National Advisory Eye Council Charter

• Purpose
• Authority
• Function
• Structure
• Meetings
• Compensation
• Annual Cost Estimate
• Reports
• Termination Date
• Proposed Plan for Appropriate Balance of Committee Membership
• Notice of Renewal

PURPOSE

The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) is mandated under section 301 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 241), to support, conduct, and encourage research studies and related activities in the health fields. This mandate is fulfilled in part through research grants-in-aid awarded by the research institutes, centers, and other authorized components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In addition, the Secretary is authorized under section 487 of the PHS Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 288), to support research training through National Research Service Awards. The National Advisory Eye Council (Council) shall advise, assist, consult with, and make recommendations to the Secretary and the Director of the National Eye Institute (NEI, also referred to as "Institute") on matters related to the activities carried out by and through the NEI and the policies respecting these activities.

AUTHORITY

42 U.S.C. 284a, section 406 of the PHS Act, as amended. This Council is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), which sets forth standards for the formation and use of advisory committees.

FUNCTION

The Council shall advise the Secretary; the Assistant Secretary for Health; the Director, NIH; and the Director, NEI, on matters relating to the conduct and support of research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function, preservation of sight, and the special health problems and requirements of individuals with visual impairments.

The Council may recommend to the Secretary, in accordance with section 231 of the PHS Act, as amended, acceptance of conditional gifts for study and investigation on vision and eye diseases; for the acquisition of grounds; and for the construction, equipping, or maintenance of facilities for the Institute.

The Council may recommend support for applications for grants and cooperative agreements, following scientific and technical merit peer review, and may recommend approval of applications for projects which show promise of making valuable contributions to human knowledge. The Council may review any grant, contract, or cooperative agreement proposed to be made or entered into by the Institute; may collect, by correspondence or by personal investigation, information as to studies which are being carried on in the United States or any other country and, with the approval of the Director of the NEI, make available this information through appropriate publications for the benefit of public and private health entities, health professions personnel and scientists, and for the information of the general public; and may call upon special consultants, assemble ad hoc working groups, appoint subcommittees and convene workshops and conferences.

The Council may implement procedures for expediting en bloc Council concurrence of Scientific Review Group recommendations. A member or members may be selected by the Executive Secretary or Chair to provide en bloc concurrence on behalf of the Council. Only those applications that do not require individual consideration shall be included in this expedited process. A report of the en bloc recommendations will be presented at each Council meeting.

STRUCTURE

The Council shall consist of 12 members appointed by the Secretary, and 5 nonvoting ex officio members: the Secretary; the Director, NIH; the Director, NEI; the Chief Medical Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs (or their designees); and any additional officers or employees of the United States as the Secretary determines necessary for the Council to carry out its functions effectively. Of the 12 appointed members, 8 shall be selected from among the leading representatives of the health and scientific disciplines (including not fewer than two individuals who are leaders in the fields of public health and the behavioral or social sciences) relevant to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function, preservation of sight, and the special health problems and requirements of individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Four of the members shall be appointed by the Secretary from the general public and shall include leaders in the fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management. A quorum for the conduct of business by the full Council shall consist of a majority of currently appointed members. A quorum for each subcommittee shall be three members.

Members shall be invited to serve for overlapping four-year terms, except that any member appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall be appointed for the remainder of that term. A member may serve up to 180 days after the expiration of that member's term if a successor has not taken office. Terms of more than two years are contingent upon renewal of the Council's Charter by appropriate action prior to its expiration. A member who has been appointed for a term of four years may not be reappointed to this Council before two years from the date of expiration of that member's term of office. If a vacancy occurs among the appointed members, the Secretary shall make an appointment to fill the vacancy within 90 days from the date the vacancy occurs.

The Chair of the Council shall be selected by the Secretary from among the appointed members, or the Secretary may select the Director, NEI, to be the Chair. The term of office of the Chair shall be two years.

As necessary, standing and ad hoc subcommittees, composed of members of the parent committee, may be established to perform functions within the Council's jurisdiction. The Department Committee Management Officer shall be notified upon the establishment of each standing subcommittee and shall be given information on its name, membership, function, and estimated frequency of meetings.

Upon approval by the Chair, the advice of a subcommittee shall be considered the advice of the Council.

A member of one subcommittee may serve as a voting member of other subcommittees when that member's expertise is required. However, that member shall not be counted in determining the presence of a quorum.

Management and support services shall be provided by the Office of the Director, Division of Extramural Research, NEI.

MEETINGS

Meetings shall be held not fewer than three times a year at the call of the Chair with the advance approval of a Government official or upon the request of the Director, NEI. A Government official shall approve the agenda and shall be present at all meetings of the full committee or of any subcommittee.

Meetings shall be open to the public except as determined otherwise by the Secretary. Notice of all meetings shall be given to the public.

Meetings shall be conducted and records of the proceedings kept, as required by applicable laws and Departmental policies.

COMPENSATION

Members shall be paid at the rate of $200 per day, plus per diem and travel expenses, as authorized by section 5703, Title 5 U.S.C., as amended, for persons in the Government service employed intermittently. Members who are officers or employees of the United States Government shall not receive compensation for service on the Council.

ANNUAL COST ESTIMATE

The estimated annual cost for operating the Council, including compensation and travel expenses for members, but excluding staff support, is $60,807. The estimate of annual person-years of staff support required is 0.8, at an estimated annual cost of $70,563.

REPORTS

The Council may prepare, for inclusion in the biennial report prepared by the Director, NIH, under section 403 of the PHS Act, as amended (1) comments reflecting the activities of the Council in the fiscal years for which the report is prepared, (2) comments on the progress of the NEI in meeting its objectives, and (3) recommendations respecting future directions and program and policy emphasis of the NEI. The Council may prepare any additional reports as it may determine appropriate.

In the event a portion of a meeting is closed to the public, a report shall be prepared which shall contain, as a minimum, a list of members and their business addresses, the Council's functions, dates, and places of meetings, and a summary of committee activities and recommendations made during the fiscal year. A copy of the report shall be provided to the Department Committee Management Officer.

TERMINATION DATE

Unless renewed by appropriate action prior to its expiration, the Charter for the National Advisory Eye Council will expire on May 31, 2007.

PROPOSED PLAN FOR APPROPRIATE BALANCE OF COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

The National Advisory Eye Council shall consist of 12 members. Eight of the members shall be from among leading representatives of the health and scientific disciplines with expertise in the areas of visual disorders, especially in the areas of visual science and eye diseases, as well as public health and the behavioral or social sciences. Four of the members shall be from the general public and shall include leaders in the fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management.

The Department shall give close attention to equitable geographic distribution and to ethnic and gender representation so long as the effectiveness of the Council is not impaired.

Appointments shall be made without discrimination on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, cultural, religious, or socioeconomic status.

NOTICE OF RENEWAL

NATIONAL ADVISORY EYE COUNCIL

I determine that renewal of the National Advisory Eye Council beyond May 31, 2005, is in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed on the National Institutes of Health by law, and that the duties can best be performed through the advice and counsel of such as group. The Committee is continued until May 31, 2007.

I further deem that it is not feasible for the National Institutes of Health or any of its existing committees to perform these duties, and that a satisfactory plan for appropriate balance of committee membership has been submitted.