Renewal applications are competitive and will be evaluated using the same criteria as new applications plus two additional criteriaan assessment of research accomplishments and development of an individual as an independent investigator.

The following information is furnished by the applicant or others on behalf of the applicant (forms are completed electronically at the NIH LRP Web site, http://www.lrp.nih.gov):

Applicants electronically transmit the following to the NIH Office of Loan Repayment:
(1) Applicant Information Statement.
(2) Biosketch.
(3) Personal Statement, which includes a discussion of career goals and academic objectives.
(4) Description of Research Activities, which describes the current or proposed research project including the specific responsibilities and role of the applicant
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in conducting the research. The research supervisor or mentor will be asked to concur in the research project description provided by the applicant.
(5) Identification of three Recommenders (one of whom is identified as research supervisor or mentor).
(6) Identification of Institutional Contact.
(7) Online Certification.
(8) Current account statement(s) and promissory note(s) or disclosure statement(s) obtained from lending institution(s), submitted via facsimile to (866) 8494046.
(9) If applying based on NIH support, Notice of Grant/Award (or PHS Form Number 2271 for T32 recipients).

Research supervisors or mentors electronically transmit the following to the NIH Office of Loan Repayment:
(1) Recommendation.
(2) Biosketch.
(3) Assessment of the Research Activities Statement submitted by the applicant.
(4) Description of the Research Environment, which provides detailed information about the lab where the applicant is or will be conducting research, including funding, lab space, and major areas under investigation.
(5) Training or Mentoring Plan, which includes a detailed discussion of the training or mentoring plan, including a discussion of the research methods and scientific techniques to be taught. This document is completed by the research supervisor or mentor and is submitted for all applicants (except for applicants with an NIH R01 or equivalent grant).
(6) Biosketch of a laboratory staff member if involved in training or mentoring the applicant.

The other two Recommenders electronically transmit recommendations to the NIH Office of Loan Repayment.

Institutional Contacts electronically transmit the following to the NIH Office of Loan Repayment:
(1) A certification that: (a) Assures the applicant will be provided the necessary time and resources to engage in the research project for two years from the date a Loan Repayment Program Contract is executed; (b) assures that the applicant is or will be engaged in qualifying research for 50 percent of his/her time, i.e., not less than 20 hours per week; (c) certifies that the institution is a domestic nonprofit institution (exempt from tax under 26 U.S.C. 501) or is a U.S. Government or other government agency (Federal, State, local); and (d) provides the applicant's institutional base salary.

Program Administration and Details

Under the Pediatric Research Loan Repayment Program, the NIH will repay a portion of the extant qualified educational loan debt incurred to pay for the researcher's undergraduate, graduate, and/or health professional school educational expenses. Individuals must have total qualified educational debt that equals or exceeds 20 percent of their institutional base salary on the date of program eligibility. This is called the debt threshold. The formula used to calculate the potential annual loan repayment amount is total educational debt less the participant obligation (an amount equal to 10 percent of institutional base salary), which yields the total repayable debt; the total repayable debt is divided by 25 percent, which yields the potential annual repayment amount (up to $35,000). Participants are encouraged to pay the participant obligation during the contract period.

Following is an example of loan repayment calculations: An applicant has a loan debt of $100,000 and a university compensation of $40,000. Since the loan debt exceeds the debt threshold (20 percent of university compensation = $8,000), the applicant has sufficient debt for loan repayment consideration. The participant obligation is 10 percent of the institutional base salary, in this case $4,000. Thus, repayment of the $4,000 debt is the applicant's responsibility. The remaining amount, in this example $96,000 (total repayable debt), will be considered for repayment on a graduated basis. In this case, the maximum to be repaid in the initial twoyear contract is $48,000 or $24,000 per year, plus tax reimbursement benefits.

The total repayable debt will be paid at the rate of onequarter per year, subject to a statutory limit of $35,000 per year for each year of obligated service. Individuals are required to initially engage in 2 years of qualified pediatric research.

Following conclusion of the initial twoyear contract, participants may competitively apply for renewal contracts if they continue to engage in qualified pediatric research. These continuation contracts may be approved on a yeartoyear basis, subject to a finding by NIH that the applicant's pediatric research accomplishments are acceptable, qualified pediatric research continues, and domestic nonprofit institutional or U.S. or other government agency (Federal, State, or local) support has been assured. Renewal applications are competitively reviewed and the submission of a renewal application does not ensure the award of benefits. Renewal applications will be reviewed using the same criteria as new applications plus two additional criteriaan assessment of research accomplishments and development of an individual as an independent investigator. Funding of renewal contracts is also contingent upon an appropriation and/or allocation of funds from the U.S. Congress and/or the NIH or the NIH Institutes and Centers.

In return for the repayment of their educational loans, participants must agree to: (1) Engage in qualified pediatric research for a minimum period of two years; (2) engage in such research for at least 50 percent of their time, i.e., not less than 20 hours per week based on a 40hour week; (3) make payments to lenders on their own behalf for periods of Leave Without Pay (LWOP); (4) pay monetary damages as required for breach of contract; and (5) satisfy other terms and conditions of the LRP contract. Applicants must submit a signed contract, prepared by the NIH, agreeing to engage in qualified pediatric research at the time they submit an application. Substantial monetary penalties will be imposed for breach of contract.

The NIH will repay lenders for the extant principal, interest, and related expenses (such as the required insurance premiums on the unpaid balances of some loans) of educational loans from a U.S. Government entity, academic institution, or a commercial or other chartered U.S. lending institution, such as banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, notforprofit organizations, insurance companies, and other financial or credit institutions that are subject to examination and supervision in their capacity as lending institutions by an agency of the United States or of the State in which the lender has its principal place of business, obtained by participants for the following:
(1) Undergraduate, graduate, and health professional school tuition expenses;
(2) Other reasonable educational expenses required by the school(s) attended, including fees, books, supplies, educational equipment and materials, and laboratory expenses; and
(3) Reasonable living expenses, including the cost of room and board, transportation and commuting costs, and other living expenses as determined by the Secretary.

Repayments are made directly to lenders, following receipt of: (1) The Principal Investigator, Program Director, or Research Supervisor's verification of
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completion of the prior period of research; and (2) lender verification of the crediting of prior loan repayments, including the resulting account balances and current account status. The NIH will repay loans in the following order, unless the Secretary determines that significant savings would result from a different order of priority: (1) Loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

The following loans are not repayable under the Loan Repayment Program for Pediatric researchers:
(1) Loans not obtained from a U.S. or other domestic government entity, domestic academic institution, or a commercial or other chartered U.S. lending institution, such as loans from friends, relatives, or other individuals, and noneducational loans, such as home equity loans;
(2) Loans for which contemporaneous documentation (current account statement, and promissory note or lender disclosure statement) is not available;
(3) Loans that have been consolidated with loans of other individuals, such as a spouse or child;
(4) Loans or portions of loans obtained for educational or living expenses, which exceed a reasonable level, as determined by the standard school budget for the year in which the loan was made, and are not determined by the LRP to be reasonable based on additional contemporaneous documentation provided by the applicant;
(5) Loans, financial debts, or service obligations incurred under the following programs, or other programs that incur a service obligation that converts to a loan on failure to satisfy the service obligation:

Before the commencement of loan repayment, or during lapses in loan repayments, due to NIH administrative complications, Leave Without Pay (LWOP), or a break in service, LRP participants are wholly responsible for making payments or other arrangements that maintain loans current, such that increases in either principal or interest do not occur. The LRP contract period will not be modified or extended as a result of Leave Without Pay (LWOP) or a break in service. Penalties assessed participants as a result of NIH administrative complications to maintain a current payment status may not be considered for reimbursement.

LRP payments are NOT retroactive. Loan repayment for Fiscal Year 2005 will commence after a loan repayment contract has been executed, which is expected to be no earlier than July 2005.

Additional Program Information

This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

This program is subject to OMB clearance under the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The OMB approval of the information collection associated with the Loan Repayment Program for Pediatric Researchers expires on December 31, 2004. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number for the Loan Repayment Program for Pediatric Researchers is 93.285.

Dated: September 21, 2004.
Elias A. Zerhouni,
Director, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 0421989 Filed 92904; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 414001P

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Jerry Moore, NIH Regulations Officer, Office of Management Assessment, NIH, 6011 Executive Blvd., Room 601, MSC 7669, Rockville, MD 20892, by email (MooreJ@mail.nih.gov), by fax (301) 4020169, or by telephone (301) 4964607 (not a tollfree number). For program information contact Marc S. Horowitz, email
lrp@nih.gov, or telephone (301) 4025666 (not a toll free number). Information regarding the requirements, the application deadline dates, and an online application for the Loan Repayment Program for Pediatric Researchers may be obtained at the NIH Loan Repayment Program Web site, http://www.lrp.nih.gov.