[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 215 (Friday, November 6, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59938-59941]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-29791]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration
[Docket No. 980930252-8252-01]


Special American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT)

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces availability of funds for the Special 
American Business Internship Training Program (SABIT), for training 
business executives and scientists (also referred to as ``interns'') 
from the NIS. The Department of Commerce, International Trade 
Administration (ITA) established the SABIT program in September 1990 to 
assist the former Soviet Union's transition to a market economy. Since 
that time, SABIT has been matching business executives and scientists 
from the NIS with U.S. firms which provide them with three to six 
months of hands-on training in a U.S. market economy.
    Under the SABIT program, qualified U.S. firms will receive funds 
through a cooperative agreement with ITA to help defray the cost of 
hosting interns. ITA will interview and recommend eligible interns to 
participating companies. Interns may be from any of the following 
Independent States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, 
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and 
Uzbekistan. The U.S. firms will be expected to provide the interns with 
a hands-on, non-academic, executive training program designed to 
maximize their exposure to management or commercially-oriented 
scientific operations. At the end of the training program, interns must 
return to the NIS.

DATES: The closing date for applications is January 29, 1999. An 
original and two copies of the application (Standard Form 424 (Rev. 4-
92) and supplemental material) are to be sent to the address designated 
in the Application Kit and postmarked no later than the closing date. 
Applications will be considered on a ``rolling'' basis as they are 
received, subject to the availability of funds. If available funds are 
depleted prior to the closing date, a notice to that effect will be 
published in the Federal Register. Processing of complete applications 
takes approximately two to three months. All awards are expected to be 
made by May 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Request for Applications: Competitive Application kits will 
be available from ITA starting on the day this notice is published. To 
obtain a copy of the Application Kit please E-mail: 
[email protected] (please state which format, e.g. 
WordPerfect 6.1), telephone (202) 482-0073, facsimile (202) 
482-2443 (these are not toll free numbers), or send a written request 
with two self-addressed mailing labels to Application Request, The 
SABIT Program, HCHB Room 3319, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th Street 
and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, 20230. Only one copy of 
the Application Kit will be provided to each organization requesting 
it, but it may be reproduced by the requester.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Liesel C. Duhon, Director, SABIT 
Program, U.S. Department of Commerce, phone--(202) 482-0073, 
facsimile--(202) 482-2443. These are not toll free numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SABIT exposes NIS business managers and 
scientists to a completely new way of thinking in which demand, 
consumer satisfaction, and profits drive production. Senior-level 
interns visiting the U.S. for internship programs with public or 
private sector companies will be exposed to an environment which will 
provide them with practical knowledge for transforming their countries' 
enterprises and economies to the free market. The program provides 
first-hand, eye-opening experience to managers and scientists which 
cannot be duplicated by American managers traveling to their 
territories.
    Managers: SABIT assists economic restructuring in the NIS by 
providing top-level business managers with practical training in 
American methods of innovation and management in such areas as 
strategic planning, financing, production, distribution, marketing, 
accounting, wholesaling, and labor relations. This first-hand 
experience in the U.S. economy enables interns to become leaders in 
establishing and operating a market economy in the NIS, and creates a 
unique opportunity for U.S. firms to familiarize key executives from 
the NIS with their products and services. Sponsoring U.S. firms will 
benefit by establishing relationships with key managers in similar 
industries who are uniquely positioned to assist their U.S. sponsors do 
business in the Independent States.
    Scientists: SABIT provides opportunities for gifted scientists to 
apply their skills to peaceful research and development in the civilian 
sector, in areas such as defense conversion, medical research, and the 
environment, and exposes them to the role of scientific research in a 
market economy where applicability of research relates to business 
success. Sponsoring firms in the U.S. scientific community also benefit 
from exchanging information and ideas, and different approaches to new 
technologies.
    The Special American Business Internship Training program's Catalog 
of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFA) number is 11.114.
    Funding Availability: Pursuant to section 632(a) of the Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (the ``Act'')

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funding for the program will be provided by the United States Agency 
for International Development (A.I.D). ITA will award financial 
assistance and administer the program pursuant to the authority 
contained in section 635(b) of the Act and other applicable Grant 
rules. The estimated amount of financial assistance available for the 
program is $ 2 million. At least $800,000 of that amount is reserved 
for U.S. organizations which host scientists. Additional funding may 
become available at a future date.
    Funding Instrument and Project Duration: Federal assistance will be 
awarded pursuant to a cooperative agreement between ITA and the 
recipient firm. All internships are three to six months; however, ITA 
reserves the right to allow an intern to stay for a shorter period of 
time (no less than one month) if the U.S. company agrees and the intern 
demonstrates a need for a shorter internship based on his or her 
management responsibilities. ITA will reimburse companies for the round 
trip international travel of each intern from the intern's home city in 
the NIS to the U.S. internship site, upon submission to ITA of the paid 
travel invoice, payment receipt, or other evidence of payment and the 
form SF-270, ``Request for Advance or Reimbursement.'' Travel under the 
program is subject to the Fly America Act. Recipient firms provide $30 
per day directly to interns; ITA will reimburse recipient firms for 
this stipend of $30 per day per intern, for up to six months, upon 
submission by company of an end-of-internship report and form SF-270. 
Recipient firms provide housing for the interns; ITA will reimburse 
recipient firms for up to $500 per month for housing costs, at the same 
time as the stipend, and upon submission by company of an end-of-
internship report and form SF-270. In general, each award will have a 
cap of $10,500 per intern for total cost of airline travel, stipend and 
housing costs. ITA reserves the right to allow an award to exceed this 
amount in cases of unusually high costs, such as airfare from remote 
regions of the NIS. However, the total payment cannot exceed the award 
amount. There are no specific matching requirements for the awards. 
Host firms, however, are expected to bear the costs beyond those 
covered by the award, including: visa fees, insurance, any food and 
incidentals costs beyond $30 per day, any training-related travel 
within the U.S., and provision of the hands-on training for the 
interns.
    U.S. firms wishing to utilize SABIT in order to be matched with an 
intern without applying for financial assistance may do so. Such firms 
will be responsible for all costs, including travel expenses, related 
to sponsoring the intern. However, prior to acceptance as a SABIT 
intern, work plans and candidates must be approved by the SABIT 
Program. Furthermore, program training will be monitored by SABIT staff 
and evaluated upon completion of training.
    Eligibility: Eligible applicants for the SABIT program will include 
all for profit or non-profit U.S. corporations, associations, 
organizations or other public or private entities. Agencies or 
divisions of the federal government are not eligible.
    Project Funding Priorities: Applicant proposal must provide an 
explanation, including description and extent of involvement, in 
priority business sector(s). While Applicants involved in any industry 
sector may apply to the program, priority consideration is given to 
those operating in the following sectors: (a). Agribusiness (including 
food processing and distribution, and agricultural equipment), (b). 
Defense conversion, (c). Energy, (d). Environment (including 
environmental clean-up), (e). Financial services (including banking and 
accounting), (f). Housing, construction and infrastructure, (g). 
Medical equipment, supplies, pharmaceuticals, and health care 
management, (h). Product standards and quality control, (i). 
Telecommunications, (j). Transportation and (k) Biotechnology.
    Evaluation Criteria: Consideration for financial assistance will be 
given to those SABIT proposals which:
    (1). Demonstrate a commitment to the intent and goals of the 
program to provide practical, on-the-job, non-academic, non-classroom, 
training: in the case of manager interns, an appropriate management 
training experience, or, in the case of scientist interns, a practical, 
commercially-oriented scientific training experience. Include a brief 
objectives section indicating why the Applicant wishes to provide an 
internship to a manager(s) or scientist(s) from the NIS, and how the 
proposed internship would further the purpose of the SABIT program as 
described above. Also, the Applicant should note how the internship to 
be provided will respond to the priority needs of senior business 
managers and scientists in the NIS, as determined by ITA.
    (2). Present a realistic work plan describing in detail the 
training program to be provided to the SABIT intern(s). Work plans must 
include the proposed internship training activities. The components of 
the training activities must be described in as much detail as 
possible, preferably on a week-by-week basis. The description of the 
training activities should include an account of what the intern's(s') 
duties and responsibilities will be during the training.
    (3). The application should also have a section noting: (a). 
Whether Applicant is applying to host managers or scientists, or both 
(and the number of each); (b). the duration of the internship; (c). the 
location(s) of the internship; (d). the name, address, and telephone 
number of the designated internship coordinator; (e). name(s) of 
division(s) in which the intern(s) will be placed; (f). the 
individual(s) in the U.S. company under whose supervision the intern 
will train; (g). the anticipated housing arrangements to be provided 
for the intern(s). Note that housing arrangements should be suitable 
for mid-and senior-level professionals, and that each intern must be 
provided with a private room; (h). a statement that the host firm is 
solidly committed to interns' return to their own countries upon 
completion of the internships.
    (4). Provide a general description of the profile of the intern(s) 
the Applicant would like to host, including: educational background; 
occupational/professional background (including number of years and 
areas of experience); size and nature of organization at which the 
intern(s) is/are presently employed; preference for the region of the 
NIS where the intern(s) is/are employed; and whether Applicant is open 
to sponsoring interns from a variety of NIS countries.
    Evaluation criteria 1-4 will be weighted equally.
    ITA does not guarantee that it will match Applicant with the 
profile provided to SABIT.
    Selection Procedures: Each application will receive an independent, 
objective review by one or more three or four-member ITA review panels 
qualified to evaluate applications submitted under the program. 
Applications will be evaluated on a competitive, ``rolling'' basis as 
they are received in accordance with the selection evaluation set forth 
above. Awards will be made to those applications which successfully 
meet the selection criteria. If funds are not available for all those 
applications which successfully meet the criteria, awards will be made 
to the first applications received which successfully do so. ITA 
reserves the right to reject any application; to limit the number of 
interns per applicant; and to waive informalities and minor 
irregularities in applications received.

[[Page 59940]]

The final selecting official reserves the right to make awards based on 
U.S. geographic and organization size diversity among applicants, as 
well as to consider priority business sectors (listed in Project 
Funding Priorities, above) when making awards. Recipients may be 
eligible, pursuant to approval of an amendment of an active award, to 
host additional interns under the program. ITA reserves the right to 
evaluate applicants based on past performance. The Director of the 
SABIT Program is the final selecting official for each award.
    Additional Information: Applicants must submit: (1). Evidence of 
adequate financial resources of Applicant organization to cover the 
costs involved in providing an internship(s). As evidence of such 
resources, Applicant should submit financial statements audited by an 
outside organization or an annual report including such statements. If 
these are not available, a letter should be provided from the 
Applicant's bank or outside accountant attesting to the financial 
capability of the firm to undertake the scope of work involved in 
training an intern under the SABIT program. (2). Evidence of a 
satisfactory record of performance in grants, contracts and/or 
cooperative agreements with the Federal Government, if applicable. 
(Applicants who are or have been deficient in current or recent 
performance in their grants, contracts, and/or cooperative agreements 
with the Federal Government shall be presumed to be unable to meet this 
requirement). (3). A statement that the Applicant will provide medical 
insurance coverage for interns during their internships. Recipients 
will be required to submit proof of the interns' medical insurance 
coverage to the Federal Program Officer, before the interns' arrivals. 
The insurance coverage must include an accident and comprehensive 
medical insurance program as well as coverage for accidental death, 
emergency medical evacuation, and repatriation.
    Other Requirements: All applicants are advised of the following:
    1. 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, a negotiated repayment schedule is established 
and at least one payment is received, or other arrangements 
satisfactory to the Department of Commerce (DOC) are made.
    2. A false statement on the application 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.
    3. Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all Federal laws and 
Federal and Departmental regulations, policies and procedures 
applicable to financial assistance awards.
    4. Participating companies will be required to comply with all 
relevant U.S. tax and export regulations. Export controls may relate 
not only to licensing of products for export, but also to technical 
data transfer.
    5. Applications under this program are not subject to Executive 
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
    6. If applicants incur any costs prior to an award being made, they 
do solely at their own risk of not being reimbursed by the Government. 
Notwithstanding any verbal or written assurance that may have been 
received, there is no obligation on the part of DOC to cover pre-award 
costs.
    7. Past performance: Unsatisfactory performance by an applicant 
under prior Federal awards may result in an application not being 
considered for funding.
    8. No obligation for future funding: If an application is selected 
for funding, DOC 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 DOC.
    9. 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,'' and the following explanations are hereby 
provided:
    (a) 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.
    (b) 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.
    (c) Anti-Lobbying: Funds provided under the SABIT program may not 
be used for lobbying activities. 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 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.
    (d) Anti-Lobbying Disclosures: Any applicant that has paid or will 
pay for lobbying in connection with this award using any funds must 
submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' as required 
under 15 CFR Part 28, Appendix B.
    10. All primary applicants must also submit a completed Standard 
Form 424, ``Application for Federal Assistance'' and a Standard Form 
424B, ``Assurances--Non-Construction Programs.'' Form CD-511 and 
Standard Forms 424 and 424B are included in the Application Kit 
supplied by the SABIT office.
    11. Lower Tier Certifications: Recipients shall require applicants/
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. SF-LLL 
submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be submitted to 
DOC in accordance with the instructions contained in the award 
document.
    12. Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are not allowed under the SABIT 
program.
    13. 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 greatest extent practicable.
    14. The following statutes apply to this program: Section 907 of 
the FREEDOM Support Act, Public Law 102-511, 22 U.S.C. 5812 note 
(Restriction on Assistance to the Government of Azerbaijan); 7 U.S.C. 
Sec. 5201 et seq. (Agricultural Competitiveness and Trade--the Bumpers 
Amendment); The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, including 
Chapter 11 of Part I, section 498A (b) Public Law 102-511, 22 U.S.C. 
2295a(b), (regarding ineligibility for assistance); 22 U.S. C. 2420(a), 
Section 660(a) of The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended 
(Police Training

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Prohibition); and provisions in the annual Foreign Operations, Export 
Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations Acts, concerning Use of 
American Resources, Impact on Jobs in the United States and Commerce 
and Trade (see, e.g., Secs. 546, 538 and 513 respectively of the 
Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Appropriations Act, 
1998, Public Law 105-118).
    15. Audit Requirements: The DOC Office of Inspector General has 
authority under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, to 
conduct an audit of any DOC award at any time.
    16. Payments. As required by the Debt Collections Improvement Act 
of 1996, all Federal payments to award recipients pursuant to this 
announcement will be made by electronic funds transfer.
    17. The collection of information is approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget, OMB Control Number 0625-0225. Public reporting 
for this collection of information is estimated to be three hours per 
response, including the time for reviewing instructions, and completing 
and reviewing the collection of information. All responses to this 
collection of information are voluntary, and will be protected from 
disclosure to the extent allowed under the Freedom of Information Act. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to 
respond to nor shall a person be subject to the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act unless that collection of information displays 
a current valid OMB Control Number. Send comments regarding the burden 
estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, 
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Reports 
Clearance Officer, International Trade Administration, Department of 
Commerce, Room 4001, 14th and Constitution Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 
20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Special American Business Internship 
Training, International Trade Administration, at (202)482-0073. This is 
not a toll free-number.

    Dated: November 3, 1998.
Liesel C. Duhon,
Director, SABIT Program.
[FR Doc. 98-29791 Filed 11-5-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-HE-P