§299c–5 Certain administrative authorities

Summary

The Director can hire a deputy and other officers and employees needed to run the program. Pay and hiring follow the civil service rules and Title 5 pay laws. The Secretary can, without following 40 U.S.C. 8141, lease or get buildings in Washington, D.C. or nearby through the Administrator of General Services for up to 10 years. The Secretary can also buy, build, fix, run, and keep labs, research buildings, equipment, and other property, including patents. The Director can give grants and make contracts or cooperative agreements with public or private groups, nonprofits, and individuals. The Director can use staff, equipment, and facilities of the Department of Health and Human Services and allow others to use them. With consent, the Director can also use services and resources of other federal, state, local, or foreign governments, with or without paying them. The Secretary can get advice from consultants from the U.S. or other countries under 5 U.S.C. 3109 for periods the Director thinks fit. The Secretary may hire up to 50 experts or consultants with scientific or professional skills under 5 U.S.C. 3109, and the usual time limit in that law does not apply. Travel expenses for those experts are paid under 5 U.S.C. 5724, 5724a(a), 5724a(c), and 5726(c), but only if the expert signs a written promise to finish the whole assignment or one year, whichever is shorter. If the expert breaks that promise, the United States can recover the travel money as a debt, though the Secretary can waive recovery. The Director can also accept unpaid volunteer help.