Congressional Probes on Ethical Issues

[Guest guest]

http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/85/i36/8536notw4.html

Several internal inquiries and congressional probes have begun on

ethics issues

Bette Hileman

INVESTIGATIONS into the embattled tenure of A. Schwartz at the

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have dramatically

multiplied and broadened to include other institute officials as well

as NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni. Schwartz has stepped down as NIEHS

director while his management and ethics are being scrutinized (C & EN,

Aug. 27, page 10).

Documents obtained by C & EN indicate that the investigations of

Schwartz and NIEHS include those of groups at the Department of Health

& Human Services (HHS) and at least four congressional committees.

Congress is focusing on several aspects of Schwartz's administration:

possible violations of ethics rules, conflict of interest guidelines,

and spending limits. Aside from acknowledging an NIH management review

of Schwartz, NIH will not confirm other investigations at the

institute or by HHS.

Image Title Duke Medical Center

Schwartz

Several members of Congress, including Rep. D. Dingell (D-Mich.)

and Sen. E. Grassley (R-Iowa), want to know what kind of an

ethics agreement Schwartz signed with Zerhouni when he was hired in

May 2005. And they want to know why Schwartz continued testifying as

an expert witness for two law firms in personal injury cases involving

asbestos, reportedly earning $150,000 between May 2005 and September

2006. Specifically, they are inquiring whether Zerhouni or NIH ethics

officials in some way condoned the activity. Schwartz's testimony in

the asbestos cases was unethical, the representatives say, because he

was trading on NIEHS's reputation.

Congressional investigators are also examining Schwartz's attempt to

privatize NIEHS's open-access journal Environmental Health

Perspectives and cut its budget by 85%. " EHP is the single most

reputable source of new science investigating links between our

environment and our health and is one of the top peer-reviewed medical

journals in the world, " says Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio).

" Because EHP is publicly funded, important public health functions are

performed that the private sector would be unlikely to support. "

Congressional panels are also asking why, in July, employees at NIEHS

were asked to submit a form to management in the event they were

contacted by congressional investigators. Grassley, ranking member of

the Senate Finance Committee, wrote to Zerhouni: " Handing this form

out to rank and file NIEHS employees during the course of a

congressional investigation could cause these employees to feel that

management is attempting to flush out whistleblowers or any other

individual assisting me with my inquiry. "

Grassley is also concerned that Schwartz may have ignored conflicts of

interest regarding grants. In an Aug. 28 letter to Zerhouni, Grassley

wrote: " My staff has received credible allegations that Schwartz may

have ignored ethical considerations when NIEHS awards extramural

grants. Schwartz has collaborations with several outside academics and

institutions, which require him to recuse himself from certain

situations in the grant-awarding process. "

In response to a July 24 request from Dingell, chair of the House

Energy & Commerce Committee, Zerhouni has submitted information on

ethics matters related to Schwartz. Committee staff expect to take at

least two more weeks to review the material.