Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 14, 2000 / Notices 68167

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information, including a list of

exhibit objects, contact Paul W.

Manning, Attorney-Adviser, Office of

the Legal Adviser, 202/619–5997, and

the address is United States Department

of State, SA–44, Room 700, 301 4th

Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20547–

0001.

Dated: November 6, 2000.

William B. Bader,

Assistant Secretary for Educational and

Cultural Affairs, Department of State.

[FR Doc. 00–29070 Filed 11–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–08–U

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice # 3473]

Discretionary Grant Programs

Application Notice Establishing

Closing Date for Transmittal of Certain

Fiscal Year 2001 Applications

AGENCY: The Department of State invites

applications from national organizations

with interest and expertise in

conducting research and training to

serve as intermediaries administering

national competitive programs

concerning the countries of Central and

East Europe and the New Independent

States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union.

The grants will be awarded through an

open, national competition among

applicant organizations.

Authority for this Program for

Research and Training on Eastern

Europe and the Independent States of

the Former Soviet Union is contained in

the Soviet-Eastern European Research

and Training Act of 1983 (22 U.S.C.

4501–4508, as amended).

SUMMARY: The purpose of this

application notice is to inform potential

applicant organizations of fiscal and

programmatic information and closing

dates for transmittal of applications for

awards in Fiscal Year 2001 under a

program administered by the

Department of State. The program seeks

to build and sustain expertise among

Americans willing to make a career

commitment to the study of Central and

East Europe and the NIS.

Organization of Notice: This notice

contains three parts. Part I lists the

closing date covered by this notice. Part

II consists of a statement of purpose and

priorities of the program. Part III

provides the fiscal data for the program.

Part I

Closing Date for Transmittal of

Applications

An application for an award must be

mailed or hand-delivered by February 2,

2001.

Applications Delivered by Mail

An application sent by mail must be

addressed to W. Kendall Myers,

Executive Director, Advisory Committee

for Studies of Eastern Europe and the

Independent States of the Former Soviet

Union, INR/RES, Room 2251, U.S.

Department of State, 2201 C Street,

N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520–6510.

An applicant must show proof of

mailing consisting of one of the

following:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service

postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the

date of mailing stamped by the U.S.

Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or

receipt from a commercial center.

(4) Any other proof of mailing

acceptable to the Department of State.

If any application is sent through the

U.S. Postal Service, the Department of

State does not accept either of the

following as proof of mailing: (1) A

private metered postmark; or (2) a mail

receipt that is not dated by the U.S.

Postal Service.

An applicant should note that the

U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly

provide a dated postmark. Before

relying on this method, an applicant

should check with the local post office.

An applicant is encouraged to use

registered or at least first class mail. Late

applications will not be considered and

will be returned to the applicant.

Applications Delivered by Hand

An application that is hand delivered

must be taken to W. Kendall Myers,

Executive Director, Advisory Committee

for Studies of Eastern Europe and the

Independent States of the Former Soviet

Union, INR/RES, Room 2251, 2201 C

Street, NW., Washington, DC. Please

phone first at (202) 736–4572 to gain

access to the building.

The Advisory Committee staff will

accept hand-delivered applications

between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. EST

daily, except Saturdays, Sundays, and

Federal holidays.

An application that is hand delivered

will not be accepted after 4:00 p.m. on

the closing date.

Part II

Program Information

In the Soviet-Eastern European

Research and Training Act of 1983, the

Congress declared that independently

verified factual knowledge about the

countries of that area is ‘‘of utmost

importance for the national security of

the United States, for the furtherance of

our national interests in the conduct of

foreign relations, and for the prudent

management of our domestic affairs.’’

Congress also declared that the

development and maintenance of such

knowledge and expertise ‘‘depends

upon the national capability for

advanced research by highly trained and

experienced specialists, available for

service in and out of Government.’’ The

program provides financial support for

advanced research, training and other

related functions on the countries of the

region. By strengthening and sustaining

in the United States a cadre of experts

on Central and East Europe and the NIS,

the program contributes to the overall

objectives of the FREEDOM Support and

SEED Acts.

The full purpose of the Act and the

eligibility requirements are set forth in

Pub. L. 98164, 97 Stat. 1047–50, as

amended. The countries include

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,

Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia,

Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia, Georgia, Hungary,

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia,

Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania,

Russia, Serbia (including Kosovo and

Montenegro), Slovakia, Slovenia,

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and

Uzbekistan.

The Act establishes an Advisory

Committee to recommend grant policies

and recipients. The Secretary of State,

after consultation with the Advisory

Committee, approves policies and

makes the final determination on

awards.

Applications for funding under the

Act are invited from U.S. organizations

prepared to conduct competitive

programs on Central and East Europe

and the NIS and related fields. Applying

organizations or institutions should

have the capability to conduct

competitive award programs that are

national in scope. Programs of this

nature are those that make awards based

upon an open, nationwide competition,

incorporating peer group review

mechanisms. Individual end-users of

these funds—those to whom the

applicant organizations or institutions

propose to make awards—must be at the

graduate or post-doctoral level, and

must have demonstrated a likely career

commitment to the study of Central and

East Europe and/or the NIS.

Applications sought in this

competition among organizations or

institutions are those that would

68168 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 14, 2000 / Notices

contribute to the development of a

stable, long-term, national program of

unclassified, advanced research and

training on the countries of Central and

East Europe and/or the NIS by

proposing:

(1) National programs which award

contracts or grants to American

institutions of higher education or notfor-profit corporations in support of

post-doctoral or equivalent level

research projects, such contracts or

grants to contain shared-cost provisions;

(2) National programs which offer

graduate, post-doctoral and teaching

fellowships for advanced training on the

countries of Central and East Europe

and the NIS, and in related studies,

including training in the languages of

the region, with such training to be

conducted on a shared-cost basis, at

American institutions of higher

education;

(3) National programs which provide

fellowships and other support for

American specialists enabling them to

conduct advanced research on the

countries of Central and East Europe

and the NIS, and in related studies; and

those which facilitate research

collaboration between Government and

private specialists in these areas;

(4) National programs which provide

advanced training and research on a

reciprocal basis in the countries of

Central and East Europe and the NIS by

facilitating access for American

specialists to research facilities and

resources in those countries;

(5) National programs which facilitate

the public dissemination of research

methods, data and findings; and those

which propose to strengthen the

national capability for advanced

research or training on the countries of

Central and East Europe and the NIS in

ways not specified above.

Note: The Advisory Committee will not

consider applications from individuals to

further their own training or research, or

from institutions or organizations whose

proposals are not for competitive award

programs that are national in scope as

defined above. Support for specific activities

will be guided by the following policies and

priorities:

• Support for Transitions

The Advisory Committee strongly

encourages support for research

activities which, while building

expertise among U.S. specialists on the

region, also: (1) Promote fundamental

goals of U.S. assistance programs such

as helping establish market economies

and promoting democratic governance

and civil societies; and (2) provide

knowledge to both U.S. and foreign

audiences related to current U.S. policy

interests in the region, broadly defined.

This includes, but is not limited to,

such topics as resolution of ethnic and

other conflict, transition economics,

media studies, women’s issues, human

rights, and citizen participation in

politics and civil society. For on-site

research, applicants are encouraged to

think creatively about how individuals’

work may complement democratization

and marketization assistance activities

in the region. Examples might include

lecturing at a university or participating

in workshops with host government and

parliamentary officials,

nongovernmental organizations, and

other assistance target audiences on

issues related to market and democratic

transitions.

The Advisory Committee gives

priority to programs on Ukraine, Central

Asia, the Caucasus, and the Balkans,

especially the former Yugoslavia, where

gaps in knowledge exist. Proposals for

research on Russia should focus on the

regions and areas outside capital cities.

Historical or cultural research that

promotes understanding of current

events in the region also is encouraged

if an explicit connection can be made to

contemporary political and/or economic

transitions.

• Publications

Funds awarded in this competition

should not be used to subsidize

journals, newsletters and other

periodical publications except in special

circumstances, in which cases the funds

should be supplied through peer-review

organizations with national competitive

programs.

• Conferences

Proposals for conferences, like those

for research projects and training

programs, should be assessed according

to their relative contribution to the

advancement of knowledge and to the

professional development of cadres in

the fields. Therefore, requests for

conference funding should be directed

to one or more of the national peerreview organizations receiving program

funds, with proposed conferences being

evaluated competitively against

research, fellowship or other proposals

for achieving the purposes of the grant.

• Library Activities

Funds may be used for certain library

activities that clearly strengthen

research and training on the countries of

Central and East Europe and the NIS

and benefit the fields as a whole. Such

programs must make awards based upon

open, nationwide competition,

incorporating peer group review

mechanisms. Funds may not be used for

activities such as modernization,

acquisition, or preservation. Modest,

cost-effective proposals to facilitate

research, by eliminating serious

cataloging backlogs or otherwise

improving access to research materials,

will be considered.

• Language Support

The Advisory Committee encourages

attention to the non-Russian languages

of Eurasia and the less commonly taught

languages of the Central and East

Europe. Support provided for Russian

language instruction/study normally

will be only for advanced level.

Applicants proposing to offer language

instruction are encouraged to apply to a

national program as described above

that has appropriate peer group review

mechanisms.

• Support for Non-Americans

The purpose of the program is to

build and sustain U.S. expertise on the

countries of Central and East Europe

and the NIS. Therefore, the Advisory

Committee has determined that highest

priority for support always should go to

American specialists (i.e., U.S. citizens

or permanent residents). Support for

such activities as long-term research

fellowships, i.e., nine months or longer,

should be restricted solely to American

scholars.

Support for short-term activities also

should be restricted to Americans,

except in special instances where the

participation of a non-American scholar

has clear and demonstrable benefits to

the American scholarly community. In

such special instances, the applicant

must justify the expenditure. Despite

this restriction on support for nonAmericans, collaborative projects are

encouraged—where the non-American

component is funded from other

sources—and priority is given to

institutions whose programs contain

such an international component.

In making its recommendations, the

Committee will seek to encourage a

coherent, long-term, and stable effort

directed toward developing and

maintaining a national capability on the

countries of Central and East Europe

and the NIS. Program proposals can be

for the conduct of any of the functions

enumerated, but in making its

recommendations, the Committee will

be concerned to develop a balanced

national effort that will ensure attention

to all the countries of the area.

Legislation requires and this

announcement indicates under Program

Information of this section that in

certain cases grantee organizations must

include shared-cost provisions in their

arrangements with end-users. CostVerDate 11<MAY>2000 18:23 Nov 13, 2000 Jkt 194001 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\14NON1.SGM pfrm08 PsN: 14NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 14, 2000 / Notices 68169

sharing is encouraged, whenever

feasible, in all programs.

Part III

Available Funds

Awards are contingent upon the

availability of funds. Funding may be

available at a level up to $4.5 million.

The precise level of funding will not be

known until legislative action is

complete. In Fiscal Year 2000, the

Congress appropriated to the program

$4.5 million from the FREEDOM

Support and Support for East European

Democracies (SEED) Acts, which funded

grants to 9 national organizations, with

$3.0 million for activities on the NIS

and $1.5 million for those on Central

and East Europe, including the Baltic

states. The number of awards varies

each year, depending on the level of

funding and the quality of the

applications submitted.

The Department legally cannot

commit funds that may be appropriated

in subsequent fiscal years. Thus multiyear projects cannot receive assured

funding unless such funding is supplied

out of a single year’s appropriation.

Grant agreements may permit the

expenditure from a particular year’s

grant to be made up to three years after

the grant’s effective date.

Applications

Applications must be prepared and

submitted in 20 copies in 12 pitch in the

following format: one-page, singlespaced Executive Summary; Budget

presentation; narrative description of

proposed programs not to exceed 20

double-spaced pages; one-page, singlespaced vitae of key professional staff;

and required certifications. Applicants

may append other information they

consider essential, although bulky

submissions are discouraged and run

the risk of not being reviewed fully.

Budget

Because funds will be appropriated

separately for Central and East Europe

(including the Baltic states) and New

Independent States programs, proposals

must indicate how the requested funds

will be distributed by region, country (to

the extent possible), and activity.

Subsequently, grant recipients must

report expenditures by region, country,

and activity.

Applicants should familiarize

themselves with Department of State

grant regulations contained in 22 CFR

145, ‘‘Grants and Cooperative

Agreements with Institutions of Higher

Education, Hospitals, and Other NonProfit Organizations’’; 22 CFR 137,

‘‘Department of State Government-wide

Debarment and Suspension (NonProcurement) and Government-wide

Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace

(Grants)’’; OMB Circular A–110,

‘‘Uniform Administrative Requirements

for Grants and Agreements with

Institutions of Higher Education,

Hospitals, and Other Non-profit

Organizations’’; and OMB Circular A–

133, ‘‘Audits of Institutions of Higher

Learning and Other Non-Profit

Institutions’’; and indicate or provide

the following information:

(1) Whether the organization falls

under OMB Circular No. A–21, ‘‘Cost

Principles for Educational Institutions,’’

or OMB Circular No. A–122, ‘‘Cost

Principles for Nonprofit Organizations;’’

(2) A detailed program budget

indicating direct expenses with clearly

identified administrative costs by

program element and by region (NIS or

Central and East Europe), indirect costs,

and the total amount requested. The

budget should indicate clearly the total

amount requested as a sum of the

amount requested for NIS activities plus

the amount requested for Central and

East Europe activities. The budget also

should reflect administrative costs as a

percentage of the total requested

funding . NB: Indirect costs are limited

to 10 percent of total direct program

costs. Applicants requesting funds to

supplement a program having other

sources of support should submit a

current budget for the total program and

an estimated future budget for it

showing how specific lines in the

budget would be affected by the

allocation of requested grant funds.

Other funding sources and amounts,

when known, should be identified.

(3) The applicant’s cost-sharing

proposal, if applicable, containing

appropriate details and cross references

to the requested budget;

(4) The organization’s most recent

audit report (the most recent U.S.

Government audit report, if available)

and the name, address, and point of

contact of the audit agency. N.B.: The

threshold for grants that trigger an audit

requirement has been raised from

$25,000 to $300,000.

(5) An indication of the applicant’s

priorities if funding is being requested

for more than one program or activity.

All payments will be made to grant

recipients through the Department of

State.

Narrative Statement

The Applicant must describe fully the

proposed programs, including detailed

information about plans for advertising

programs, peer review and selection

procedures and identification of

anticipated selection committee

participants, estimates of the types and

amounts of anticipated awards, and

benefits of these programs for the

Central and East European, Russian, and

Eurasian fields.

Applicants who have received

previous grants from this State

Department program should provide

detailed information on the end-user

awards made, including, where

applicable, names/affiliations of

recipients, and amounts and types of

awards. Applicants should specify both

past and anticipated applicant to award

ratios. A summary of an organization’s

past grants under this State Department

program also should be included.

Proposals from national organizations

involving language instruction programs

should provide, for those programs

supported in the past year, information

on the criteria for evaluation, including

levels of instruction, degrees of

intensiveness, facilities, methods for

measuring language proficiency

(including pre-and post-testing),

instructors’ qualifications, and budget

information showing estimated costs per

student.

Certifications

Applicants must include a description

of affirmative action policies and

practices and certifications of

compliance with the provisions of: (1)

The Drug-Free Workplace Act (Pub.

L.100–690), in accordance with

Appendix C of 22 CFR 137, Subpart F;

and (2) Section 319 of the Department

of the Interior and Related Agencies

Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 101–121),

in accordance with Appendix A of 22

CFR 138, New Restrictions on Lobbying

Activities.

Technical Review

The Advisory Committee for Studies

of Eastern Europe and the Independent

States of the Former Soviet Union will

evaluate applications on the basis of the

following criteria:

(1) Responsiveness to the substantive

provisions set forth above in Program

Part II, Information (45 points);

(2) The professional qualifications of

the applicant’s key personnel and

selection committees, and their

experience conducting national

competitive award programs of the type

the applicant proposes on the countries

of Central and East Europe and/or the

NIS (35 points); and

(3) Budget presentation and cost

effectiveness (20 points).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For

further information, contact W. Kendall

Myers, Executive Director, Advisory

Committee for Studies of Eastern Europe

and the Independent States of the

68170 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 220 / Tuesday, November 14, 2000 / Notices

Former Soviet Union, INR/RES, Room

2251, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20520–

6510. Telephone: (202) 736–4572 or

736–4386, fax: (202) 736-4851 or (202)

736–4807.

Dated: November 6, 2000.

W. Kendall Myers,

Executive Director, Advisory Committee for

Studies of Eastern Europe and the

Independent States of the Former Soviet

Union.

[FR Doc. 00–29088 Filed 11–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–32–P

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Sunshine Act Meeting

AGENCY HOLDING THE MEETING: Tennessee

Valley Authority (Meeting No. 1525).

TIME AND DATE: 9 a.m. (CST), November

15, 2000.

PLACE: Eupora Community House, 101

East Clark Street, Eupora, Mississippi.

STATUS: Open.

Agenda

Approval of minutes of meeting held

on October 25, 2000.

New Business

A—Budget and Financing

A1. Approval of tax-equivalent

payments for Fiscal Year 2000 and the

estimated payments in Fiscal Year 2001

in accordance with Section 13 of the

TVA Act.

A2. Adoption of Tennessee Valley

Authority Financial Statements for

Fiscal Year 2000.

A3. Retention of Net Power Proceeds

and Nonpower Proceeds and Payments

to the U.S. Treasury in March 2001,

pursuant to Section 26 of the TVA Act.

B—Purchase Awards

B1. Contracts with Verizon Wireless

and Suncom for cellular services.

C—Energy

C1. Contract with Innogy Technology

Ventures Limited for the design of a

Regenesys energy storage plant and the

manufacture and supply of fuel cell

modules.

E—Real Property Transactions

E1. Sale of noncommercial,

nonexclusive permanent easement to

Carl D. Klimek for construction and

maintenance of recreational water-use

facilities affecting approximately 0.048

acre of Tellico Reservoir shoreline in

Loudon County, Tennessee, Tract No.

XTELR–218RE.

E2. Grant of a 30-year term easement

to the State of Alabama, Department of

Conservation and Natural Resources, for

the operation of a wildlife management

and public recreation area affecting

approximately 1,500 acres of Wheeler

Reservoir land in Lawrence and Morgan

Counties, Alabama, Tract No. XTWR–

114WL.

E3. Modification of a release and grant

of easement to James B. and Teresa L.

Grant affecting approximately 0.3 acre

of former TVA land on Norris Reservoir

in Anderson County, Tennessee, a

portion of Tract No. XNR–15:33.

E4. Abandonment of a portion of

transmission line easement right-of-way

affecting approximately 1.5 acres of the

Weaver-Young Cane transmission line

in Union County, Georgia, Tract No.

WYC–52A.

For more information: Please call

TVA Public Relations at (865) 632–6000,

Knoxville, Tennessee. Information is

also available at TVA’s Washington

Office (202) 898–2999. People who plan

to attend the meeting and have special

needs should call (865) 632–6000.

Dated: November 8, 2000.

Edward S. Christenbury,

General Counsel and Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–29261 Filed 11–9–00; 2:28 pm]

BILLING CODE 8120–08–M

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES

TRADE REPRESENTATIVE

Notice of Meeting of the Trade and

Environment Policy Advisory

Committee (TEPAC)

AGENCY: Office of the United States

Trade Representative.

ACTION: Notice that the November 30,

2000, meeting of the Trade and

Environment Policy Advisory

Committee will be held from 8:30 a.m.

to 12 noon. The meeting will be closed

to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 and

open to the public from 11:30 a.m. to 12

noon.

SUMMARY: The Trade and Environment

Policy Advisory Committee will hold a

meeting on November 30, 2000 from

8:30 a.m. to 12 noon. The meeting will

be closed to the public from 8:30 a.m.

to 11:30 a.m. The meeting will include

a review and discussion of current

issues which influence U.S. trade

policy. Pursuant to Section 2155(f)(2) of

Title 19 of the United States Code, I

have determined that this meeting will

be concerned with matters the

disclosure of which would seriously

compromise the development by the

United States Government of trade

policy, priorities, negotiating objectives

or bargaining positions with respect to

the operation of any trade agreement

and other matters arising in connection

with the development, implementation

and administration of the trade policy of

the United States. The meeting will be

open to the public and press from 11:30

a.m. to 12 noon, at which time the

implementation of the Executive Order

on Environmental Reviews of Trade

Agreements, an other issues will be

discussed. Attendance during this part

of the meeting is for observation only.

Individuals who are not members of the

committee will not be invited to

comment.

DATES: The meeting is scheduled for

November 30, 2000, unless otherwise

notified.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the USTR Annex Building in

Conference Rooms 1 and 2, located at

1724 F Street, NW., Washington, DC,

unless otherwise notified.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Christina Servilla, Office of the United

States Trade Representative, (202) 395–

6120.

Charlene Barshefsky,

Untied States Trade Representative.

[FR Doc. 00–29075 Filed 11–13–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3190–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms

[Notice No. 907]

Appointment of Individuals To Serve

as Members of the Performance

Review Board (PRB); Senior Executive

Service

SUMMARY: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C.

4314(c)(4), this notice announces the

appointment of members of the

Performance Review Board for the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms (ATF) for the rating period

beginning October 1, 1999, and ending

September 30, 2000. This notice effects

changes in the membership of the ATF

PRB previously appointed November

12, 1999 (64 FR 61688).

The names and titles of the ATF PRB

members are as follows:

John J. Manfreda, Chief Counsel, Bureau

of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,

Department of the Treasury

John Dooher, Director, Washington

Office, Federal Law Enforcement

Training Center, Department of the

Treasury

H. Douglas Cunningham, Deputy

Assistant Director, Office of