Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 7, 2000 / Notices 36117

instrument is intended to be used, was

being manufactured in the United States

at the time the instrument was ordered.

Reasons: The foreign instrument is a

conventional transmission electron

microscope (CTEM) and is intended for

research or scientific educational uses

requiring a CTEM. We know of no

CTEM, or any other instrument suited to

these purposes, which was being

manufactured in the United States at the

time of order of the instrument.

Frank W. Creel,

Director, Statutory Import Programs Staff.

[FR Doc. 00–14353 Filed 6–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[Docket No. 000515143–0143–01]

Special American Business Internship

Training Program (SABIT)

AGENCY: International Trade

Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This Notice announces

availability of funds for the Special

American Business Internship Training

Program (SABIT), for training business

executives and scientists (also referred

to as ‘‘interns’’) from the New

Independent States (NIS). The

Department of Commerce, International

Trade Administration (ITA) established

the SABIT program in September 1990

to assist the former Soviet Union’s

transition to a market economy. Since

that time, SABIT has been matching

business executives and scientists from

the NIS with U.S. firms which provide

them with three to six months of handson training in a U.S. market economy.

Under the SABIT program, qualified

U.S. firms will receive funds through a

cooperative agreement with ITA to help

defray the cost of hosting interns. The

training must take place in the United

States. ITA will interview and

recommend eligible interns to

participating companies. Interns may be

from any of the following Independent

States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,

Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,

Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

However, restrictions may apply based

on congressional sanctions. The U.S.

firms will be expected to provide the

interns with a hands-on, non-academic,

executive training program designed to

maximize their exposure to management

or commercially-oriented scientific

operations. At the end of the training

program, interns must return to the NIS.

If there is any evidence of a conflict of

interest between an intern and the

company, the intern is disqualified.

DATES: The closing date for applications

is July 31, 2000. An original and two

copies of the application (Standard

Form 424 (Rev. 4–92) and supplemental

material) are to be sent to the address

designated in the Application Kit and

postmarked no later than the closing

date. Applications will be considered on

a ‘‘rolling’’ basis as they are received,

subject to the availability of funds. If

available funds are depleted prior to the

closing date, a notice to that effect will

be published in the Federal Register.

Processing of complete applications

takes approximately three to five

months. All awards are expected to be

made by September 30, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Request for Applications:

Competitive Application kits will be

available from ITA starting on the day

this notice is published. To obtain a

copy of the Application Kit please

contact SABIT by: (1) Email at

SABITApply@ita.doc.gov, providing

your name, company name and address;

(2) Telephone (202) 482–0073; (3)

Facsimile (202) 482–2443; (4) Send a

written request with two self-addressed

mailing labels to Application Request,

The SABIT Program, HCHB Room 3319,

U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th

Street and Constitution Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20230. The telephone

numbers are not toll free numbers. Only

one copy of the Application Kit will be

provided to each organization

requesting it, but it may be reproduced

by the requesters.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Liesel C. Duhon, Director, SABIT

Program, U.S. Department of Commerce,

phone—(202) 482–0073, facsimile—

(202) 482–2443. These are not toll free

numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SABIT

exposes NIS business managers and

scientists to a completely new way of

thinking in which demand, consumer

satisfaction, and profits drive

production. Senior-level interns visiting

the U.S. for internship programs with

public or private sector companies will

be exposed to an environment which

will provide them with practical

knowledge for transforming their

countries’ enterprises and economies to

the free market. The program provides

first-hand, eye-opening experience to

managers and scientists which cannot

be duplicated by American managers

traveling to their territories.

Managers: SABIT assists economic

restructuring in the NIS by providing

top-level business managers with

practical training in American methods

of innovation and management in such

areas as strategic planning, financing,

production, distribution, marketing,

accounting, wholesaling, and labor

relations. This first-hand experience in

the U.S. economy enables interns to

become leaders in establishing and

operating a market economy in the NIS,

and creates a unique opportunity for

U.S. firms to familiarize key executives

from the NIS with their products and

services. Sponsoring U.S. firms will

benefit by establishing relationships

with key managers in similar industries

who are uniquely positioned to assist

their U.S. sponsors do business in the

Independent States.

Scientists: SABIT provides

opportunities for gifted scientists to

apply their skills to peaceful research

and development in the civilian sector,

in areas such as defense conversion,

medical research, and the environment,

and exposes them to the role of

scientific research in a market economy

where applicability of research relates to

business success. Sponsoring firms in

the U.S. scientific community also

benefit from exchanging information

and ideas, and different approaches to

new technologies.

The Special American Business Internship

Training program’s Catalog of Federal

Domestic Assistance (CFA) number is 11.114.

Funding Availability: Pursuant to

section 632(a) of the Foreign Assistance

Act of 1961, as amended (the ‘‘Act’’)

funding for the program will be

provided by the United States Agency

for International Development (A.I.D).

ITA will award financial assistance and

administer the program pursuant to the

authority contained in section 635(b) of

the Act and other applicable Grant

rules. The estimated amount of financial

assistance available for the program is

$810,000. At least $400,000 of that

amount is reserved for U.S.

organizations which will host interns

from the Russian Far East. Additional

funding may become available at a

future date.

Funding Instrument and Project

Duration: Federal assistance will be

awarded pursuant to a cooperative

agreement between ITA and the

recipient firm. All internships are three

to six months; however, ITA reserves

the right to allow an intern to stay for

a shorter period of time (no less than

one month) if the U.S. company agrees

and the intern demonstrates a need for

a shorter internship based on his or her

management responsibilities. ITA will

reimburse companies for the round trip

international travel (coach class tickets)

of each intern from the intern’s home

36118 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 7, 2000 / Notices

city in the NIS to the U.S. internship

site, upon submission to ITA of the paid

travel invoice, payment receipt, or other

evidence of payment and the form SF–

270, ‘‘Request for Advance or

Reimbursement.’’ Travel under the

program is subject to the Fly America

Act. Recipient firms provide directly to

interns a stipend of $30 a day; ITA will

reimburse recipient firms for this

stipend, up to a maximum of six

months, upon submission by the

company of an end-of-internship report

and Form SF–270. Recipient firms will

provide housing for the interns and ITA

will reimburse recipient firms for up to

$500 per month for housing costs (not

including utilities or telephone service

charges), upon submission by the

company of the end-of-internship report

and Form SF–270. In general, each

award will have a cap of $11,400 per

intern for total cost of airline travel,

stipend and housing costs. ITA reserves

the right to allow an award to exceed

this cap in cases of unusually high

costs, specifically airfare from remote

regions of the NIS such as Central Asia

and the Caucasus. However, the total

reimbursement cannot exceed the award

amount. There are no specific matching

requirements for the awards. Host firms,

however, are expected to bear the costs

beyond those covered by the award,

including: visa fees, insurance, any food

and incidentals costs beyond the $30

per day stipend, training manuals, any

training-related travel within the U.S.,

and provision of the hands-on training

for the interns.

U.S. firms wishing to utilize SABIT in

order to be matched with an intern

without applying for financial

assistance may do so. Such firms will be

responsible for all costs, including

travel expenses, related to sponsoring

the intern. However, prior to acceptance

as a SABIT intern, work plans and

candidates must be approved by the

SABIT Program. Furthermore, program

training will be monitored by SABIT

staff and evaluated upon completion of

training.

Eligibility: Eligible applicants for the

SABIT program will include all for

profit or non-profit U.S. corporations,

associations, organizations or other

public or private entities located in the

United States. Agencies or divisions of

the federal government are not eligible.

Although, state and local governments

are eligible.

Project Funding Priorities: Applicant

proposal must provide an explanation,

including description and extent of

involvement, in priority business

sector(s). While Applicants involved in

any industry sector may apply to the

program, priority consideration is given

to those operating in the following

sectors: (a). Agribusiness (including

food processing and distribution, and

agricultural equipment), (b). Defense

conversion, (c). Energy, (d).

Environment (including environmental

clean-up), (e). Financial services

(including banking and accounting), (f).

Housing, construction and

infrastructure, (g). Medical equipment,

supplies, pharmaceuticals, and health

care management, (h). Product

standards and quality control, (i).

Telecommunications, (j). Transportation

and (k) Biotechnology.

Evaluation Criteria: Consideration for

financial assistance will be given to

those SABIT proposals which:

(1). Demonstrate a commitment to the

intent and goals of the program to

provide practical, on-the-job, nonacademic, non-classroom, training: in

the case of manager interns, an

appropriate management training

experience, or, in the case of scientist

interns, a practical, commerciallyoriented scientific training experience.

Include a brief objectives section

indicating why the Applicant wishes to

provide an internship to a manager(s) or

scientist(s) from the NIS, and how the

proposed internship would further the

purpose of the SABIT program as

described above. Also, the Applicant

should note how the internship to be

provided will respond to the priority

needs of senior business managers and

scientists in the NIS, as determined by

ITA.

(2). Present a realistic work plan

describing in detail the training program

to be provided to the SABIT intern(s).

Work plans must include the proposed

internship training activities. The

components of the training activities

must be described in as much detail as

possible, preferably on a week-by-week

basis. The description of the training

activities should include an account of

what the intern’s(s’) duties and

responsibilities will be during the

training.

(3). The application should also have

a section noting: (a). Whether Applicant

is applying to host managers or

scientists, or both (and the number of

each); (b). The duration of the

internship; (c). The location(s) of the

internship; (d). The name, address, and

telephone number of the designated

internship coordinator; (e). Name(s) of

division(s) in which the intern(s) will be

placed; (f). The individual(s) in the U.S.

company under whose supervision the

intern will train; (g). The anticipated

housing arrangements to be provided for

the intern(s). Note that housing

arrangements should be suitable for

mid- and senior-level professionals, and

that each intern must be provided with

a private room; (h). A statement that the

host firm is solidly committed to

interns’ return to their own countries

upon completion of the internships.

(4). Provide a general description of

the profile of the intern(s) the Applicant

would like to host, including:

educational background; occupational/

professional background (including

number of years and areas of

experience); size and nature of

organization at which the intern(s) is/

are presently employed; preference for

the region of the NIS where the intern(s)

is/are employed; and whether Applicant

is open to sponsoring interns from a

variety of NIS countries.

Evaluation criteria 1–4 will be weighted

equally.

ITA does not guarantee that it will

match Applicant with the profile

provided to SABIT.

Selection Procedures: Each

application will receive an independent,

objective review by one or more three or

four-member independent review

panels qualified to evaluate applications

submitted under the program.

Applications will be evaluated on a

competitive, ‘‘rolling’’ basis as they are

received in accordance with the

selection evaluation set forth above.

Awards will be made to those

applications which successfully meet

the selection criteria. If funds are not

available for all those applications

which successfully meet the criteria,

awards will be made to the first

applications received which

successfully do so. ITA reserves the

right to reject any application; to limit

the number of interns per applicant; and

to waive informalities and minor

irregularities in applications received.

The final selecting official reserves the

right to make awards based on U.S.

geographic and organization size

diversity among applicants, as well as to

consider priority business sectors (listed

in Project Funding Priorities, above)

when making awards. Recipients may

be eligible, pursuant to approval of an

amendment of an active award, to host

additional interns under the program.

ITA reserves the right to evaluate

applicants based on past performance.

The Director of the SABIT Program is

the final selecting official for each

award.

Additional Information: Applicants

must submit: (1). Evidence of adequate

financial resources of Applicant

organization to cover the costs involved

in providing an internship(s). As

evidence of such resources, Applicant

should submit financial statements

audited by an outside organization or an

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 7, 2000 / Notices 36119

annual report including such

statements. If these are not available, a

letter should be provided from the

Applicant’s bank or outside accountant

attesting to the financial capability of

the firm to undertake the scope of work

involved in training an intern under the

SABIT program. (2). Evidence of a

satisfactory record of performance in

grants, contracts and/or cooperative

agreements with the Federal

Government, if applicable. (Applicants

who are or have been deficient in

current or recent performance in their

grants, contracts, and/or cooperative

agreements with the Federal

Government shall be presumed to be

unable to meet this requirement). (3). A

statement that the Applicant will

provide medical insurance coverage for

interns during their internships.

Recipients will be required to submit

proof of the interns’ medical insurance

coverage to the Federal Program Officer

before the interns’ arrivals. The

insurance coverage must include an

accident and comprehensive medical

insurance program as well as coverage

for accidental death, emergency medical

evacuation, and repatriation.

Other Requirements: All applicants

are advised of the following:

1. No award of Federal funds shall be

made to an Applicant who has an

outstanding delinquent Federal debt

until either the delinquent account is

paid in full, a negotiated repayment

schedule is established and at least one

payment is received, or other

arrangements satisfactory to the

Department of Commerce (DOC) are

made.

2. A false statement on the application

is grounds for denial or termination of

funds and grounds for possible

punishment by a fine or imprisonment

as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001.

3. Recipients and subrecipients are

subject to all Federal laws and Federal

and Departmental regulations, policies

and procedures applicable to financial

assistance awards.

4. Participating companies will be

required to comply with all relevant

U.S. tax and export regulations. Export

controls may relate not only to licensing

of products for export, but also to

technical data transfer. The U.S.

Department of Commerce’s Bureau of

Export Administration (BXA) reviews

applications in question to determine

whether export licenses are required.

SABIT will not award a grant until the

export license issue has been satisfied.

5. Applications under this program

are not subject to Executive Order

12372, ‘‘Intergovernmental Review of

Federal Programs.’’

6. If applicants incur any costs prior

to an award being made, they do solely

at their own risk of not being

reimbursed by the Government.

Notwithstanding any verbal or written

assurance that may have been received,

there is no obligation on the part of DOC

to cover pre-award costs.

7. Past performance: Unsatisfactory

performance by an applicant under

prior Federal awards may result in an

application not being considered for

funding.

8. No obligation for future funding: If

an application is selected for funding,

DOC has no obligation to provide any

additional future funding in connection

with that award. Renewal of an award

to increase funding or extend the period

of performance is at the total discretion

of DOC.

9. Primary Applicant Certifications:

All primary applicants must submit a

completed Form CD–511,

‘‘Certifications Regarding Debarment,

Suspension and Other Responsibility

Matters; Drug-Free Workplace

Requirements and Lobbying,’’ and the

following explanations are hereby

provided:

(a) Nonprocurement Debarment and

Suspension: Prospective participants (as

defined at 15 CFR Part 26, Section 105)

are subject to 15 CFR Part 26,

‘‘Nonprocurement Debarment and

Suspension’’ and the related section of

the certification form prescribed above

applies.

(b) Drug Free Workplace: Grantees (as

defined at 15 CFR Part 26, Section 605)

are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, Subpart

F, ‘‘Government wide Requirements for

Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)’’ and the

related section of the certification form

prescribed above applies.

(c) Anti-Lobbying: Funds provided

under the SABIT program may not be

used for lobbying activities. Persons (as

defined at 15 CFR Part 28, Section 105)

are subject to the lobbying provisions of

31 U.S.C. 1352, ‘‘Limitation on use of

appropriated funds to influence certain

Federal contracting and financial

transactions,’’ and the lobbying section

of the certification form prescribed

above applies to applications/bids for

grants, cooperative agreements, and

contracts for more than $100,000, and

loans and loan guarantees for more than

$150,000, or the single family maximum

mortgage limit for affected programs,

whichever is greater.

(d) Anti-Lobbying Disclosures: Any

applicant that has paid or will pay for

lobbying in connection with this award

using any funds must submit an SF–

LLL, ‘‘Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities,’’ as required under 15 CFR

Part 28, Appendix B.

10. All primary applicants must also

submit a completed Standard Form 424,

‘‘Application for Federal Assistance’’

and a Standard Form 424B,

‘‘Assurances—Non-Construction

Programs.’’ Form CD–511 and Standard

Forms 424 and 424B are included in the

Application Kit supplied by the SABIT

office.

11. Lower Tier Certifications:

Recipients shall require applicants/

bidders for subgrants, contracts,

subcontracts, or other lower tier covered

transactions at any tier under the award

to submit, if applicable, a completed

Form CD–512, ‘‘Certifications Regarding

Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility

and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier

Covered Transactions and Lobbying’’

and disclosure form, SF–LLL,

‘‘Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.’’

Form CD–512 is intended for the use of

recipients and should not be transmitted

to DOC. SF–LLL submitted by any tier

recipient or subrecipient should be

submitted to DOC in accordance with

the instructions contained in the award

document.

12. Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are

not allowed under the SABIT program.

13. Applicants are hereby notified

that any equipment or products

authorized to be purchased with

funding provided under this program

must be American-made to the greatest

extent practicable.

14. The following statutes apply to

this program: Section 907 of the

FREEDOM Support Act, Public Law

102–511, 22 U.S.C. 5812 note

(Restriction on Assistance to the

Government of Azerbaijan); 7 U.S.C.

§ 5201 et seq. (Agricultural

Competitiveness and Trade—the

Bumpers Amendment); The Foreign

Assistance Act of 1961, as amended,

including Chapter 11 of Part I, section

498A (b) Public Law 102–511, 22 U.S.C.

2295a(b) (regarding ineligibility for

assistance); 22 U.S.C. 2420(a), Section

660(a) of The Foreign Assistance Act of

1961, as amended (Police Training

Prohibition); and provisions in the

annual Foreign Operations, Export

Financing, and Related Programs

Appropriations Acts, concerning impact

on jobs in the United States (see, e.g.,

536 of Public Law 106–113).

15. Audit Requirements: The DOC

Office of Inspector General has authority

under the Inspector General Act of 1978,

as amended, to conduct an audit of any

DOC award at any time.

16. Payments. As required by the Debt

Collections Improvement Act of 1996,

all Federal payments to award

recipients pursuant to this

announcement will be made by

electronic funds transfer.

36120 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 110 / Wednesday, June 7, 2000 / Notices

17. The collection of information is

approved by the Office of Management

and Budget, OMB Control Number

0625–0225. Public reporting for this

collection of information is estimated to

be three hours per response, including

the time for reviewing instructions, and

completing and reviewing the collection

of information. All responses to this

collection of information are voluntary,

and will be protected from disclosure to

the extent allowed under the Freedom

of Information Act. Notwithstanding

any other provision of law, no person is

required to respond to nor shall a

person be subject to the requirements of

the Paperwork Reduction Act unless

that collection of information displays a

current valid OMB Control Number.

Send comments regarding the burden

estimate or any other aspect of this

collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing this burden, to

the Reports Clearance Officer,

International Trade Administration,

Department of Commerce, Room 4001,

14th and Constitution Ave., NW,

Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Special American Business Internship

Training, International Trade

Administration, at (202) 482–0073. This

is not a toll-free number.

Dated: June 1, 2000.

Liesel C. Duhon,

Director, SABIT Program.

[FR Doc. 00–14271 Filed 6–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–HE–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 053100B]

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council; Public Meeting

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Gulf of Mexico Fishery

Management Council (Council) will

convene a public meeting of the

Standing and Special Stone Crab

Scientific and Statistical Committees

(SSC).

DATES: The SSC meeting is scheduled to

begin at 8:00 a.m. on June 21, 2000 and

will conclude by 3:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Pier House, 1 Duval Street, Key

West, FL 33040; telephone: 305–296–

4600.

Council address: Gulf of Mexico

Fishery Management Council, 3018 U.S.

Highway 301 North, Suite 1000, Tampa,

FL 33619.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Wayne Swingle, Executive Director,

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management

Council; telephone: 813–228–2815.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Standing and Special Stone Crab SSC

will convene to review an amendment

to the Stone Crab Fishery Management

Plan (FMP). The Stone Crab amendment

proposes to extend the trap certificate

program for the commercial stone crab

fishery adopted by the state of Florida

into the Federal waters off west Florida.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife

Conservation Commission (FFWCC),

after working with the stone crab

industry and the Council over the past

4 years, has adopted by rule a trap

certificate program that will gradually

reduce the number of traps over a 30-

year period. The Florida legislature has

approved the portion of this program

pertaining to licenses and fees. Based on

this review, the SSC may make

recommendations to the Council for

consideration at their meeting in Key

Largo, July 10–14, 2000.

At the conclusion of the Stone Crab

SSC meeting, the Standing SSC will also

review an amendment for a Generic

Amendment Addressing the

Establishment of Tortugas Marine

Reserves, which proposes to establish

the Tortugas South marine reserve that

will encompass the Riley’s Hump

mutton snapper spawning aggregation

site established by the Council in 1994.

The total area of the proposed Tortugas

South marine reserve is 60 square

nautical miles. The amendment also

proposes to create the Tortugas North

marine reserve cooperatively with the

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

(FKNMS) program, the state of Florida,

and the National Park system, which

will encompass an area of 120 square

nautical miles. The portion proposed to

be established by the Council is 13

square nautical miles. The Council

proposes that marine reserves be

established for a period of at least 10

years, during which the ecological

benefits of the reserve will be evaluated.

The Council also proposes that fishing

and anchoring be prohibited within the

marine reserves.

Although other non-emergency issues

not on the agendas may come before the

SSCs for discussion, in accordance with

the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery

Conservation and Management Act,

those issues may not be the subject of

formal action during these meetings.

Actions of the SSCs will be restricted to

those issues specifically identified in

the agendas and any issues arising after

publication of this notice that require

emergency action under Section 305(c)

of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, provided

the public has been notified of the

Council’s intent to take action to

address the emergency.

Copies of the agenda can be obtained

by calling 813–228–2815.

Special Accommodations

This meeting is physically accessible

to people with disabilities. Requests for

sign language interpretation or other

auxiliary aids should be directed to

Anne Alford at the Council (see

ADDRESSES) by June 7, 2000.

Dated: June 1, 2000.

Richard W. Surdi,

Acting Director, Office of Sustainable

Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 00–14364 Filed 6–6–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration

[I.D. 052600A]

Marine Mammals; File No. 684–1458

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

Commerce.

ACTION: Receipt of application for

amendment.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that Dr.

Donald Siniff, University of Minnesota,

Department of Ecology, Evolution and

Behavior, 100 Ecology Building, 1987

Upper Buford Circle, St. Paul, MN

55108 has requested an amendment to

scientific research Permit No. 684–1458.

DATES: Written or telefaxed comments

must be received on or before July 7,

2000.

ADDRESSES: The amendment request

and related documents are available for

review upon written request or by

appointment in the following office(s):

Permits and Documentation Division,

Office of Protected Resources, NMFS,

1315 East-West Highway, Room 13705,

Silver Spring, MD 20910 (301/713–

2289); and

Southwest Region, NMFS, 501 West

Ocean Blvd., Suite 4200, Long Beach,

CA 90802 (562/980–4001).

Written comments or requests for a

public hearing on this request should be

submitted to the Chief, Permits and

Documentation Division, F/PR1, Office

of Protected Resources, NMFS, 1315