6240 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 8, 2000 / Notices

above, the Asset Manager shall, by the

close of the thirtieth (30th) day

following the request, provide a written

notice advising that person of the

reasons for the refusal and that the

Department may request such

information.

Section II—Definitions

(a) The term ‘‘the Affiliated BrokerDealer’’ means any broker-dealer

affiliate of the Applicant (as ‘‘affiliate’’

is defined in paragraph (c)) that meets

the requirements of this exemption.

(b) The term ‘‘the Asset Manager’’

means any asset management affiliate of

the Applicant (as ‘‘affiliate’’ is defined

in paragraph (c)) that meets the

requirements of this exemption.

(c) The term ‘‘affiliate’’ of a person

includes:

(1) any person directly or indirectly

through one or more intermediaries,

controlling, controlled by, or under

common control with such person;

(2) any officer, director, partner,

employee, or relative (as defined in

section 3(15) of the Act) of such person;

and

(3) any corporation or partnership of

which such person is an officer,

director, partner, or employee.

(d) The term ‘‘control’’ means the

power to exercise a controlling

influence over the management or

policies of a person other than an

individual.

(e) The term ‘‘Client Plan’’ means an

employee benefit plan that is subject to

the fiduciary responsibility provisions

of the Act and whose assets are under

the management of the Asset Manager,

including a plan investing in a Pooled

Fund (as ‘‘Pooled Fund’’ is defined in

paragraph (f) below).

(f) The term ‘‘Pooled Fund’’ means a

common or collective trust fund or

pooled investment fund maintained by

the Asset Manager.

(g) The term ‘‘Independent Fiduciary’’

means a fiduciary of a Client Plan who

is unrelated to, and independent of, the

Asset Manager. For purposes of this

exemption, a Client Plan fiduciary will

not be deemed to be unrelated to, and

independent of, the Asset Manager if:

(1) such fiduciary directly or

indirectly controls, is controlled by, or

is under common control with the Asset

Manager;

(2) such fiduciary, or any officer,

director, partner, employee, or relative

of such fiduciary is an officer, director,

partner, or employee of the Asset

Manager (or is a relative of such

persons); or

(3) such fiduciary directly or

indirectly receives any compensation or

other consideration from the Asset

Manager for his or her own personal

account in connection with any

transaction described in this exemption.

If an officer, director, partner, or

employee of the Asset Manager (or a

relative of such persons), is a director of

such Independent Fiduciary, and if he

or she abstains from participation in (A)

the choice of the Plan’s investment

manager/adviser and (B) the decision to

authorize or terminate authorization for

transactions described in Section I, then

paragraph (g)(2) of this Section II, shall

not apply.

(h) The term ‘‘security’’ shall have the

same meaning as defined in section

2(36) of the Investment Company Act of

1940 (the 1940 Act), as amended (15

U.S.C. 80a–2(36)(1996)).

(i) The term ‘‘Eligible Rule 144A

Offering’’ shall have the same meaning

as defined in SEC Rule 10f–3(a)(4) (17

CFR 270. 10f–3(a)(4)) under the 1940

Act.

(j) The term ‘‘qualified institutional

buyer’’ or ‘‘QIB’’ shall have the same

meaning as defined in SEC Rule 144A

(17 CFR 230.144A(a)(1)) under the 1933

Act.

(k) The term ‘‘Rating Organizations’’

means Standard & Poor’s Rating

Services, Moody’s Investors Service,

Inc., Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Co., or

Fitch IBCA, Inc., or their successors.

Signed at Washington, D.C., this 3rd day of

February, 2000.

Ivan L. Strasfeld,

Director of Exemption Determinations,

Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration,

U.S. Department of Labor.

[FR Doc. 00–2856 Filed 2–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4510–29–P

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE

PRESIDENT

National Partnership for Reinventing

Government

BEST Communities: Boosting

Education, Skills and Training

AGENCY: National Partnership for

Reinventing Government.

ACTION: Notice of performance partners

with community-based coalitions.

AUTHORITY CITATION: Non-statutory.

BACKGROUND: The number one problem

facing American business today is a

shortage of highly skilled workers.

America’s competitiveness and the

prosperity of the American people will

depend increasingly upon high-skill,

high-wage jobs. Realizing this potential

will require investing in education and

learning so all of our people can

continue to learn throughout their

lifetime and get the skills they need to

succeed in the 21st century.

The BEST Communities initiative was

recommended by the 21st Century

Leadership Group—a forum of leaders

from business, organized labor,

education, and all levels of

government—convened by the Vice

President in January 1999. The Vice

President asked the group to develop a

set of recommendations to their peers

that would help ensure a prepared and

thriving workforce in the next century.

Their report, Skills for a New Century:

A Blueprint for Lifelong Learning,

presented to the Vice President in

November 1999, outlined five broad

recommendations to provide adults the

skills they need and employers the

skilled employees needed to remain

competitive.

(1) Deliver education and training that

is tied to high standards, leads to useful

credentials and meets labor market

needs.

(2) Improve access to financial

resources for lifetime learning for all

adult Americans, including those in

low-wage jobs.

(3) Promote learning at a time, place,

and manner that meets worker needs

and interests, including through the use

of learning technologies to enable

learning at home, the workplace, or

elsewhere.

(4) Encourage and motivate adults to

pursue further education and training

and inform them of resources available

to help them do so.

(5) Form partnerships among a wide

array of organizations and stakeholders

to support workforce development and

lifelong learning for adults.

Based on the Leadership Group’s

recommendation, the Vice President

announced a new initiative to assist

local communities interested in

developing and implementing

community-wide strategies to help

adults get the skills they need to

succeed. This effort would support

community-based partnerships

involving business, labor, education and

government that develop plans focused

on clear, objective, measurable goals for

adult learning and skill development

across a community. Existing web sites

will be used to share key information

and best practices across a broader

network of communities.

Announcement: The National

Partnership for Reinventing Government

is seeking ten performance partners

with community-based coalitions that

want to work with Federal partners to

enhance education, skills, training and

lifelong learning for adults in their

community. Community-based

partnerships that are not selected as one

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 26 / Tuesday, February 8, 2000 / Notices 6241

of the performance partners will be

invited to become charter members of

the larger BEST Network.

The BEST Network will connect

communities across the country to

demonstrate model ways to encourage

lifelong learning. The overall initiative

also seeks to minimize administrative

barriers to problem solving and help

communities maximize currently

available federal resources.

This is the first step toward creating

a national network of communities

working together and sharing best

practices to help more adults get 21st

century skills and find more

opportunities for lifelong learning. The

network will help communities

collaborate with each other, across

sectors and with the federal partners to:

• Increase the number of Americans

with 21st century skills and help them

find high-skill, high-wage jobs;

• Close the Skills Gap;

• Promote lifelong learning;

• Address barriers at the federal,

state, and local level—in ways allowable

under current law—to increase the

flexibility and effectiveness of

resources;

• Obtain technical support and

facilitate access to best practices

employed in various communities; and

• Share lessons with other

communities.

What Are The Benefits To

Communities? This is not a grant

program and includes no new Federal

funds. To help community, State and

local partners, Federal partners will:

• Participate in the formation of a

national ‘‘community of practice’’ that

shares best practices and works together

to solve problems and get results.

• Assign a federal ‘‘champion’’ to

each performance partner to help

communities navigate the hallways of

inter-governmental programs, policies,

and federal resources across

government;

• Help create solid management

systems that focus on meaningful

outcomes for learners;

• Provide increased access to federal

data and geographic information related

to 21st century skills, jobs and work

trends; and

• Facilitate consolidated reporting

and increased flexibility in

administration—within existing legal

requirements—for communities that use

Federal funds from different

government departments and agree to

public measures of outcomes and

results.

The larger BEST Network will:

• Connect communities and relevant

agencies with peers working on similar

issues;

• Share lessons learned;

• Give national recognition to

innovative communities for their

effective strategies and results;

• Link to other, related federal

initiatives; and

• Help communities and local

agencies measure results and obtain

expert advice in devising strategies for

collecting, analyzing, and using data to

achieve results.

Who Can Apply To Be a Local

Partner? Expressions of Interest can be

submitted by the head of a communitybased partnership, local government,

network of local governments, state or

local workforce development agency, or

network of state or local agencies or

organizations. Where state funds or

agencies are involved or where federal

funds flow through the state, there must

be clear evidence of state partnership.

How Does My Community Express

Interest in the BEST Network? Potential

partners should submit a brief

Expression of Interest. To minimize any

burden, submissions should be under

ten pages in length. Communities are

encouraged to use existing plans and

documents wherever possible.

Selection Criteria: A cross-agency

team will select local partners based on:

• Existence of a partnership that

crosses sectors such as business, labor,

education and government.

• A community-wide plan for adult

learning and skill development that has

clear, objective, measurable goals.

• Effective leadership and

participation of key stakeholders such

as community, business, labor, and

educational leaders; federal, state, and

local officials; faith community

representatives; and others.

• Readiness and commitment of

partners to work together, cut red tape,

coordinate operations, use current

funding more effectively, and achieve

better results.

• Potential impact of proposed

performance partnership on closing the

skills gap in the local community, as

demonstrated by a focus on one or more

of the five broad recommendations in

the report Skills for a New Century: A

Blueprint for Lifelong Learning;

• Balance in terms of geography,

demographic characteristics, and areas

of focus.

The BEST Network will be supported

by the Lifelong Learning Inter-Agency

Strategy Group that includes

representatives of the U.S. Departments

of Labor, Education, and Commerce,

facilitated by the Vice President’s

National Partnership for Reinventing

Government.

Expressions of Interest: Expressions of

Interest in partnerships must be

received by close of business on

February 25, 2000. They may be

submitted by mail, fax or electronically

to: BEST Communities, National

Partnership for Reinventing

Government, Suite 200, 750 17th Street

NW, Washington, DC 20007, Fax: (202)

632–0390, or e:mail at BEST@npr.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Lynn S. Kahn, (202) 694–0038,

lynn.kahn@npr.gov; or Meshell Jones,

(202) 694–0122; meshell.jones@npr.gov.

Dated: January 20, 2000.

Lynn S. Kahn,

Team Leader.

[FR Doc. 00–2814 Filed 2–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3115–01–P

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Special Emphasis Panel in Advanced

Networking and Infrastructure

Research; Notice of Meeting

In accordance with the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463, as amended), the National Science

Foundation announces the following

meeting.

Name: Special Emphasis Panel in

Advanced Networking and Infrastructure

Research (#1207).

Date/Time: February 22 and 23, 2000; 8:30

AM–5:00 PM.

Place: Room 1120, National Science

Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington,

VA 22230.

Type of Meeting: Closed.

Contact Persons: Darleen Fisher and Karen

Sollins, Division of Advanced Networking

Infrastructure Research, Room 1175, National

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd.,

Arlington, VA 22230. Telephone: (703) 306–

1950.

Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice and

recommendations concerning proposals

submitted to NSF for financial support.

Agenda: To review and evaluate proposals

submitted to the Networking Research

Program as part of the selection process for

awards.

Reason for Closing: The proposals being

reviewed include information of a

proprietary or confidential nature, including

technical information; financial data, such as

salaries; and personal information

concerning individuals associated with the

proposals. These matters are exempt under 5

U.S.C. 552b(c), (4) and (6) of the Government

in the Sunshine Act.

Dated: February 1, 2000.

Karen J. York,

Committee Management Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–2743 Filed 2–7–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M