the funds provided would be the amount dictated by the
currently-used formula or the amount dictated by the ceiling, whichever
is less. The magnitude of the ceiling would be based on the fiscal
resources available as well as on applicable data. For the sake of
discussion, those offering comments may assume the ceiling could be in
the range of $16,000 to $18,000.
2. A fixed allowance could be provided for tuition; the same
allowance per trainee would be provided to each
[[Page 61465]]
grantee institution. This approach is employed by the National Science
Foundation for its graduate research fellowship program. For the sake
of discussion, those offering comments may assume the allowance could
be in the range of $16,000 to $18,000. The allowance could be adjusted
periodically by the NIH as fiscal circumstances warranted.
3. The current tuition formula could be retained without
modification. Those offering comments may assume that under this option
the number of NRSA trainees and funded training grant programs will
likely experience a series of year-to-year decreases as long as the
current fiscal patterns prevail.
Participation: Those who wish to attend the Town Hall meeting are
invited to submit a brief statement, not to exceed two pages,
summarizing views and experiences relevant to the topic of the meeting.
Some of those submitting statements will be asked to make brief oral
presentations at the meeting. In selecting those to make presentations
and in allocating time, the organizers hope to ensure that a full range
of opinions is heard and that all parts of the NRSA constituency are
represented. Those not asked to present will be welcome at the meeting
and will be given a brief opportunity to contribute during two ``open
mike'' sessions. Individuals should submit their statements along with
their name, affiliation, and contact information to
NRSATownHall@mail.nih.gov by November 4, 2005. Individuals chosen to
make presentations at the Town Hall meeting will be notified on or
around November 14, 2005. Those unable to attend but who wish to
provide statements are welcome to do so. All statements will be
considered by NIH staff. Those who do not submit statements but wish to
observe the meeting will be admitted on a space-available basis. An NIH
official will present background information on NRSA tuition support at
the outset of the meeting.
All individuals who wish to attend the meeting should register
through the Town Hall meeting's Web site at https://pub.nigms.nih.gov/
nrsameeting, available on or about October 24, 2005. The detailed
schedule for the meeting, when completed, will be posted on this Web
site along with any meeting updates. Participants are responsible for
their own expenses associated with participating in this meeting, such
as for travel.
Inquiries: Questions concerning this notice should be directed to:
Dr. Warren Jones, National Institute of General Medical Sciences,
National Institutes of Health, 301-594-3827, jonesw@nigms.nih.gov.
Dated: October 13, 2005.
Norka Ruiz Bravo,
Deputy Director for Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 05-21134 Filed 10-21-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P
