[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 190 (Wednesday, October 1, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51457-51458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26036]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Minority Business Development Agency


Native American Business Development Center Application: Cherokee

AGENCY: Minority Business Development Agency; Commerce.

ACTION: Notice

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SUMMARY: In accordance with Executive Order 11625 and 15 U.S.C. 1512, 
the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is soliciting 
competitive applications from organizations to operate its Native 
American Business Development Center (NABDC).
    The purpose of the NABDC is to provide integrated business 
development services to Native American entrepreneurs and other 
eligible clients within its designated geographic service area. The 
recipient will provide service in the Cherokee, North Carolina, 
geographic service area. The award number of the NABDC will be 04-10-
98002-01.

DATES: The closing date for applications is October 31, 1997. 
Applications must be received in the MBDA Headquarters' Executive 
Secretariat on or before October 31, 1997. A pre-application conference 
will be held on October 15, 1997, at 9:00 a.m., at the following 
address: U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development 
Agency, 401 West Peachtree Street, N.W., Room 1715, Atlanta, Georgia 
30308-3516.

ADDRESSES: Completed application packages should be submitted to the 
U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, MBDA 
Executive Secretariat, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W., ROOM 5073, 
Washington, D.C. 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AN APPLICATION PACKAGE, CONTACT: Robert 
Henderson, Regional Director, at (404) 730-3300. Proper Identification 
is Required for Entrance Into Any Federal Building.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The funding instrument for this project will 
be a cooperative agreement. Contingent upon the availability of Federal 
funds, the cost of performance for the first budget period (13 months) 
from February 1, 1998 to February 28, 1999, is estimated at $197,825. 
The total Federal amount is $197,825 and is composed of $193,000 plus 
the Audit Fee amount of $4,825. If the recommended applicant is the 
current incumbent organization, the award will be for 12 months. For 
those applicants who are not incumbent organizations or who are 
incumbents that have experienced closure due to a break in service, a 
30-day start-up period will be added to their first budget period, 
making it a 13-month award. Competition is open to individuals, non-
profit and for-profit organizations, state and local governments, 
American Indian tribes and educational institutions.
    Applications will be evaluated on the following criteria: the 
experience and capabilities of the firm and its staff in addressing the 
needs of the business community in general and, specifically, the 
special needs of Native American businesses, individuals and 
organizations (45 points), the resources available to the firm in 
providing business development services (10 points); the firm's 
approach (techniques and methodologies) to performing the work 
requirements included in the application (25 points); and the firm's 
estimated cost for providing such assistance (20 points). On May 31, 
1995, MBDA issued an Interim Final Notice in the Federal Register which 
announced the Agency's decision to revise application requirements for 
its closely related Minority Business Development Center program. This 
decision was made in order to leverage Federal resources together with 
those existing in communities, and to build local capacity to impact 
growth in the nation's minority business sector. In accordance with 
revised scoring requirements announced in that Notice, MBDA will revise 
the scoring system in the NABDC program to add ten (10) bonus points to 
the application of community-based organizations. Each qualifying 
application will receive the full ten points. Community-based 
organizations are those organizations whose headquarters and/or 
principal place of business within the last five years have been 
located within the geographic service area designated in the 
solicitation for the award. Where an applicant organization has been in 
existence for fewer than five years or five years, the individual years 
of experience of the applicant organization's may be applied toward the 
requirement of five years of

[[Page 51458]]

organization experience. The individual years of experience must have 
been acquired in the geographic service area which is the subject of 
the solicitation.
    An application must receive at least 70% of the points assigned to 
each evaluation criteria category to be considered programmatically 
acceptable and responsive. Those applications determined to be 
acceptable and responsive will then be evaluated by the Director of 
MBDA. Final award selections shall be based on the number of points 
received, the demonstrated responsibility of the applicant, and the 
determination of those most likely to further the purpose of the MBDA 
program. Negative audit findings and recommendations and unsatisfactory 
performance under prior Federal awards may result in an application not 
being considered for award. The applicant with the highest point score 
will not necessarily receive the award. Periodic reviews culminating in 
year-to-date evaluations will be conducted in determining if funding 
for the project should continue. Continued funding will be at the total 
discretion of MBDA based on such factors as the NABDC's performance, 
the availability of funds and Agency priorities. Anticipated processing 
time of this award is 120 days.
    Executive order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs,'' is not applicable to this program. Federal funds for this 
project include audit funds for non-CPA recipients. In event that a CPA 
firm wins the competition, the funds allocated for audits are not 
applicable. Questions concerning the preceding information can be 
answered by the contact person indicated above, and copies of 
application kits and applicable regulations can be obtained at the 
above address. The collection of information requirements for this 
project have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
and assigned OMB control number 0640-0006.
    Awards under this program shall be subject to all Federal laws, and 
Federal and Departmental regulations, policies, and procedures 
applicable to Federal financial assistance awards.
    Pre-Award Costs--Applicants are hereby notified that if they incur 
any costs prior to an award being made, they do so solely at their own 
risk of not being reimbursed by the Government. Notwithstanding any 
verbal assurance that an applicant may have received, there is no 
obligation on the part of the Department of Commerce to cover pre-award 
costs.
    Outstanding Account Receivable--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, repayment schedule 
is established and at least one payment is received, or other 
arrangements satisfactory to the Department of Commerce are made.
    Name Check Policy--All non-profit and for-profit applicants are 
subject to a name check review process. Name checks are intended to 
reveal if any key individuals associated with the applicant have been 
convicted of or are presently facing criminal charges such as fraud, 
theft, perjury or other matters which significantly reflect on the 
applicant's management honesty or financial integrity.
    Award Termination--The Departmental Grants Officer may terminate 
any grant/cooperative agreement in whole or in part at any time before 
the date of completion whenever it is determined that the award 
recipient has failed to comply with the conditions of the grant/
cooperative agreement. Examples of some of the conditions which can 
cause termination are failure to meet cost-sharing requirements; 
unsatisfactory performance of the NABDC work requirements; and 
reporting inaccurate or inflated claims of client assistance. Such 
inaccurate or inflated claims may be deemed illegal and punishable by 
law.
    False Statements--A false statement on an application for Federal 
financial assistance 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.
    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.''
    Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension--Prospective participants 
(as defined at 15 CFR part 26, Section 26.105) are subject to 15 CFR 
part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the related 
section of the certification form prescribed above applies.
    Drug Free Workplace--Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 26, 
Section 26.605) are subject to 15 CFR part 26, subpart F, 
``Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and 
the related section of the certification form prescribed above applies.
    Anti-Lobbying--Persons (as defined at 15 CFR part 28, Section 
28.105) 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.
    Anti-Lobbying Disclosures--Any applicant that has paid or will pay 
for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of 
Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR part 28, Appendix B.
    Lower Tier Certifications--Recipients shall require applications/
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.
    Buy American-made Equipment or Products--Applicants are hereby 
notified that they are encouraged, to the extent feasible, to purchase 
American-made equipment and products with funding provided under this 
program in accordance with Congressional intent as set forth in the 
resolution contained in Public Law 103-121, Sections 606 (a) and (b).

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance): 11.801 Native American 
Program:)

    Dated: September 25, 1997.
Donald L. Powers,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Minority Business Development Agency.
[FR Doc. 97-26036 Filed 9-30-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-21-P