Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 7 / Thursday, January 11, 2007 / Notices 1311 

Time, February 12, 2007, at one of the 

following addresses: 

Hand Delivery (including FedEx, 

UPS, etc.): U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Program Policy Staff, Portals 

Office Building, Suite 400, 1250 

Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 

DC 20024. 

U.S. Postal Delivery: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Program Policy Staff, STOP 

1042, 1400 Independence Ave., SW., 

Washington, DC 20250-1042. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria. FAS will use the following 

criteria in evaluating proposals: 

• The ability of the organization to 

provide an experienced staff with the 

requisite technical and trade experience 

to execute the proposal; 

• The extent to which the proposal is 

targeted to a market in which the United 

States is generally competitive; 

• The potential for expanding 

commercial sales in the proposed 

market; 

• The nature of the specific market 

constraint or opportunity involved and 

how well it is addressed by the 

proposal; 

• The extent to which the importer’s 

contribution in terms of handling and 

processing enhances the potential 

outcome of the project; 

• The amount of reimbursement 

requested and the organization’s 

willingness to contribute resources, 

including cash and goods and services 

of the U.S. industry and foreign third 

parties; and 

• How well the proposed technical 

assistance component assures that 

performance trials will effectively 

demonstrate the intended end-use 

benefit. 

Highest priority for funding under this 

announcement will be given to 

meritorious proposals that target 

countries meeting either of the 

following criteria: 

• Per capita income less than $10,725 

(the ceiling on upper middle income 

economies as determined by the World 

Bank [World Development Indicators; 

July 2006]); and population greater than 

1 million. Proposals may address 

suitable regional groupings, for 

example, the islands of the Caribbean 

Basin; or 

• U.S. market share of imports of the 

commodity identified in the proposal of 

10 percent or less. 

2. Review and Selection Process. 

Proposals will be evaluated by the 

applicable FAS Commodity Branches in 

the Market Development and Grants 

Management Division. The Commodity 

Branches will review each proposal 

against the factors described above. The 

purpose of this review is to identify 

meritorious proposals, recommend an 

appropriate funding level for each 

proposal based upon these factors, and 

submit the proposals and funding 

recommendations to the Deputy 

Administrator, Office of Trade 

Programs. 

3. Anticipated Announcement Date. 

Announcements of funding decisions 

for QSP are anticipated during May 

2007. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices. FAS will notify 

each applicant in writing of the final 

disposition of its application. FAS will 

send an approval letter and agreement 

to each approved applicant. The 

approval letter and agreement will 

specify the terms and conditions 

applicable to the project, including the 

levels of QSP funding and any costshare contribution requirements. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements. The agreements will 

incorporate the details of each project as 

approved by FAS. Each agreement will 

identify terms and conditions pursuant 

to which CCC will reimburse certain 

costs of each project. Agreements will 

also outline the responsibilities of the 

participant, including, but not limited 

to, procurement (or arranging for 

procurement) of the commodity sample 

at a fair market price, arranging for 

transportation of the commodity sample 

within the time limit specified in the 

agreement (organizations should 

endeavor to ship commodities within 6 

months of effective date of agreement), 

compliance with cargo preference 

requirements (shipment on United 

States flag vessels, as required), 

compliance with the Fly America Act 

requirements (shipment on United 

States air carriers, as required), timely 

and effective implementation of 

technical assistance, and submission of 

a written evaluation report within 90 

days of expiration of the agreement. 

QSP agreements are subject to review 

and verification by the FAS 

Compliance, Security and Emergency 

Planning Division. Upon request, a QSP 

participant shall provide to CCC the 

original documents which support the 

participant’s reimbursement claims. 

CCC may deny a claim for 

reimbursement if the claim is not 

supported by adequate documentation. 

3. Reporting. A written evaluation 

report must be submitted within 90 days 

of the expiration of each participant’s 

QSP agreement. Evaluation reports 

should address all performance 

measures that were presented in the 

proposal. 

VII. Agency Contact(s) 

For additional information and 

assistance, contact the Program Policy 

Staff, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Portals 

Office Building, Suite 400, Stop 1042, 

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024, phone: (202) 

720–4327, fax: (202) 720–9361, e-mail: 

ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov. 

Signed at Washington, DC on December 28, 

2006. 

W. Kirk Miller, 

Acting Administrator, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, and Vice President, Commodity 

Credit Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 07–57 Filed 1–10–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Commodity Credit Corporation 

Notice of Funds Availability; Inviting 

Applications for the Technical 

Assistance for Specialty Crops 

Program 

Announcement Type: New. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 10.604. 

SUMMARY: The Commodity Credit 

Corporation (CCC) announces the 

availability of funding for the 2007 

Technical Assistance for Specialty 

Crops (TASC) Program. The intended 

effect of this notice is to solicit 

applications from the private sector and 

from government agencies for 

participation in the FY 2007 TASC 

Program. The TASC Program is 

administered by personnel of the 

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). 

DATES: See paragraph IV.3 below for a 

detailed description of relevant dates. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Entities wishing to apply for funding 

assistance should contact the Program 

Policy Staff, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Portals Office Building, Suite 400, 1250 

Maryland Avenue, Stop 1042, SW., 

Washington, DC 20024, phone: (202) 

720–4327, fax: (202) 720–9361, e-mail: 

ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov. Information is 

also available on the Foreign 

Agricultural Service Web site at http:// 

www.fas.usda.gov/mos/tasc.asp. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Authority: The TASC Program is 

authorized by section 3205 of Pub. L. 

107–171. TASC regulations appear at 7 

CFR part 1487. 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
1312 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 7 / Thursday, January 11, 2007 / Notices 

Purpose: The TASC program is 

designed to assist U.S. organizations by 

providing funding for projects that 

address sanitary, phytosanitary, and 

technical barriers that prohibit or 

threaten the export of U.S. specialty 

crops. U.S. specialty crops, for the 

purpose of the TASC Program, are 

defined to include all cultivated plants, 

or the products thereof, produced in the 

U.S., except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, 

cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, and tobacco. 

As a general matter, TASC Program 

projects should be designed to 

accomplish the following goals: 

• Projects should address a sanitary, 

phytosanitary, or related technical 

barrier that prohibits or threatens the 

export of U.S. specialty crops; 

• Projects should demonstrably 

benefit the represented industry and not 

a specific company or brand; and, 

• Projects must address barriers to 

U.S. specialty crops that are currently 

available on a commercial basis and for 

which barrier removal would 

predominately benefit U.S. exports. 

Examples of expenses that the CCC 

may agree to reimburse under the TASC 

Program include, but are not limited to: 

Initial pre-clearance programs, export 

protocol and work plan support, 

seminars and workshops, study tours, 

field surveys, development of pest lists, 

pest and disease research, database 

development, reasonable logistical and 

administrative support, and travel and 

per diem expenses. 

II. Award Information 

In general, all qualified proposals 

received before the specified application 

deadlines will compete for funding. The 

limited funds and the range of barriers 

affecting the exports of U.S. specialty 

crops worldwide preclude CCC from 

approving large budgets for individual 

projects. In prior years, the amount of 

funding per proposal has ranged from 

$13,000 to $250,000, the maximum 

allowed. 

Applicants may submit multiple 

proposals, and applicants with 

previously approved TASC proposals 

may apply for additional funding. 

However, no TASC participant may 

have more than three approved projects 

underway at any given time. 

FAS will consider providing either 

grant funds as direct assistance to U.S. 

organizations or providing technical 

assistance on behalf of U.S. 

organizations, provided that the 

organization submits timely and 

qualified proposals. FAS will review all 

proposals against the evaluation criteria 

contained in the program regulations. 

Funding for successful proposals will 

be provided through specific 

agreements. These agreements will 

incorporate the proposal as approved by 

FAS. FAS must approve in advance any 

subsequent changes to the project. FAS 

or another Federal agency may be 

involved in the implementation of 

approved projects. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: Any United 

States organization, private or 

government, may apply to the program. 

Government organizations consist of 

federal, state, and local agencies. Private 

organizations include non-profit trade 

associations, universities, agricultural 

cooperatives, state regional trade 

groups, and private companies. 

Foreign organizations, whether 

government or private, may participate 

as third parties in activities carried out 

by U.S. organizations, but are not 

eligible for funding assistance from the 

program. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: 

Applicants are very strongly encouraged 

to provide matching funds or cost 

sharing support in this highly 

competitive program. Such support may 

be in the form of cash, goods, or in-kind 

services which are dedicated to the 

project by the organization that 

submitted the proposal, private industry 

entities, host governments, or foreign 

third parties. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

2. Application through the UES: 

Organizations are strongly encouraged 

to submit applications to FAS through 

the Unified Export Strategy (UES) 

application Internet Web site. Using the 

UES application process reduces 

paperwork and expedites FAS 

processing and review cycle. Applicants 

planning to use the UES Internet-based 

system must contact FAS Program 

Policy Staff on (202) 720–4327 to obtain 

site access information including a user 

ID and password. The UES Internetbased application, including a Help file 

containing step-by-step instructions for 

its use, may be found at the following 

URL address: http://www.fas.usda.gov/ 

cooperators.html. 

2. Application through electronic and 

hard copies: Applicants also have the 

option of submitting electronic versions 

in the UES format (along with two paper 

copies) of their applications to FAS on 

diskette. Applicants who choose to 

submit applications on diskette can 

obtain an application format at the 

following URL address: http:// 

www.fas.usda.gov/mos/tasc/ 

proposals.html. 

3. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: All TASC proposals must 

contain complete information about the 

proposed projects as described in 

§ 1487.5(b) of the TASC Program 

regulations. In addition, in accordance 

with the Office of Management and 

Budget’s issuance of a final policy (68 

FR 38402) regarding the use of a 

universal identifier for all Federal grants 

and cooperative agreements, all 

applicants must submit a Dun and 

Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number. An applicant 

may request a DUNS number at no cost 

by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS 

number request line on 1–866–705–

5711. Incomplete applications and 

applications which do not otherwise 

conform to this announcement will not 

be accepted for review. 

4. Submission Dates and Times: 

TASC funding is limited, and in order 

to assure sufficient resources are 

available to meet unanticipated needs 

during the fiscal year, TASC proposals 

will, generally, only be evaluated on a 

semi-annual basis. That is: 

• Proposals received prior to, but not 

later than, 5 p.m. (local time 

Washington, DC) February 12, 2007, 

will be considered for funding with 

other proposals received by that date; 

• Proposals not approved for funding 

during the review period will be 

reconsidered for funding after the 

review period only if the applicant 

specifically requests such 

reconsideration in writing, and only if 

funding remains available; 

• Proposals received after 5 p.m. 

(local time, Washington, DC) February 

12, 2007, will be considered for funding 

only if funding remains available. 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a 

proposal may be submitted for 

expedited consideration under the 

TASC Quick Response process if, in 

addition to meeting all requirements of 

the TASC program, a proposal clearly 

identifies a time-sensitive activity. In 

these cases, a proposal may be 

submitted at any time for an immediate 

evaluation. 

FAS will track the time and date of 

receipt of all proposals. 

5. Funding Restrictions: Proposals 

which request more than $250,000 of 

CCC funding in a given year will not be 

considered. Proposals to fund projects 

that exceed three years in duration will 

not be considered. No TASC participant 

may have more than three approved 

projects underway at any given time. 

Although funded projects may take 

place in the United States, all eligible 

projects must specifically address 

sanitary, phytosanitary, or technical 

barriers to the export of U.S. specialty 

crops. 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 7 / Thursday, January 11, 2007 / Notices 1313 

Certain types of expenses are not 

eligible for reimbursement by the 

program, including the costs of market 

research, advertising, or other 

promotional expenses. CCC will not 

reimburse unreasonable expenditures or 

any expenditure made prior to approval 

of a proposal. 

6. Other Submission Requirements: 

All Internet-based applications must be 

properly submitted to 5 p.m. (local time 

in Washington, DC) on February 12, 

2007, to be considered. 

All applications on diskette (with two 

accompanying paper copies) and any 

other applications must be received by 

5 p.m. (local time in Washington, DC) 

on February 12, 2007, at one of the 

following addresses: 

Hand Delivery (including FedEx, 

DHL, UPS, etc.): U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Program Policy Staff, Portals 

Office Building, Suite 400, 1250 

Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 

DC 20024. 

U.S. Postal Delivery: U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural 

Service, Program Policy Staff, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SE, Stop Code 

1042 South Building, Washington, DC 

20250–1042. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Criteria: FAS follows the evaluation 

criteria set forth in § 1487.6 of the TASC 

regulations. 

2. Review and Selection Process: FAS 

will review proposals for eligibility and 

will evaluate each proposal against the 

factors described above. The purpose of 

this review is to identify meritorious 

proposals, recommend an appropriate 

funding level for each proposal based 

upon these factors, and submit the 

proposals and funding 

recommendations to the Deputy 

Administrator, Office of Trade 

Programs. FAS may, when appropriate, 

request the assistance of other U.S. 

government subject area experts in 

evaluating the merits of a proposal. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: FAS will notify 

each applicant in writing of the final 

disposition of its application. FAS will 

send an approval letter and agreement 

to each approved applicant. The 

approval letter and agreement will 

specify the terms and conditions 

applicable to the project, including 

levels of funding, timelines for 

implementation, and written evaluation 

requirements. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: The agreements will 

incorporate the details of each project as 

approved by FAS. Each agreement will 

identify terms and conditions pursuant 

to which CCC will reimburse certain 

costs of each project. Agreements will 

also outline the responsibilities of the 

participant. Interested parties should 

review the TASC Program regulations 

found at 7 CFR part 1487 in addition to 

this announcement. 

3. Reporting: TASC participants are 

subject to the reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements described 

in 7 CFR part 3019. In addition, 

participants are required to submit a 

written report(s), on no less than an 

annual basis, and a final report, each of 

which evaluates their TASC project 

using the performance measures 

presented in the approved proposal. 

VII. Agency Contact 

For additional information or 

assistance, contact the Program Policy 

Staff, Foreign Agricultural Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Portals 

Office Building, Suite 400, 1250 

Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 

DC 20024, phone: (202) 720–4327, fax: 

(202) 720–9361, e-mail: 

ppsadmin@fas.usda.gov. 

Signed at Washington, DC on December 28, 

2006. 

W. Kirk Miller, 

Administrator, Foreign Agricultural Service, 

and Vice President, Commodity Credit 

Corporation. 

[FR Doc. 07–58 Filed 1–10–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Information Collection Activity; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the 

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites 

comments on this information 

collection for which RUS intends to 

request approval from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by March 12, 2007. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard C. Annan, Director, Program 

Development and Regulatory Analysis, 

Rural Utilities Service, 1400 

Independence Ave., SW., STOP 1522, 

Room 5170 South Building, 

Washington, DC 20250–1522. 

Telephone: (202) 720–8818. FAX: (202) 

720–4120. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

regulation (5 CFR 1320) implementing 

provisions of the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13) requires 

that interested members of the public 

and affected agencies have an 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection and recordkeeping activities 

(see 5 CFR 1320.8(d)). This notice 

identifies an information collection that 

RUS is submitting to OMB for 

extension. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Agency, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the Agency’s estimate of the burden of 

the proposed collection of information 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

through the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology. Comments may be sent to: 

Richard C. Annan, Director, Program 

Development and Regulatory Analysis, 

Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, STOP 1522, Room 5170 

South Building, 1400 Independence 

Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250–1522. 

FAX: (202)720–4120. 

Title: Assistance to High Energy Cost 

Rural Communities. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0136. 

Type of Request: Extension of a 

currently approved information 

collection. 

Abstract: The Rural Electrification Act 

of 1936 (RE Act) (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) 

was amended in November 2000 to 

create a new program to help rural 

communities with extremely high 

energy costs (Pub. L. 106–472). Under 

this new section 19 of the RE Act (7 

U.S.C. 918a), the Secretary of 

Agriculture, through the Rural Utilities 

Service (RUS), is authorized to provide 

financial assistance through the 

following three funding streams: 

• High Energy Cost Grants and Loans. 

RUS may provide grants and loans for 

energy generation, transmission and 

distribution facilities serving 

communities with average home energy 

costs in excess of 275 percent of the 

national average. Many of these 

communities are in rural Alaska, but 

there are other eligible areas 

nationwide. Eligible applicants include 

persons, State agencies (including 


cprice-sewell on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES