Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 123 / Monday, June 26, 2000 / Notices 39419

number to the HRSA Grants Application

Center is (877) 477–2123, the fax

number is (877) 477–2345, and the email address is hrsagac@hrsa.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Additional technical information may

be obtained from Rene Sterling, HIV/

AIDS Bureau, Health Resources and

Services Administration, 5600 Fishers

Lane, Room 7–36, Rockville, MD 20857.

The telephone number is (301) 443–

7778, the fax number is (301) 594–2835,

and the e-mail address is

Rsterling@hrsa.gov.

Dated: June 20, 2000.

Claude Earl Fox,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–15988 Filed 6–23–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–15–P

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4601–N–01]

Notice of Opportunity To Apply To

Serve on the U.S.-Israel Bi-National

Commission on Housing and

Community Development

AGENCY: Office of International Affairs

under the Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Policy Development and

Research, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

opportunity for individuals to apply to

serve on a U.S.-Israel Bi-National

Commission on Housing and

Community Development and

announces the selection and eligibility

requirements.

DATES: In order to receive full

consideration, requests must be received

by HUD no later than July 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Please send your requests

for consideration to U.S.-Israel BiNational Commission, U.S. Department

of Housing and Urban Development,

Office of International Affairs, Room

8118, 451 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20410. You may fax

your request to (202) 708–5536 (this is

not a toll-free number).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John

Geraghty, U.S. Department of Housing

and Urban Development, Office of

International Affairs, Room 8118, 451

Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC

20410, (202) 708–0770 (telephone),

(202) 708–5536 (fax) (these are not tollfree numbers). Hearing or speechimpaired persons may access the above

telephone number via TTY by calling

the toll-free Federal Information Relay

Service at (800) 877–8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On June 19, 2000, President Clinton

signed a Memorandum recognizing

affordable housing and related

community development as one of our

most pressing domestic problems and

seeking to enlarge the framework for

policy research studies in this area and

to strengthen relations with the State of

Israel for the mutual benefit of the

citizens of the United States and Israel.

To that end, the President directed the

Secretary of Housing and Urban

Development to initiate discussions

with the Government of Israel on issues

of affordable housing and community

development, with the aim of

establishing a binational commission to

structure a cooperative exchange

program in this field.

Accordingly, the Department of

Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

is seeking individuals who would like

to serve on the U.S.-Israel Bi-National

Commission. Applicants may represent

U.S. companies, associations or nongovernmental organizations actively

engaged in housing and community

development. The Commission will be

made up of U.S. and Israeli

representatives from the housing, real

estate, community development,

finance, and construction sectors.

Members will serve on the

Commission for a two-year term at the

discretion of the appointing officials.

Members are expected to participate

fully in defining the agenda for the

Commission and in implementing its

work programs. It is expected that

individuals chosen for the Commission

will attend at least 75 percent of

Commission meetings, which will be

held in the United States and Israel.

Members are fully responsible for travel,

accommodation, and personal expenses

associated with their participation in

the Bi-National Commission. The

members will serve in a representative

capacity presenting the views and

interests of the particular housing sector

in which they operate.

Selection and Eligibility Requirements

There are up to ten (10) available

positions on the U.S. side of the BiNational Commission. This notice is

seeking individuals to fill these

positions.

1. Applicants must:

—Be a U.S. citizen residing in the

United States or a permanent United

States resident;

—Be a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or

other senior management employee or

representative of a U.S. company,

association, or nonprofit organization

involved in residential housing

construction, housing finance, real

estate, community/economic

development, or urban planning

sectors; and

—Not be a registered foreign agent

under the Foreign Agents Registration

Act of 1938.

2. In reviewing eligible applicants,

HUD will consider:

—The applicant’s expertise in

construction building materials

(especially concrete applications),

innovative residential housing

programs (including voucher

programs), housing finance (including

primary and secondary mortgage

market programs and Real Estate

Investment Trusts (REITs)), urban

planning, community development,

and urban revitalization strategies

(such as HUD’s Empowerment Zone/

Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) and

HOPE VI programs);

—Particular experience or interest in

Israel;

—Readiness to initiate and be

responsible for the activities the

Commission proposes to take on;

—An ability to contribute in light of

overall Commission composition; and

—Diversity of company or organization

size, type, location, and

demographics.

3. To be considered for membership,

please provide the following:

—Name and title of the individual

requesting consideration;

—Name and address of the company or

association that the individual will

represent;

—The company or organization’s

specific expertise or service area;

—Size of the company or organization;

and

—The company or organization’s

international expertise and major

countries of operation.

4. Please also provide:

—A brief statement on why the

individual should be considered for

membership on the Commission;

—The individual’s international

expertise and major countries of

operation;

—The particular segment of the housing

industry the individual would

represent;

—A personal resume;

—A statement that the applicant is not

a registered foreign agent under the

Foreign Agents Registration Act; and

—A brief statement of experience or

interest in Israel.

5. Additional members and

replacements:

—The number of Commission positions

may be expanded, should the need

39420 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 123 / Monday, June 26, 2000 / Notices

arise. Additional members or

replacements for any individual

selected to serve on the Commission,

may only be made by HUD after a

review by HUD of the qualifications of

the individuals.

Dated: June 21, 2000.

Susan Wachter,

Assistant Secretary for Policy Development

and Research.

[FR Doc. 00–16164 Filed 6–22–00; 12:57 pm]

BILLING CODE 4210–62–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Office of the Secretary

Review of Interior Board of Indian

Appeals Decisions

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary,

Department of the Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Secretary of the Interior

has decided to review Hopi Indian Tribe

v. Director, Office of Trust and

Economic Development, Bureau of

Indian Affairs, 22 IBIA 10 (1992), and

Hopi Tribe v. Director, Office of Trust

Responsibilities, Bureau of Indian

Affairs, 24 IBIA 65 (1993). These

decisions concern the method for

reimbursing Indian Tribes for legal fees

from the United States Treasury. To

allow for full airing of all issues in this

review, we are inviting interested

parties in addition to the three Tribes

most directly affected by these decisions

to submit briefs on the issues set forth

in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

section according to the schedule and

instructions in that section of this

Notice.

DATES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section for the brief

submission schedule.

ADDRESSES: Three copies of all briefs

and motions should be sent to the Office

of the Solicitor, U. S. Department of the

Interior, Attn: Stephen Simpson, 1849 C

Street, NW, MS 6352–MIB, Washington,

DC 20240. You should also provide

copies of all documents filed in this

case to the participants listed in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen Simpson, 202–219–1659.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Secretary of the Interior has decided to

review two decisions of the Interior

Board of Indian Appeals (IBIA), Hopi

Indian Tribe v. Director, Office of Trust

and Economic Development, Bureau of

Indian Affairs, 22 IBIA 10 (1992) (Hopi

I), and Hopi Tribe v. Director, Office of

Trust Responsibilities, Bureau of Indian

Affairs, 24 IBIA 65 (1993) (Hopi II). Both

Hopi I and Hopi II concern the payment

of Tribal legal fees for litigation under

the Navajo-Hopi Settlement Act from

the United States Treasury. Under the

Settlement Act (25 U.S.C. 640d–7(e)),

the Secretary ‘‘is authorized to pay any

or all appropriate legal fees, court costs,

and other related expenses arising out

of, or in connection with, the

commencing of, or defending against,

any action brought by the Navajo, San

Juan Southern Paiute, or Hopi Tribe’’

concerning boundaries of a reservation

established under the Settlement Act.

In 1989, the Hopi Tribe submitted a

request to the Bureau of Indian Affairs

for reimbursement of legal fees under

this provision. The Director of the

Bureau’s Office of Trust and Economic

Development requested that the Tribe

submit further information under 25

CFR 89.40–89.43, the general

regulations for reimbursement of legal

fees. He noted that any requests for legal

fees by the Tribe, unless mandated by

Congress, should be applied for using

the same process as other Tribes. He

stated that 25 U.S.C. 640d–7(e) is

discretionary and puts the Hopi Tribe in

the same position as other Indian Tribes

competing for reimbursement from the

legal fees account in the Treasury. In

Hopi I, the IBIA vacated the Director’s

decision and remanded it for further

consideration because he had not

explained how he reached that

conclusion, or why the prior

administrative practice of not requiring

such applications was incorrect. On

remand, the Director of the Office of

Trust Responsibilities (the same office

with a different name) ruled again that

the Hopi Tribe had to file an application

under 25 CFR 89.40–89.43 to provide a

rational basis for the exercise of the

BIA’s discretion under 25 U.S.C. 640d–

7(e). The Tribe again appealed, and, in

Hopi II, the IBIA found that 25 CFR

89.40–89.43 applies when a Tribe

determines to undertake litigation to

protect its rights. The IBIA found, that

in the case of the Hopi Tribe, the

determination that the reservation

litigation was necessary was made by

Congress, not the Tribe. The IBIA

therefore ruled that the BIA was

required to reimburse all appropriate

legal fees for the three Tribes and could

not subject them to the same process

and competition for funds as other

Tribes.

Recognizing the importance of the

IBIA decisions to the disbursement of

federal funds for Tribal legal fees, the

Secretary has decided to review the

IBIA decisions in Hopi I and Hopi II

under regulations which provide that:

The authority reserved to the

Secretary includes, but is not limited to:

* * * * *

(2) The authority to review any

decision of any employee or employees

of the Department, including any

administrative law judge or board of the

Office [of Hearings and Appeals], or to

direct any such employee or employees

to reconsider a decision. 43 CFR 4.5

(Bracketed material added.)

To assist him in rendering a decision

on this matter, the Secretary will accept

briefs from the BIA, the three Tribes

named in the Settlement Act (the Navajo

Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and the San

Juan Southern Paiute Tribe), and other

interested parties. Briefs should only

address the Department’s interpretation

of 25 U.S.C. 640d–7(e) as evidenced in

the IBIA decisions. The Secretary will

not re-adjudicate the Hopi Tribe’s

appeal of the decisions. Further, the

Secretary’s review will not affect the

pending settlement between the Hopi

Tribe and the BIA of 1990 fees at issue

in the decisions. Briefs must be

submitted according to the following

schedule:

1. Briefs opposed to the Board’s

decisions must be received by July 14,

2000;

2. Response briefs supporting the

Board’s decisions must be received by

August 18, 2000; and

3. Reply briefs opposing the Board’s

decisions must be received by

September 8, 2000.

Briefs are not to exceed fifty pages

(except the reply briefs, which are not

to exceed twenty-five pages), double

spaced, with all margins not less than

one inch. No oral argument will be

heard on these issues.

Three copies of all motions and briefs

being submitted are to be sent to the

following address: Office of the

Solicitor, U. S. Department of the

Interior, Attn: Stephen Simpson, 1849 C

Street, N.W., MS 6352–MIB,

Washington, D. C. 20240.

Please also provide copies of all

documents filed in this case to the

participants listed below.

The Honorable Wayne Taylor, Jr.,

Chairman, Hopi Tribal Council, P.O.

Box 123, Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039

Terrance Virden, Director, Office of

Trust Responsibility, Bureau of Indian

Affairs, 1849 C Street, N.W., MS 4513,

Washington, DC 20240.

The Honorable Kelsey A. Begaye,

President, Navajo Nation, P.O. Box

9000, Window Rock, AZ 86515.

The Honorable Johnny Lehi, President,

San Juan Southern Paiute Council,

P.O. Box 2656, Tuba City, AZ 86045

BIA, as a party in this matter, will be

represented by the Division of Indian