[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 53 (Thursday, March 19, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13478-13480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-7163]



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Part III





Department of Commerce





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National Telecommunications and Information Administration



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Public Telecommunications Facilities Program: Closing Date; Notice of 
Availability of Funds

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 53 / Thursday, March 19, 1998 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration
[Docket No. 960205021-8062-07]
RIN 0660-ZA01


Public Telecommunications Facilities Program; Closing Date

AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
(NTIA), U.S. Department of Commerce, announces the solicitation of 
applications for a grant for the Pan-Pacific Education and 
Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) Program. 
Applications for the PEACESAT Program grant will compete for funds from 
the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds 
account. An announcement regarding the submission of applications for 
the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) which is also 
funded from this account, was published in the Federal Register on 
January 5, 1998.
    Applicants for grants for the PEACESAT Program must file their 
applications on or before (30 days from publication). NTIA anticipates 
making the grant award by September 30, 1998. NTIA shall not be liable 
for any proposal preparation costs.

DATES: Applciations for the PEACESAT Program grant must be received on 
or before close of business on April 20, 1998.

ADDRESSES: To submit completed applications, or send any other 
correspondence, write to: NTIA/PTFP, Room H-4625, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis R. Connors, Director, Public 
Broadcasting Division, telephone: (202) 482-5802; fax: (202) 482-2156.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION;

I. Application Forms and Requirements

    Funding for the PEACESAT Program is provided pursuant to Pub. L. 
105-119, ``The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998.'' Pub. L. 105-119 provides that 
``notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Pan-Pacific Education 
and Communications Experiments by Satellite (PEACESAT) program is 
eligible to compete for Public Broadcasting Facilities, Planning and 
Construction funds.'' The PEACESAT Program was authorized under Pub. L. 
100-584 (102 Stat. 2970) and also Pub. L. 101-555 (104 Stat. 2758) to 
acquire satellite communications services to provide educational, 
medical, and cultural needs of Pacific Basin communities. The PEACESAT 
Program has been operational since 1971 and has received funding from 
NTIA for support of the project since 1988.
    Pub. L. 105-119 appropriated $21 million for this account to be 
awarded for Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) grants 
and for PEACESAT Program grants. The solicitation notice for the PTFP 
Program was published in the Federal Register on January 5, 1998 (63 
Fed. Reg. 368.) Applications submitted in response to this solicitation 
for PEACESAT applications are not subject to the requirements of the 
January 5, 1998 Notice and are exempt from the PTFP regulations at 15 
CFR Part 2301. NTIA anticipates making a single award for no more than 
$450,000 for the PEACESAT Program in FY 1998.
    NTIA requests that each applicant for a PEACESAT Program grant 
supply one (1) original signed application and five (5) copies, unless 
doing so would present a financial hardship, in which case the 
applicant may submit one (1) original and two (2) copies of the 
application. The application form consists of the Standard Form 424 
Application for Federal Assistance; Standard Form 424A Budget 
Information--Non-Construction Programs; Standard Form 424 B, 
Assurances; Standard Form CD-511 Certification; and Standard Form LLL, 
Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable). These requirements 
are subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act and have been approved by 
the Office of Management and Budget under control numbers 0348-0043, 
0348-0044, 0348-0040 and 0348-0046.
    Applicants are not required to respond to a collection of 
information sponsored by the Federal government, and the government may 
not conduct or sponsor this collection, unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number or if we fail to provide you with this notice.
    Eligible applicants will include any for-profit or non-profit 
organization, public or private entity, other than an agency or 
division of the Federal government. Individuals are not eligible to 
apply for the PEACESAT Program funds.
    Grant recipients under this program will not be required to provide 
matching funds toward the total project cost.
    Applicants are hereby notified that any equipment or products 
authorized to be purchased with funding provided under this program 
must be American-made to the maximum extent feasible.
    The Fly America Act requires that Federal travelers and others 
performing U.S. Government-financed foreign air travel must use U.S. 
flag air carriers, to the extent that service by such carriers is 
available. Foreign air carriers may be used only when a U.S. flag air 
carrier is unavailable, or use of U.S. flag air carrier service will 
not accomplish the agency's mission.
    Applicants should note that they must comply with the provisions of 
Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal 
Programs.'' The Executive Order requires applicants for financial 
assistance under this program to file a copy of their application with 
the Single Points of Contact (SPOC) of all states relevant to the 
project. Applicants are required to provide a copy of their completed 
application to the appropriate SPOC on or before April 20, 1998.
    Applicants may be required to submit Name Check forms (Form CD-346) 
which may be used to ascertain background information on key 
individuals associated with potential grantees as part of the 
application, per Department Pre-Award Administrative Requirements and 
Policies.
    All primary applicants must submit a completed From CD-511, 
``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Other 
Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and 
Lobbying,'' and the following explanations are hereby provided:
    (1) Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension. Prospective 
participants (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26, Section 105) are subject to 
15 CFR Part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension'' and the 
related section of the certification form prescribed above applies;
    (2) Drug Free Workplace. Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26, 
Section 605) are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, Subpart F, ``Government-
Wide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related 
section of the certification form prescribed above applies;
    (3) Anti-lobbying. Persons (as defined at 15 CFR Part 28, Section 
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 applicants/bidders 
for grants, cooperative agreements, and

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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; and
    (4) 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,'' (OMB Control Number 0348-0046) as required under 
15 CFR Part 28, Appendix B.
    Recipients shall require applicants/bidders for subgrants, 
contracts, subcontracts, or other lower tier covered transactions at 
any tier under the grant 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 the Department. SF-LLL submitted by any 
tier recipient or subrecipient should be submitted to the Department in 
accordance with the instructions contained in the award document.
    If an application is selected for funding, the Department of 
Commerce has no obligation to provide any additional future funding in 
connection with that award. Renewal of an award to increase funding or 
extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the 
Department.
    Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and 
Federal and Department policies, regulations, and procedures applicable 
to Federal assistance awards. In addition, unsatisfactory performance 
by the applicant under prior Federal awards may result in the 
application not being considered for funding.
    If applicants 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 or written assurance that they have 
received, there is no obligation on the part of the Department to cover 
preaward costs.
    No award of Federal funds shall be made to an applicant who has an 
outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either: (1) The delinquent 
account is paid in full; (2) a negotiated repayment schedule is 
established and at least one payment is received, or (3) other 
arrangements satisfactory to the Department are made.
    Applicants are reminded that a false statement on the application 
may be 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.

II. Scope of Project and Eligible Costs

    Projects funded pursuant to this Notice are intended to support the 
PEACESAT Program's acquisition of satellite communications to service 
Pacific Basin communities and to manage the operations of this network.
    Allowable costs incurred under approved projects shall be 
determined in accordance with applicable federal cost principles, i.e. 
OMB Circular A-21, A-87, A-122, or 48 CFR Part 31, as applicable. If 
included in the approved project budget, NTIA will allow costs for 
personnel, fringe benefits, travel, consultants and other contractual 
services, supplies, and other costs which are reasonable and necessary 
to manage the operation of a satellite communications network. 
Communications and computer equipment costs are eligible as necessary 
in order to provide communications services to meet the education, 
medical, and cultural needs of the Pacific Basin communities. The costs 
allowable under this Notice are not subject to the limitation on costs 
contained in the January 5, 1998 Notice regarding the PTFP Program.
    The total dollar amount of indirect costs proposed in an 
application must not exceed the indirect costs rate negotiated and 
approved by a cognizant federal agency or 100 percent of the total 
proposed direct cost dollar amount in the application, whichever is 
less.

III. Notice of Applications Received

    NTIA will publish a notice in the Federal Register listing all 
applications received in response to this notice. Listing an 
application in such a notice merely acknowledges receipt of an 
application to compete for funding with other applications. Publication 
does not preclude subsequent return or disapproval of the application, 
nor does it assure that the application will be funded. The notice will 
also include a request for comments on the applications from any 
interested party.

IV. Evaluation Process

    Each eligible application will be reviewed by a panel of outside 
reviewers who have demonstrated expertise in the programmatic and 
technological aspects of the application. The review panel will 
evaluate applications according to the following evaluation criteria 
and will provide written ratings of each application. The first three 
criteria, (1) Meeting the Purposes of the PEACESAT Program, (2) Extent 
of Need for the Project, and (3) Plan of Operation for the Project, are 
each worth 25 points. Criterion (4) Budget and Cost Effectiveness is 
worth 20 points and Criterion (5) Quality of Key Personnel is worth 5 
points.

Criteria 1. Meeting the Purposes of the PEACESAT Program

    (i) How well the proposal meets the objectives of the PEACESAT 
Program and (ii) How the objectives of the proposal further the 
purposes of the PEACESAT Program.

Criteria 2. Extent of Need for the Project

    Determine the extent to which the project meets the needs of the 
PEACESAT Program, including consideration of: (i) The needs addressed 
by the project; (ii) How the applicant identified those needs; (iii) 
How those needs will be met by the project; and (iv) The benefits to be 
gained by meeting those needs.

Criteria 3. Plan of Operation for the Project, Including

    (i) The quality of the design of the project; (ii) The extent to 
which the plan of management is effective and ensures proper and 
efficient administration of the project; (iii) How well the objects of 
the project relate to the purpose of the program; (iv) The quality of 
the applicant's plan to use its resources and personnel to achieve each 
objective; and (v) How the applicant will ensure that project 
participants who are otherwise eligible to participate are selected 
without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or 
handicapping condition.

Criteria 4. Budget and Cost Effectiveness

    To determine the extent to which: (i) The budget is adequate to 
support the project; and (ii) Costs are reasonable in relation to the 
objectives of the project.

Criteria 5. Quality of Key Personnel

    Applicant plans to use on the project, including: (I) The 
qualifications of the project director (if one is to be used); (ii) the 
qualifications of each of the other key personnel to be used in the 
project; (iii) The time that each person will commit to the project; 
and (iv) How the applicant, as part of its nondiscriminatory employment 
practices, will ensure that its personnel are selected for employment 
without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or 
handicapping condition. In this section, qualifications refer to the 
experience and training in fields related to the objects of the 
project; and any other qualifications that pertain to the quality of 
the project.

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V. Selection Process

    The program staff prepares summary recommendations for the Director 
of the Public Broadcasting Division. These recommendations include 
outside reviewers' ratings and will incorporate analysis based on the 
degree to which a proposed project meets the program purpose and cost 
eligibility as described in Section II of this Notice. Staff 
recommendations also consider (1) project impact, (2) the cost/benefit 
of a project and (3) whether review panels have consistently applied 
the evaluation criteria. The analysis of program staff will be provided 
to the Director of the Public Broadcasting Division in writing.
    The Director will recommend the funding order of the applications 
for the PTFP and PEACESAT Programs taking into consideration the 
outside reviewers' ratings, the summary recommendations prepared by 
program staff, and the relative rating of the PEACESAT and PTFP 
applications. The Director will present recommendations to the Office 
of Telecommunications and Information Applications (OTIA) Associate 
Administrator for review and approval. The Director recommends the 
funding order for applications in three categories: ``Recommended for 
Funding,'' ``Recommended for Funding if Funds Available,'' and ``Not 
Recommended for Funding.'' The selection factors retained by the 
Director, OTIA Associate Administrator, and the Assistant Secretary for 
Telecommunications and Information for the PTFP Program are described 
in 15 CFR 2301.18. These sections factors will also be used, as 
applicable, for selection of applications for funding for the PEACESAT 
Program.
    Upon review and approval by the OTIA Associate Administrator, the 
Director's recommendations will then be presented to the Selection 
Official, the NTIA Administrator. The NTIA Administrator selects the 
applications to be negotiated for possible grant award taking into 
consideration the outside reviewers rating, the Director's 
recommendations and the degree to which the slate of applications, 
taken as a whole, satisfies the PTFP and PEACESAT Program's stated 
purposes. These applications are negotiated between NTIA staff and the 
applicant. The negotiations are intended to resolve whatever 
differences might exist between the applicant's original request and 
what NTIA proposes to fund. During negotiations, some applications may 
be dropped from the proposed slate, due to lack of Federal 
Communications Commission licensing authority, an applicant's inability 
to make adequate assurances or certifications, or other reasons. 
Negotiation of an application does not ensure that a final award will 
be made. When the negotiations are completed, the Director recommends 
final selections to the NTIA Administrator applying the same factors as 
listed above. The Administrator then makes the final award selections 
from the negotiated applications taking into consideration the 
Director's recommendations and the degree to which the slate of 
applications, taken as a whole, satisfies the stated purposes for the 
PTFP Program in 15 CFR 2301.1(a) and (c) and for the PEACESAT Program.

VI. Project Period

    Any project awarded pursuant to this notice will be for a one-year 
period.

    Authority: P.L. 105-119, ``The Departments of Commerce, Justice, 
and State, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998.''
Dr. Bernadette McGuire-Rivera,
Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information 
Applications.
[FR Doc. 98-7163 Filed 3-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-M