42 U.S.C. § 284c: Certain uses of funds

Except as provided in paragraph (2), the sum of the amounts obligated in any fiscal year for administrative expenses of the National Institutes of Health may not exceed an amount which is 5.5 percent of the total amount appropriated for such fiscal year for the National Institutes of Health. Paragraph (1) does not apply to the National Library of Medicine, the National Center for Nursing Research, the John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences, the Warren G. Magnuson Clinical Center, and the Office of Medical Applications of Research. For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “administrative expenses” means expenses incurred for the support of activities relevant to the award of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements and expenses incurred for general administration of the scientific programs and activities of the National Institutes of Health. For fiscal year 1989 and subsequent fiscal years, amounts made available to the National Institutes of Health shall be available for payment of nurses and allied health professionals in accordance with payment authorities, scheduling options, benefits, and other authorities provided under chapter 73 of title 38 for nurses of the Department of Veterans Affairs.