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Most of the federal scientists who improperly accepted personal money from drug or biotechnology companies walked away with reprimands or were allowed to retire unscathed.

Only two of the 44 scientists found to have violated rules governing private consulting deals are being investigated for possible criminal activity, and they remain on the government payroll, the National Institutes of Health told The Associated Press this week in the most detailed accounting it has released.

NIH spokesman John Burklow said his agency wanted eight others reviewed for possible crimes, but was rejected by the investigating office at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

The two still outstanding — Drs. Trey Sunderland and Thomas Walsh — both committed "serious misconduct," so grave that they would be fired if they were civilians, NIH internal ethics reports contend.

NIH says it has been unable to act against the two because they are part of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, which provides medical help during disasters.

Lawmakers plan to push for answers today at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, part of continuing scrutiny into how the agency polices conflicts of interest. Responding to congressional criticism, NIH last year barred federal scientists from the once-common practice of earning lucrative paychecks from private companies.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said he wants to know why it is taking so long to resolve the case of Sunderland, a leading Alzheimer's disease researcher whose request to leave government service has been denied for two years.

"Where's the accountability? Where's the response?" Stupak said. "This person should be dealt with severely."

He referred to allegations that Sunderland improperly transferred human tissue samples from NIH patients to the drug company Pfizer. Sunderland denies that his consulting payments from Pfizer were tied to samples he provided in his government capacity.