National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB) Charter

National Cancer Advisory Board.

Required by 42 U.S.C. 284a, section 406 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act, as amended. The National Cancer Advisory Board (Board) is governed by the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), as amended (5 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1014).

The Board will advise, assist, consult with, and make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) and the Director, National Cancer Institute (NCI, also referred to as Institute), on matters related to the activities carried out by and through the Institute and the policies respecting these activities; may recommend for support grants and cooperative agreements, following technical and scientific peer review; and relating to the functions pertaining to the NCI described under sections 405, 406, 413, and 414 of the PHS Act, as amended.

In addition to the general advisory functions identified in the above section, the Board may recommend to the Secretary, in accordance with section 231 of the PHS Act, as amended, acceptance of conditional gifts, which support research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the continuing care of cancer patients and the families of cancer patients for the acquisition of grounds, or for the construction, equipping, or maintenance of facilities for the Institute.

The Board may review applications for grants and cooperative agreements for research and training and recommend approval of applications for projects which show promise of making valuable contributions to human knowledge; 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 as to the diseases, disorders, or other aspect of human health with respect to which the Institute was established and, with the approval of the Director of NCI, make available such 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.

The Board will prepare triennial reports describing the manner in which the Institute has complied with section 492B of the PHS Act, as amended, which sets forth requirements addressing the inclusion of women and members of minority groups as subjects in clinical research conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Each report shall be submitted to the Director, NCI, for inclusion in the triennial report submitted to Congress by the Director, NIH, pursuant to section 403 of the PHS Act, as amended. Each triennial report prepared by the Board shall include each of the following:

1. The number of women included as subjects, and the proportion of subjects that are women, in any project of clinical research conducted during the applicable reporting period, disaggregated by categories of research area, condition, or disease, and accounting for single-sex studies.
2. The number of members of minority groups included as subjects, and the proportion of subjects that are members of minority groups, in any project of clinical research conducted during the applicable reporting period, disaggregated by categories of research area, condition, or disease and accounting for single-race and single-ethnicity studies.
3. For the applicable reporting period, the number of projects of clinical research that include women and members of minority groups and that:
   • have been completed during such reporting period; and
   • are being carried out during such reporting period and have not been completed.
4. The number of studies completed during the applicable reporting period for which reporting has been submitted in accordance with section 492B(c)(2)(A) of the PHS Act, as amended.

The Board will advise the Secretary and the Director, NCI.

Management and support services will be provided by the Division of Extramural Activities, NCI.

The estimated annual cost to operate the Board includes the following:

1. Federal personnel (based on full-time equivalent (FTE) usage basis) and other Federal internal costs. The estimated annual person years of staff support required is 0.4, at an estimated cost of $87,151. The estimate for other Federal internal costs is $9,120.
2. Proposed payments to members and number of members. The estimated payment for seventeen non-Federal members is $50,800; the estimated prorated salary of eight Federal members is $8,976.
3. Reimbursable costs. The estimate for reimbursable costs, including members' travel expenses, is $202,123.

Meetings of the full Board will be held at the call of the Chair (with the Designated Federal Officer's (DFO's) approval) or upon request of the Director, NCI, not less than 4 times within a fiscal year. Meetings will be open to the public except as determined by the Secretary at the request of the DFO in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) and 41 C.F.R. 102-3.155 including specifying the specific exception(s) that justifies closure. Notice of all meetings will be given to the public. In the event a portion of a meeting is closed to the public, as determined by the Secretary, in accordance with the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)) and FACA, an annual report of closed or partially-closed meetings will be prepared which will contain, at a minimum, a list of members and their business addresses, the Board's functions, dates and places of meetings, and a summary of the Board's activities and recommendations made during the fiscal year.

The duration of the Board is continuing, subject to the Termination section below.

Unless renewed by appropriate action, prior to its expiration, the charter for the National Cancer Advisory Board will expire two years from the date the charter is filed.

The Board will consist of not more than 18 members appointed by the President (appointed members) and at least 12 nonvoting ex officio members. The nonvoting ex officio members will include the Secretary; the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy; the Director, NIH; the Under Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs; the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; the Secretary of Labor; the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission; the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs; and the Director of the Office of Energy Research of the Department of Energy (or their designees);. Appointed members must be eligible to serve as Special Government Employees (SGEs) and will serve as SGEs, as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 202. Two-thirds of the appointed members will be selected from among the leading representatives of the health and scientific disciplines (including not less than two individuals who are leaders in the fields of public health and the behavioral or social sciences) relevant to the activities of the NCI. One-third of the appointed members will be appointed by the President from the general public and will include leaders in fields of public policy, law, health policy, economics, and management. Not less than five of the appointed members will be individuals knowledgeable in environmental carcinogenesis (including carcinogenesis involving occupational and dietary factors). Not less than one member shall be an individual knowledgeable in pediatric oncology. Members will be paid at rates not to exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate in effect for Executive Level IV of the General Schedule, 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. A quorum for the conduct of business by the full Board will consist of a majority of currently appointed members.

Appointed members will be invited to serve for overlapping six-year terms, except that any member appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term will be appointed for the remainder of that term. The President shall make appointments in such a manner as to ensure that the terms of the appointed members do not all expire in the same year. An appointed member may serve 180 days after the expiration of that member's term if a successor has not taken office. A member who has been appointed for a term of six years may not be reappointed to this Board before two years from the date of expiration of that member's term of office.

The President will designate one of the appointed members to serve as Chair for a term of two years. In the absence of the Chair, the Director, NCI will designate an Acting Chair from among the appointed members of the Board.

As necessary, subcommittees and ad hoc working groups may beestablished by the DFO within the Board's jurisdiction. The advice/recommendations of asubcommittee/working group must be deliberated by the parent advisory committee. Asubcommittee/working group may not report directly to the agency or any Federal officer.

Subcommittee membership may be drawn in whole or in part from the parent advisorycommittee. All subcommittee members may vote on subcommittee actions and allsubcommittee members count towards the quorum for a subcommittee meeting. Ad hocconsultants are not considered subcommittee members, do not count towards the quorum andmay not vote. A quorum for a subcommittee will be three members. The DepartmentCommittee Management Officer will be notified upon establishment of each standingsubcommittee and will be provided with information on its name, membership, function, andestimated frequency of meetings.

May 31, 2026.