Reading Room Document

Conflicts of Interest - HEW research grants

The document is a response to a request for review of a letter regarding conflicts of interest in relation to research grants from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). The conclusion reached is that the proposal in the letter poses serious problems with respect to 18 U.S.C. 208, as federal employees and institutions will have a financial interest in the grant applications. The document presents questions about the application of the conflict-of-interest laws to the situation, and suggests that the language of the statute should be read broadly to prohibit the proposed arrangement. It also acknowledges the difficulties facing HEW in this area but emphasizes that it cannot serve to avoid the prohibition of the statute.

July 15, 1974