28850 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 110 / Thursday, June 6, 1996 / Notices

Dated: June 3, 1996.

Donald L. Powers,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Minority

Business Development Agency.

[FR Doc. 96–14302 Filed 6–5–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–21–P

Business Development Center

Applications: Statewide New Mexico

AGENCY: Minority Business

Development Agency.

ACTION: Notice

SUMMARY: In accordance with Executive

Order 11625 and 15 U.S.C. 1512, the

Minority Business Development Agency

(MBDA) is soliciting competitive

applications to operate its Statewide

New Mexico Minority Business

Development Center (MBDC).

The purpose of the MBDC Program is

to provide business development

services to the minority business

community to help establish and

maintain viable minority businesses. To

this end, MBDA funds organizations to

identify and coordinate public and

private sector resources on behalf of

minority individuals and firms; to offer

a full range of client services to minority

entrepreneurs; and to serve as a conduit

of information and assistance regarding

minority business. The MBDC will

provide service in the State of New

Mexico. The award number of the

MBDC will be 06–10–96006–01.

DATES: The closing date for applications

is July 8, 1996. Applications must be

received in the MBDA Headquarters’

Executive Secretariat on or before July 8,

1996. A pre-application conference will

be held on June 13, 1996, at 10 a.m., at

the Dallas Regional Office, 1100

Commerce Street, Room 7B23, Dallas,

Texas 75242, (214) 767–8001.

ADDRESSES: U.S. Department of

Commerce, Minority Business

Development Agency, MBDA Executive

Secretariat, 14th and Constitution

Avenue, NW., Room 5073, Washington,

DC 20230, (202) 482–3763.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AN

APPLICATION PACKAGE, CONTACT: Bobby

Jefferson at (214) 767–8001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Contingent upon the availability of

Federal funds, the cost of performance

for the first budget period (13 months)

from September 1, 1996 to September

30, 1997, is estimated at $333,125. The

total Federal amount is $283,156 and is

composed of $276,250 plus the Audit

Fee amount of $6,906. The application

must include a minimum cost share of

15%, $49,969 in non-federal (costsharing) contributions for a total project

cost of $333,125. Cost-sharing

contributions may be in the form of

cash, client fees, third party in-kind

contributions, non-cash applicant

contributions or combinations thereof.

The funding instrument for this

project will be a cooperative agreement.

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 knowledge,

background and/or capabilities of the

firm and its staff in addressing the needs

of the business community in general

and, specifically, the special needs of

minority 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). 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 to

determine if funding for the project

should continue. Continued funding

will be at the total discretion of MBDA

based on such factors as the MBDC’s

performance, the availability of funds

and Agency priorities.

The MBDC shall be required to

contribute at least 15% of the total

project cost through non-Federal

contributions. To assist in this effort, the

MBDC may charge client fees for

services rendered. Fees may range from

$10 to $60 per hour based on the gross

receipts of the client’s business.

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 preaward 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 costsharing requirements; unsatisfactory

performance of the MBDC work
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 110 / Thursday, June 6, 1996 / Notices 28851

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, § 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, 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. SFLLL 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 Americanmade 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).

11.800 Minority Business Development

Center

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance)

Dated: June 3, 1996.

Donald L. Powers,

Federal Register Liaison Officer, Minority

Business Development Agency.

[FR Doc. 96–14301 Filed 6–5–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–21–P

Minority Business Development

Centers; New York

AGENCY: Minority Business

Development Agency, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; Solicitation of Business

Development Center Applications for

Bronx, Brooklyn, and Newark/Jersey

city.

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 the Minority Business

Development Centers (MBDC) listed in

this document.

The purpose of the MBDC Program is

to provide business development

assistance to persons who are members

of groups determined by MBDA to be

socially or economically disadvantaged,

and to business concerns owned and

controlled by such individuals. To this

end, MBDA funds organizations to

identify and coordinate public and

private sector resources on behalf of

minority individuals and firms; to offer

a full range of client services to minority

entrepreneurs; and to serve as a conduit

of information and assistance regarding

minority business.

In accordance with the Interim Final

Policy published in the Federal Register

on May 31, 1996, the cost-share

requirement for the MBDCs listed in this

notice has been increased to 40%. The

Department of Commerce will fund up

to 60% of the total cost of operating an

MBDC on an annual basis. The MBDC

operator is required to contribute at

least 40% of the total project cost (the

‘‘cost-share requirement’’). Cost-sharing

contributions may be in the form of

cash, client fees, third party in-kind

contributions, non-cash applicant

contributions or combinations thereof.

In addition to the traditional sources of

an MBDC’s cost-share contribution, the

40% may be contributed by local, state

and private sector organizations. It is

anticipated that some organizations may

apply jointly for an award to operate the

center. For administrative purposes, one

organization must be designated as the

recipient organization.

DATES: The closing date for applications

for each MBDC is July 8, 1996.

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.

PRE-APPLICATION CONFERENCE: A preapplication conference will be held on

Thursday, June 13, 1996, from 10:00

a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at 26 Federal Plaza,

Room 1802, (Corner of Broadway and

Duane Street), New York, New York.

Any further information concerning this

conference may be obtained by calling

(212) 264–3262. Please be advised that

attendance at the pre-application

conference will require proper

identification for entrance into the

Federal building.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following are MBDCs for which

applications are solicited:

1. MBDC Application: Bronx

Metropolitan Area Serviced: Bronx,

New York

Award Number: 02–10–96003–01

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AN

APPLICATION PACKAGE, CONTACT:

Heyward Davenport, Regional Director,

at (212) 264–3262 Contingent upon the

availability of Federal funds, the cost of

performance for the first budget period

(13 months) from October 1, 1996 to

October 30, 1997, is estimated at

$444,167. The total Federal amount is

$266,500 and is composed of $260,000

plus the Audit Fee amount of $6,500.

The application must include a

minimum cost share of 40%, $177,667

in non-federal (cost-sharing)

contributions for a total project cost of

$444,167.

2. MBDC Application: Brooklyn

Metropolitan Area Serviced:

Brooklyn, New York

Award Number: 02–10–96004–01

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND AN

APPLICATION PACKAGE, CONTACT:

Heyward Davenport, Regional Director,

at (212) 264–3262 Contingent upon the