The Public Health Service, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, which provides more than $11 billion in grants to institutions including Harvard, is creating new policies on "responsible conduct" for all research funded with the agency's support.
The regulations could force Harvard to engage in significantly greater oversight of research projects throughout the school.
The federal government could withhold grants if Harvard did not comply with its requirements.
The Council discussed possible responses to the proposed government policy change. Council members said they were concerned that the new regulations would be overly burdensome.
As yesterday's meeting was the first of the year, it also included a message from Knowles, who is the chair of the Council, discussing the Faculty's agenda for the year. Building on his message to the Faculty last year, Knowles emphasized Faculty growth as a goal.
Due to expired terms and faculty leaves of absence, 11 of this year's 18 members are new to the Council.