Fauci Awards Package (Redacted) — page 50

IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, ANY DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, OR COPYING IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS. EMPLOYEE RECIPIENTS ARE COUNSELED THAT DISCIPLINARY ACTION FOR VIOLATING FEDERAL ETHICS REGULATIONS MAY NOT BE TAKEN AGAINST ANY EMPLOYEE WHO HAS ENGAGED IN CONDUCT IN GOOD FAITH RELIANCE UPON THE PRIOR ADVICE OF ANY AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIAL, PROVIDED THAT THE EMPLOYEE HAS MADE FULL DISCLOSURE OF ALL RELEVANT CIRCUMSTANCES. IF EMPLOYEE CONDUCT IS POTENTIALLY SUBJECT TO CRIMINAL SANCTIONS UNDER CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND RELATED STATUTES, RELIANCE OF THE ADVICE OF AN AGENCY ETHICS OFFICIAL IN INTERPRETING THE SCOPE OF SUCH STATUTES IS A FACTOR THAT MAY BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IN EXERCISING PROSECUTORIAL DISCRETION. EMPLOYEES ARE CAUTIONED THAT DISCLOSURES TO AN OGC ATTORNEY ARE NOT PROTTECTED WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT BY ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE. ALL EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING AGENCY ATTORNEYS, ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS TO THE OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. From: Tabak, Lawrence (NIH/OD) [E] < @nih.gov> Sent: Friday, February 5, 2021 5:51 AM To: Hall, Randall (HHS/OGC) < @HHS.GOV> Cc: Weaver, Gretchen (NIH/OD) [E] @od.nih.gov>; Jaffe, Holli Beckerman (NIH/OD) [E] < @od.nih.gov> Subject: Request for concurrence -Gustav O. Lienhard Award -A. Fauci Mr. Hall, I write to request your concurrence that the exception to the gift prohibition at section 2635.204(d) does not prohibit Dr. Anthony Fauci from accepting the cash prize associated with the National Academy of Medicine's (NAM) 2020 Gustav O. Lienhard Award. Specifically, I ask you to find that: 1) the National Academies of Sciences (NAS), the umbrella organization under which NAM was established, is not a "person" under the regulations, and similarly, neither is NAM; or 2) if NAS is a "person," NAM and NAS are different "persons" because of NAM's independence from NAS; and/or 3) NAS is not a "person who can be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of [Dr. Fauci's NIH] duties." If you do not concur, I ask that you forward this discussion to the Office of Government Ethics for their consideration and determination of the applicability of the gift rule to the NAM Lienhard Award. As you likely know, Dr. Fauci is the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). He was awarded the Lienhard award from NAM on October 19, 2020. The Lienhard award - a medal and $40,000 - recognizes individuals for outstanding achievement in improving health care services in the United States. NIAID currently funds two Congressionally-mandated studies as well as six other projects including an Action Collaborative, a Board, two Forums and a Roundtable. NIAID contributes to the latter projects typically as one of several NIH Institutes and Centers. It is our understanding that due to a restructuring of NAS, all the business interactions between the Academies and Federal agencies go through NAS. Thus, NIAID has no current financial, contractual, or similar dealings with NAM. In order for Dr. Fauci to accept the cash prize, we reviewed the exception to the gift rules for meritorious public service or achievement at section 2635.204(d) (emphasis added): (1) An employee may accept a bona fide award for meritorious public service or achievement and any item incident to the award, provided that: (i) The award and any item incident to the award are not from a person who has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duties, or from an association or other organization if a majority of its members have such interests; The definition of "person" is found at section 2635.102(k) and is: (k) Person means an individual, corporation and subsidiaries it controls, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, or any other organization or institution, including any officer, employee, or agent of such person or entity. For purposes of this part, a corporation will be deemed to control a subsidiary if it owns 50 percent or more of the subsidiary's voting securities. The term is all-inclusive and applies to commercial ventures and nonprofit organizations as well as to foreign, State, and local governments, including the Government of the District of Columbia. It does not include any agency or other entity of the Federal Government or any officer or employee thereof when acting in his official capacity on behalf of that agency or entity. The "National Academy of Sciences (in this chapter, the "corporation") is a federally chartered corporation." 36 USC § 150301. Pursuant to its Mission statement, NAS "is a private, non-profit society [and is] charged with providing