§ 300z-7. Research

(a) Grants and contracts; duration; renewal; amount

(1) The Secretary may make grants and enter into contracts with public agencies or private organizations or institutions of higher education to support the research and dissemination activities described in paragraphs (4), (5), and (6) of section 300z (b) of this title.

(2) The Secretary may make grants or enter into contracts under this section for a period of one year. A grant or contract under this section for a project may be renewed for four additional one-year periods, which need not be consecutive.

(3) A grant or contract for any one-year period under this section may not exceed $100,000 for the direct costs of conducting research or disemination ^[1] activities under this section and may include such additional amounts for the indirect costs of conducting such activities as the Secretary determines appropriate. The Secretary may waive the preceding sentence with respect to a specific project if he determines that—

(A) exceptional circumstances warrant such waiver and that the project will have national impact; or

(B) additional amounts are necessary for the direct costs of conducting limited demonstration projects for the provision of necessary services in order to provide data for research carried out under this subchapter.

(4) The amount of any grant or contract made under this section may remain available for obligation or expenditure after the close of the one-year period for which such grant or contract is made in order to assist the recipient in preparing the report required by subsection (f)(1) of this section.

(b) Scope of permissible activities

(1) Funds provided for research under this section may be used for descriptive or explanatory surveys, longitudinal studies, or limited demonstration projects for services that are for the purpose of increasing knowledge and understanding of the matters described in paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 300z (b) of this title.

(2) Funds provided under this section may not be used for the purchase or improvement of land, or the purchase, construction, or permanent improvement (other than minor remodeling) of any building or facility.

The Secretary may not make any grant or enter into any contract to support research or dissemination activities under this section unless—

(1) the Secretary has received an application for such grant or contract which is in such form and which contains such information as the Secretary may by regulation require;

(2) the applicant has demonstrated that the applicant is capable of conducting one or more of the types of research or dissemination activities described in paragraph (4), (5), or (6) of section 300z (b) of this title; and

(3) in the case of an application for a research project, the panel established by subsection (e)(2) of this section has determined that the project is of scientific merit.

(d) Coordination with National Institutes of Health

The Secretary shall, where appropriate, coordinate research and dissemination activities carried out under this section with research and dissemination activities carried out by the National Institutes of Health.

(e) Review of applications for grants and contracts; establishment of review panel

(1) The Secretary shall establish a system for the review of applications for grants and contracts under this section. Such system shall be substantially similar to the system for scientific peer review of the National Institutes of Health and shall meet the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3).

(2) In establishing the system required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish a panel to review applications under this section. Not more than 25 per centum of the members of the panel shall be physicians. The panel shall meet as often as may be necessary to facilitate the expeditious review of applications under this section, but not less than once each year. The panel shall review each project for which an application is made under this section, evaluate the scientific merit of the project, determine whether the project is of scientific merit, and make recommendations to the Secretary concerning whether the application for the project should be approved.

(3) The Secretary shall make grants under this section from among the projects which the panel established by paragraph (2) has determined to be of scientific merit and may only approve an application for a project if the panel has made such determination with respect to such a project. The Secretary shall make a determination with respect to an application within one month after receiving the determinations and recommendations of such panel with respect to the application.

(f) Reports

(1)

(A) The recipient of a grant or contract for a research project under this section shall prepare and transmit to the Secretary a report describing the results and conclusions of such research. Except as provided in subparagraph (B), such report shall be transmitted to the Secretary not later than eighteen months after the end of the year for which funds are provided under this section. The recipient may utilize reprints of articles published or accepted for publication in professional journals to supplement or replace such report if the research contained in such articles was supported under this section during the year for which the report is required.

(B) In the case of any research project for which assistance is provided under this section for two or more consecutive one-year periods, the recipient of such assistance shall prepare and transmit the report required by subparagraph (A) to the Secretary not later than twelve months after the end of each one-year period for which such funding is provided.

(2) Recipients of grants and contracts for dissemination under this section shall submit to the Secretary such reports as the Secretary determines appropriate.

[1] So in original. Probably should be “dissemination”.

U.S. Code

§ 300z-7. Research