[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16041-16042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7074]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

[Docket No. 001215353-1057-02]
RIN 0660-ZA14


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. Applicants should refer to the announcement regarding the 
submission of applications for the Public Telecommunications Facilities 
Program (PTFP) which is also funded from this account, and which was 
published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2000 (65 FR 80709).
    Applicants for grants for the PEACESAT Program must file their 
applications on or before April 23, 2001. NTIA anticipates making the 
grant award by September 30, 2001. NTIA shall not be liable for any 
proposal preparation costs.

DATES: Applications for the PEACESAT Program grant must be received on 
or before 5:00 p.m. on April 23, 2001. Applicants sending applications 
by the United States Postal Service or

[[Page 16042]]

commercial delivery services must ensure that the carrier will be able 
to guarantee delivery of the application by the Closing Date and Time. 
NTIA will not accept mail delivery of applications posted on the 
Closing Date or later and received after the above deadline. However, 
if an application is received after the Closing Date due to (1) carrier 
error, when the carrier accepted the package with a guarantee for 
delivery by the Closing Date, or (2) significant weather delays or 
natural disasters, NTIA will, upon receipt of proper documentation, 
consider the application as having been received by the deadline. 
Applicants submitting applications by hand delivery are notified that, 
due to security procedures in the Department of Commerce, all packages 
must be cleared by the Department's security office. The security 
office is located in Room 1874, located at Entrance No. 10 on the 15th 
St. N.W. side of the building.

ADDRESSES: To submit completed applications, or send any other 
correspondence, write to: NTIA/PTFP, Room H-4625, U.S. Department of 
Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Cooperman, 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 Public Law 
106-553, the ``Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the 
Judiciary and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001'' and Public 
Law 106-113, ``The Consolidated Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2000.'' 
Public Law 106-113 provides ``That, hereafter, 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 P.L. 100-584 (102 Stat. 2970) and 
also P. 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.
    Public Law 106-553 appropriated $43.5 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 December 21, 2000 
(65 FR 80709). Applications submitted in response to this solicitation 
for PEACESAT applications are not subject to the requirements of the 
December 21, 2000 Notice and are exempt from the PTFP regulations at 15 
CFR part 2301. NTIA anticipates making a single award for approximately 
$475,000 for the PEACESAT Program in FY2001.
    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.
    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required 
to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure 
to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), unless that collection displays a 
currently valid Office of Managment and Budget control number.
    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.
    The costs allowable under this Notice are not subject to the 
limitation on costs contained in the December 21, 2000 Notice regarding 
the PTFP Program.

II. Administrative Requirements; Scope of Project and Eligible 
Costs; Evaluation and Selection Process

    Public Law 106-553 was enacted December 21, 2000. Public Law 106-
553 appropriated funds to the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning 
and Construction Funds account. Pursuant to Public Law 106-113 the Pan-
Pacific Education and Communications Experiments by Satellite 
(PEACESAT) Program can compete for funds from the Public Broadcasting, 
Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds account. Funds appropriated 
to the Public Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds 
account do not carry fiscal year limitations. A notice published on 
March 16, 1999 set forth the scope of the project and eligible costs, 
and a description of the evaluation and selection process for 
applications for the PEACESAT Program. Since funds for the Public 
Broadcasting, Facilities, Planning and Construction Funds account are 
available without limitations, the administrative requirements; scope 
of project and eligible costs criteria; and evaluation and selection 
process criteria set forth in the March 16, 1999 notice apply to the 
1999 PEACESAT program and to all subsequent years. A copy of the March 
16, 1999 Notice is available to potential applicants from NTIA at the 
address listed in the Addresses section and is also available on the 
INTERNET at www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/peacesat/peacesat.html If, in the 
future, NTIA changes the administrative requirements; the scope of 
project and eligible costs criteria; or the evaluation and selection 
process criteria, a new notice will be published containing the new 
criteria and requirements.

III. Project Period

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

    Authority: Pub. L. 106-553 the ``Departments of Commerce, 
Justice, and State, the Judiciary and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2001'' and Pub. L. 106-113, ``The Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2000.''

Bernadette McGuire-Rivera,
Associate Administrator, Office of Telecommunications and Information 
Applications.
[FR Doc. 01-7074 Filed 3-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P