Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 224 / Thursday, November 20, 1997 / Notices 62113

Dated: November 17, 1997.

John Durant,

Director, Mod Act Task Force.

[FR Doc. 97–30557 Filed 11–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4820–02–P

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service

Proposed Collection; Comment

Request for Notice 97–64

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS),

Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Department of the

Treasury, as part of its continuing effort

to reduce paperwork and respondent

burden, invites the general public and

other Federal agencies to take this

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing information

collections, as required by the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,

Public Law 104–13 (44 U.S.C.

3506(c)(2)(A)). Currently, the IRS is

soliciting comments concerning Notice

97-64, Temporary regulations to be

issued under section 1(h) of the Internal

Revenue Code (applying section 1(h) to

capital gain dividends of RICs and

REITs).

DATES: Written comments should be

received on or before January 20, 1998

to be assured of consideration.

ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments

to Garrick R. Shear, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5571, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the information collection

should be directed to Carol Savage,

(202) 622–3945, Internal Revenue

Service, room 5569, 1111 Constitution

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Temporary regulations to be

issued under section 1(h) of the Internal

Revenue Code (applying section 1(h) to

capital gain dividends of RICs and

REITs).

OMB Number: 1545–1565.

Notice Number: Notice 97–64.

Abstract: Notice 97–64 provides

notice of forthcoming temporary

regulations that will permit Regulated

Investment Companies (RICs) and Real

Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to

distribute multiple classes of capital

gain dividends.

Current Actions: There are no changes

being made to the notice at this time.

Type of Review: Extension of a

currently approved collection.

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations, and individuals.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

3,000.

Estimated Time Per Respondent: 30

minutes.

Estimated Total Annual Burden

Hours: 1,500.

The following paragraph applies to all

of the collections of information covered

by this notice:

An agency may not conduct or

sponsor, and a person is not required to

respond to, a collection of information

unless the collection of information

displays a valid OMB control number.

Books or records relating to a collection

of information must be retained as long

as their contents may become material

in the administration of any internal

revenue law. Generally, tax returns and

tax return information are confidential,

as required by 26 U.S.C. 6103.

Request for Comments

Comments submitted in response to

this notice will be summarized and/or

included in the request for OMB

approval. All comments will become a

matter of public record. Comments are

invited on: (a) whether the collection of

information is necessary for the proper

performance of the functions of the

agency, including whether the

information shall have practical utility;

(b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate

of the burden of the collection of

information; (c) ways to enhance the

quality, utility, and clarity of the

information to be collected; (d) ways to

minimize the burden of the collection of

information on respondents, including

through the use of automated collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology; and (e) estimates of capital

or start-up costs and costs of operation,

maintenance, and purchase of services

to provide information.

Approved: November 13, 1997.

Garrick R. Shear,

IRS Reports Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 97–30551 Filed 11–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4830–01–U

UNITED STATES INFORMATION

AGENCY

Edmund S. Muskie and Freedom

Support Act Graduate Fellowship

Programs

ACTION: Request for proposals.

SUMMARY: Subject to the availability of

funds, the Office of Academic Programs,

Academic Exchange Programs Division,

European Programs Branch of the

United States Information Agency’s

Bureau of Educational and Cultural

Affairs announces an open competition

for an assistance award. Public and

private non-profit organizations meeting

the provisions described in IRS

regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may apply to

administer the recruitment, selection,

placement, monitoring, evaluation, and

follow-on activities for the FY 1999

Edmund S. Muskie and Freedom

Support Act Graduate Fellowship

Programs. Organizations with less than

four years of experience in conducting

international exchange programs are not

eligible for this competition.

The Edmund S. Muskie and Freedom

Support Act Graduate Fellowship

Programs (herein to be referred to as the

Muskie/FSA Programs) select

outstanding citizens of the New

Independent States (NIS) and the Baltics

to receive scholarships for Master’s level

study and professional development in

the United States in the fields of

business administration, economics,

education administration, law with a

new subfocus in law pedagogy, library

and information science, mass

communication/journalism, public

administration with specialized

programs in public health and

environmental management, and public

policy. Fellowships are awarded to

qualified young and mid-career

individuals who are citizens of

Armenia, Azerbaijan,* Belarus, Estonia,

Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,

Lithuania, Moldova, the Russian

Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,

Ukraine, or Uzbekistan. Edmund S.

Muskie fellows enroll in graduate

degree, certificate, and non-degree

programs lasting one-to-two academic

years. It is estimated that approximately

245–255 Fellows will participate in the

1999 program. Interested organizations

should read the complete Federal

Register announcement and request a

Solicitation Package from the USIA

prior to preparing a proposal.

* Please note: Programs with Azerbaijan

are subject to restrictions of Section 907 of

the Freedom Support Act: Employees of the

Government of Azerbaijan or any of its

instrumentalities are excluded from

participation, and no U.S. participant

overseas may work for the Government of

Azerbaijan or any of its instrumentalities. In

addition, the Government of Azerbaijan or

any of its instrumentalities will have no

control in the actual selection of participants.

Overall grant making authority for

this program is contained in the Mutual

Educational and Cultural Exchange Act

of 1961, Pub. L. 87–256, as amended,

also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act.

The purpose of the Act is ‘‘to enable the
62114 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 224 / Thursday, November 20, 1997 / Notices

Government of the United States to

increase mutual understanding between

the people of the United States and the

people of other countries * * *; to

strengthen the ties which unite us with

other nations by demonstrating the

educational and cultural interests,

developments, and achievements of the

people of the United States and other

nations . . . and thus to assist in the

development of friendly, sympathetic

and peaceful relations between the

United States and the other countries of

the world.’’

Programs and projects must conform

with Agency requirements and

guidelines outlined in the Solicitation

Package. USIA projects and programs

are subject to the availability of funds.

Announcement Title and Number: All

communications with USIA concerning

this RFP should refer to the

announcement’s title and reference

number E/AEE–99–02.

Deadline For Proposals: All copies

must be received at the U.S. Information

Agency by 5 p.m. Washington, D.C. time

on Thursday, March 26, 1998. Faxed

documents will not be accepted at any

time. Documents postmarked by the due

date but received at a later date will not

be accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The

Office of Academic Programs, European

Programs Branch of the U.S. Information

Agency, 301 4th Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20547, (P) 202–205–

0525 (F) 202–260–7985 (E-Mail)

treed@usia.gov to request a Solicitation

Package containing more detailed.

Please request required application

forms, and standard guidelines for

preparing proposals, including specific

criteria for preparation of the proposal

budget.

To Download a Solicitation Package

Via Internet: The entire Solicitation

Package may be downloaded from

USIA’s website at http://www.usia.gov/

education/rfps. Please read all

information before downloading.

To Receive a Solicitation Package Via

Fax On Demand: The entire Solicitation

Package may be received via the

Bureau’s ‘‘Grants Information Fax on

Demand System’’, which is accessed by

calling 202/401–7616. Please request a

‘‘Catalog’’ of available documents and

order numbers when first entering the

system.

Please specify USIA Senior Program

Manager Ted Kniker on all inquiries and

correspondence. Interested applicants

should read the complete Federal

Register announcement before sending

inquiries or submitting proposals. Once

the RFP deadline has passed, Agency

staff may not discuss this competition in

any way with applicants until the

Bureau proposal review process has

been completed.

Submissions: Applicants must follow

all instructions given in the Solicitation

Package. The original and 14 copies of

the application should be sent to: U.S.

Information Agency, Ref.: E/AEE–99–01,

Office of Grants Management, E/XE,

Room 326, 301 4th Street, S.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20547.

Applicants must also submit the

‘‘Executive Summary’’ and ‘‘Proposal

Narrative’’ sections of the Proposal on a

3.5’’ diskette, formatted for DOS. This

material must be provided in ASCII text

(DOS) format with a maximum line

length of 65 characters. USIA will

transmit these files electronically to

USIS posts overseas for their review,

with the goal of reducing the time it

takes to get posts’ comments for the

Agency’s grants review process.

Diversity, Freedom and Democracy

Guidelines: Pursuant to the Bureau’s

authorizing legislation, programs must

maintain a non-political character and

should be balanced and representative

of the diversity of American political,

social, and cultural life. Diversity should

be interpreted in the broadest sense and

encompass differences including, but

not limited to ethnicity, race, gender,

religion, geographic location, socioeconomic status, and physical

challenges. Applicants are strongly

encouraged to adhere to the

advancement of this principle both in

program administration and in program

content. Please refer to the review

criteria under the ‘Support for Diversity’

section for specific suggestions on

incorporating diversity into the total

proposal. Pub. L. 104–319 provides that

‘‘in carrying out programs of education

and cultural exchange in countries

whose people do not fully enjoy

freedom and democracy’’, USIA ‘‘shall

take appropriate steps to provide

opportunities for participation in such

programs to human rights and

democracy leaders of such countries.’’

Proposals should account for

advancement of this goal in their

program contents, to the full extent

deemed feasible.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Overview

The Muskie/FSA Fellowship

Programs are designed to foster

democratization and the transition to

market economies in the former soviet

Union and Baltic States through

intensive academic and professional

training. Since the programs’ inceptions

in fiscal years 1992 and 1993, over 900

Fellowships have been awarded. The

academic component of the program

begins in the fall semester of the year of

the award and follows the normal oneto two-year academic cycle in which

Fellows may take a nine, twelve,

eighteen, or twenty-four month

academic program. Fellows take part in

a eight- to twelve-week internship

during the summer following the first

academic year. While fellows are closely

assisted in their internship search by

host institutions, sponsoring

organizations, and USIA, the primary

responsibility for securing appropriate

internships remains with the Fellows.

Fellows placed in one-year graduate

programs return home at the conclusion

of their internship. Fellows placed in

two year graduate programs return to

their academic placement following the

internship. The Muskie/FSA Programs

are not intended as a precursor to

doctoral studies, extended professional

training, or employment in the United

States. At the end of their designated

academic and internship programs,

Fellows are required to immediately

return to their home countries.

In the past, the Muskie/FSA Programs

have been administered by up to four

organizations working in close

partnership for all phases of the

program. In order to maintain efficient

administration of the program the

number of organizations administering

the Muskie/FSA Programs may remain

at two or three. Should an applicant

organization prefer to work with other

organizations in the implementation of

this program, USIA prefers that a

subcontract arrangement be developed.

USIA will entertain separately

submitted proposals from two or more

organizations for joint program

management, but the proposals must

demonstrate a value-added relationship,

and must clearly delineate

responsibilities so as not to duplicate

efforts.

Proposing organizations must

demonstrate the ability to administer all

aspects of the Muskie/FSA Programs—

advertisement, recruitment, selection,

placement, orientation, Fellow

monitoring and support, financial

management, evaluation, follow-on, and

alumni tracking and programing.

Applicant organizations must

demonstrate the ability to recruit and

select a diverse pool of candidates from

various geographic regions in the NIS

and Baltics. Additionally, organizations

will be asked to assist in the recruitment

and selection of appropriate host

institutions from throughout the United

States for pre-academic, ESL, and

academic programs. Administering

organizations will act as the principle

liaison with Muskie/FSA host
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 224 / Thursday, November 20, 1997 / Notices 62115

institutions. Additionally, organizations

should demonstrate the ability to work

with private sector organizations in the

United States, NIS and Baltics to

facilitate Fellows’ professional

development and post-program re-entry.

Further details on specific program

responsibilities can be found in the

Project Objectives, Goals, and

Implementation (POGI) Statement

which is part of the formal Solicitation

Package available from the USIA.

Awards will begin on or about

October 1, 1998 and will be

approximately three years in duration.

Initial recruitment and selection

activities may be performed in

conjunction with the current

administering organizations.

Guidelines

Programs must comply with J–1 visa

regulations. Please refer to program

specific guidelines (POGI) in the

Solicitation Package for further details.

The level of funding for fiscal year

1999 is uncertain, but is anticipated to

be a total of $13 million.

Proposed Budget

Organizations must submit a

comprehensive line item budget based

on the specific guidance in the

Solicitation Package. There must be a

summary budget as well as a breakdown reflecting both the administrative

budget and the program budget.

Organizations whose proposals include

an administrative budget that is less

than 20% of the grant amount requested

from the USIA will be given preference.

Detailed guidance on budget

preparation is included in the Project

Objectives, Goals and Implementation

(POGI) and PSI. Please refer to the

complete Solicitation package for

complete budget guidelines and

formatting instructions.

Review Process

USIA will acknowledge receipt of all

proposals and will review them for

technical eligibility. Proposals will be

deemed ineligible if they do not fully

adhere to the guidelines stated herein

and in the Solicitation Package. Eligible

proposals will be forwarded to panels of

USIA officers for advisory review. All

eligible proposals will be reviewed by

the program office, as well as the USIA

Office of Eastern Europe and NIS Affairs

and the USIA post overseas, where

appropriate. Proposals may be reviewed

by the Office of the General Counsel or

by other Agency elements. Funding

decisions are at the discretion of the

USIA Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs. Final technical

authority for assistance awards (grants

or cooperative agreements) resides with

the USIA grants officers.

Review Criteria

Technically eligible applications will

be competitively reviewed according to

the criteria stated below. These criteria

are not rank ordered and all carry equal

weight in the proposal evaluation:

1. Quality of the program plan:

Proposed programs should include

academic rigor, thorough conception of

project, demonstration of meeting

participants needs, contributions to

understanding the partner country,

proposed alumni activities, specific

details of recruitment, selection and

monitoring processes, a thorough

evaluation plan, proposed follow-on,

and relevance to USIA’s mission.

2. Program planning and institutional

capacity: A detailed agenda and

relevant work plan should demonstrate

substantive undertakings and logistical

capacity. Proposals should clearly

demonstrate how the institution and its

staff will meet the program objectives

and plan.

3. Track record: Relevant USIA and

outside assessments of the

organization’s experience with

international exchanges.

4. Multiplier effect/impact: Proposed

programs should strengthen long-term

mutual understanding, including

maximum sharing of information and

establishment of long-term institutional

and individual linkages.

5. Value of U.S.-Partner Country

relations: The assessment by USIA’s

geographic area office of the need,

potential impact, and significance of the

project with the partner countries.

6. Cost-effectiveness: A key measure

of cost effectiveness is the unit cost to

the Agency. This is the total request of

USIA monies divided by the number of

Fellow months (number of Fellows

multiplied by the number of program

months). The overhead and

administration components of the

proposal, including salaries and

honoraria, should be kept as low as

possible. All other items should be

necessary and appropriate.

7. Cost-sharing: Proposals should

maximize cost-sharing through other

private sector support as well as

institutional direct funding

contributions.

8. Support of diversity: Preference

will be given to proposals that

demonstrate efforts to provide for the

participation of students with a variety

of major disciplines, from diverse

regions, and of different socio-economic

and ethnic backgrounds, to the extent

feasible for the applicant institutions.

The Agency will seek to achieve

maximum geographic diversity in

recruitment, selection, and placement of

participants through its award of grants.

9. Follow-on activities: Proposals

should provide a plan for continued

follow-on activity (without USIA

support) which ensures that USIA

supported programs are not isolated

events. Proposals should include a plan

for alumni tracking and coordination

that demonstrates the willingness to

provide data to and coordinate tracking

with USIA and USIS Posts overseas.

Due to the reduction in available funds,

preference will be given to applicant

organizations who can fund alumni

activities, with minimal grant funded

contributions from the USIA.

10. Project evaluation: Proposals

should include a plan to evaluate the

activity’s success, both as the activities

unfold and at the end of the program. A

draft survey questionnaire or other

technique plus description of a

methodology to use to link outcomes to

original project objectives is

recommended. Successful applicants

will be expected to submit intermediate

reports after each project component is

concluded or quarterly, whichever is

less frequent.

Notice

The terms and conditions published

in the RFP are binding and may not be

modified by any USIA representative.

Explanatory information provided by

the Agency that contradicts published

language will not be binding. Issuance

of the RFP does not constitute an award

commitment on the part of the

Government. The Agency reserves the

right to reduce, revise, or increase

proposal budgets in accordance with the

needs of the program and the

availability of funds. Awards made will

be subject to periodic reporting and

evaluation requirements.

Options for Renewals

Subject to the availability of funding

for FY 2000 and the satisfactory

performance of grant programs, USIA

may invite grantee organizations to

submit proposals for renewals of awards

for two fiscal year cycles.

Notification

Final awards cannot be made until

funds have been appropriated by

Congress, allocated and committed

through internal USIA procedures.

Dated: November 14, 1997.

Robert L. Earle,

Deputy Associate Director for Educational

and Cultural Affairs.

[FR Doc. 97–30522 Filed 11–19–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8230–01–M