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[Federal Register: February 12, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 28)]
[Notices]
[Page 6542-6546]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12fe07-53]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; Overview
Information; Parent Information and Training Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.235F.
Dates:
Applications Available: February 12, 2007.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 14, 2007.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 14, 2007.
Eligible Applicants: Private nonprofit organizations that meet the
requirements in section 303(c)(4) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as
amended (Act).
An applicant organization--
(1) Must demonstrate the capacity and expertise to--
(i) Coordinate training and information activities with Centers for
Independent Living;
(ii) Coordinate and work closely with parent information and
training centers established pursuant to section 671 of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act; and
(iii) Effectively conduct the training and information activities
authorized in section 303 of the Act;
(2)(i) Must be governed by a board of directors--
(A) That includes professionals in the field of vocational
rehabilitation; and
(B) On which a majority of the members are individuals with
disabilities or the parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or
authorized representatives of the individuals; or
(ii)(A) Must have a membership that represents the interests of
individuals with disabilities; and
(B) Must establish a special governing committee that includes
professionals in the field of vocational rehabilitation and on which a
majority of the members are individuals with disabilities or the
parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or authorized
representatives of the individuals; and
(3) Must serve individuals with a full range of disabilities and
the parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or authorized
representatives of the individuals.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $6.511
million for Demonstration and Training programs for FY 2007, of which
we intend to use an estimated $700,000 for this competition. The actual
level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action.
However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete
the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.
Estimated Range of Awards: $95,000-$105,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $100,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 7.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
[[Page 6543]]
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: This program is designed to support projects
that provide training and information to enable individuals with
disabilities, and the parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or
other authorized representatives of the individuals, to participate
more effectively with professionals in meeting the vocational,
independent living, and rehabilitation needs of individuals with
disabilities. These grants are designed to meet the unique training and
information needs of those individuals who live in the area to be
served, particularly those who are members of populations that have
been unserved or underserved by programs under the Act.
Statutory Activities: Applicants must provide information on how
they will meet the requirements under section 303(c)(2) of the Act,
which requires grantees to assist individuals with disabilities and the
parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or authorized
representatives of the individuals--
(1) To better understand vocational rehabilitation and independent
living programs and services;
(2) To provide follow-up support for transition and employment
programs;
(3) To communicate more effectively with transition and
rehabilitation personnel and other relevant professionals;
(4) To provide support in the development of the individualized
plan for employment;
(5) To provide support and expertise in obtaining information about
rehabilitation and independent living programs, services, and resources
that are appropriate; and
(6) To understand the provisions of the Act, particularly
provisions relating to employment, supported employment, and
independent living.
Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 773(c).
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81,
82, 84, 85, 86, and 99.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $6.511
million for Demonstration and Training programs for FY 2007, of which
we intend to use an estimated $700,000 for this competition. The actual
level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action.
However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete
the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.
Estimated Range of Awards: $95,000-$105,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $100,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 7.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 60 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Private nonprofit organizations that meet
the requirements in section 303(c)(4) of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as amended (Act).
An applicant organization--
(1) Must demonstrate the capacity and expertise to--
(i) Coordinate training and information activities with Centers for
Independent Living;
(ii) Coordinate and work closely with parent information and
training centers established pursuant to section 671 of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act; and
(iii) Effectively conduct the training and information activities
authorized in section 303 of the Act.
(2)(i) Must be governed by a board of directors--
(A) That includes professionals in the field of vocational
rehabilitation; and
(B) On which a majority of the members are individuals with
disabilities or the parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or
authorized representatives of the individuals; or
(ii)(A) Must have a membership that represents the interests of
individuals with disabilities; and
(B) Must establish a special governing committee that includes
professionals in the field of vocational rehabilitation and on which a
majority of the members are individuals with disabilities or the
parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or authorized
representatives of the individuals; and
(3) Must serve individuals with a full range of disabilities and
the parents, family members, guardians, advocates, or authorized
representatives of the individuals.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission Information
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.235F.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the Grants and Contracts
Services Team, U.S. Department of Education,2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this competition.
3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: February 12,
2007. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 14, 2007.
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Deadline for
Intergovernmental Review: May 14, 2007.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR
[[Page 6544]]
part 79. Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs
under Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this
competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the
instructions in this section.
Through
this site, you will be able to download a copy of the application
package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your
application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant
application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
You must
search for the downloadable application package for this program or
competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha
suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.326, not 84.326A).
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system.
Registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2)
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization.
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step
Registration Guide (see
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please
note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms:
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
You must attach any narrative sections of your application
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file,
we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified
identifying number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
[[Page 6545]]
If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed
elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and
provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with
Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will
accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Ellen Chesley, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 5018, Potomac
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-2550. FAX: (202) 245-7591.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.235F), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-
4260
or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.235F), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service.
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier.
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark.
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.235F), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are
submitting your application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not
receive this notification within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
selected from 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR and are listed in the application
package for this competition.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: The Government Performance and Results Act
of 1993 (GPRA) directs Federal
[[Page 6546]]
departments and agencies to improve the effectiveness of their programs
by engaging in strategic planning, setting outcome-related goals for
programs, and measuring program results against those goals. The
required annual report must include information on two measures: (a)
The percentage of parents receiving PTI services who report enhanced
knowledge and understanding of vocational rehabilitation services; and
(b) the percentage of all products and services developed to improve
vocational rehabilitation service utilization deemed to be useful by
parents receiving PTI services. The data on these measures will be
collected by the grantee via survey, assessed, and reported in the
aggregate to RSA. Grantees will negotiate targets with RSA after the
first year, which will be used to establish a baseline.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Ellen Chesley, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 5018, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-2550. Telephone: (202) 245-7346 or by e-mail:
Ellen.Chesley@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.
VIII. Other Information
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Dated: February 7, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E7-2370 Filed 2-9-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
Daily Press Briefing
Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
February 7, 2007
INDEX:
SUDAN
U.S. Administration Discussing "Plan B" Options / UN and AU
Deploying Phase 1 / Donor Countries Need to Commit to Contribute
Forces
Discussions with the Chinese / China Sending Mixed Signals in
Public
President Bashir's Commitment to Implementation of All Phases
TURKEY
Foreign Minister Gul's Comments on Congressional Armenian
Resolution
IRAN
Secretary Rice's Testimony / Reports of Iran's Willingness to
Recognizing Israel
Timeline to Release Dossier
Russians Have Played a Positive Role / IAEA Report
ISRAEL / PALESTINIANS
President Musharraf's Efforts / Initiatives by Responsible
Parties
are Welcome / U.S. will Review Proposals
KOSOVO
Russia's Concerns About Independence for Kosovo / U.S. Sensitive
to Regional Issues
IRAQ
Secretary Rice's Meeting with UN High Commissioner for Refugees
TRANSCRIPT:
View Video
(12:35 p.m. EST)
MR. MCCORMACK: Good afternoon. Get right into your questions. That's
it. The
Secretary has answered
them all. She is testifying. See you later.
You've been
a great audience.
Yes, Jonathan.
QUESTION: Can you give us a bit more about the Plan B -- Sudan, Darfur?
MR. MCCORMACK: I'm not going to get into any details. We've had
extensive
discussions
within the Administration about what steps we might take if
President Bashir
does not follow through on his commitment to allow in
all
three phases of the AU/UN peacekeeping
-- or the AU/UN hybrid force
into
Darfur.
Where we stand right now is that President Bashir has made a commitment
in
principle to
allow in all three phases. The UN and AU have only gotten
to the
point now of really deploying the elements
of phase one. I think there
are
about slightly more than 40 individuals who have actually
been deployed
into
the region. They are now trying to organize phase two, which would be
about
1,000 people. This would be an enabling force of headquarters elements,
engineers
and so forth. So they're looking for donor countries to make
the
commitment to contribute
forces to that phase two as well as phase
three, which
is the main -- which would constitute the main body of the force
in
Darfur.
So we are now at the point where the AU and the UN need to work out
some of the
modalities in terms of command
structure and that command relationship.
But
more importantly, the donor -- the member-states of
the UN need to now
make the
commitments of troops to that AU/UN force so that we can see if
President
Bashir will act on his commitments that he has made. Should he not do
so then,
we have a number of different options
that are available to us both as
an
individual country as well as an international system.
And I'm not
going to get
into any description of what those may be at this point, but we have a
number
of
different levers at our disposal.
QUESTION: To the extent that phase one is still pending, we are almost
six
weeks deep
into 2007 -- the number we were told the other day was at 85
were
there. You say 40, alright it's one
or the other or in between. And
there's
supposed to be 180 going in there. Is Bashir responsible
for any of the
slow
movement on implementation of phase one or is this simply logistical
problems
that the UN faces because it's such a remote area?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, you know, I can't ascribe percentages for you,
George. But
I think this has more to do with
the UN and the AU getting in place the
logistics and the infrastructure that
would support not only phase one
and
phase two, but down the road, phase three. And so that's
one
bottleneck.
Another bottleneck is actually having member-states pony up forces
for
this
effort. We have heard from several countries expressions of interest
that they
will
contribute to this force. I'm not going to get into -- not going
to start
naming names at this point. But what we
need is a few member-states to
step
forward, make the firm commitment that they are going to contribute
substantial
forces to the AU/UN force. That's what's needed. We haven't seen that
yet. And
it is important
that the international system act in this regard. We'll
be
doing our part in encouraging UN
member-states to make those
contributions. We
have demarches that have gone out to a number of capitols around the
world and
working -- as well as working with ambassadors here in Washington. So
we're
actively
engaged in the effort to try to constitute this AU/UN force.
Yeah, Sylvie
QUESTION: You said that you have a number of individual options at your
disposal.
Are financial options studied?
MR. MCCORMACK: Sylvie, I'm not going to -- I know there is an article
in the
newspaper today in talking
about various options that were -- had been
approved, should we move into
plan B. I'm not going to get into that.
But
suffice it to say, we're taking a look at
all the options that are
available to
us and we are going to base our decision of whether or not we move into
a
plan
B phase on the facts on the ground. Ultimately you have to see if
President
Bashir acts
on the principle commitment that he made. Should he not,
then we'll
take a look at all those options that are available
to us and choose
the ones
that we think might be most effective in getting to the ultimate goal
and that
is getting a force into Darfur so that you can provide some security,
help
provide security
not only for the people, but the humanitarian relief
organizations
there so that they -- those people can get what they need
in
order to sustain themselves and
ultimately help push forward the
political
process, implement the Darfur Peace Agreement.
QUESTION: Andrew Natsios was in China recently. Did you get the
impression that
China was ready to help you on
that and even on this plan B?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well they said that they have -- they have said that
well, with
respect to plan B, I think that
that's something that we're taking a
look at.
We would obviously consult with others on various elements of
it. In
terms of
the Chinese commitment we have heard positive signals from the Chinese
Government as far back as the Secretary's discussion with Foreign
Minister Li
at the UN General Assembly
in the fall of last year. And there have
been
subsequent discussions the Secretary
has had, Andrew Natsios has had.
So
there's a receptivity I think on the part
of the Chinese to working
with the
international system to try to get at the humanitarian issues there
to
help the
international community get this force deployed. I'm not saying making
any
contributions. I don't think anybody's talked about that. But help
create the
environment where this force
can be deployed. Now, I understand
President Hu
recently visited Sudan. I understand that he also had
a discussion with
President Bashir on the topic of Darfur. I don't have the
details of
that
conversation. The public signals were mixed in this regard. On one
hand,
on the
positive side, you have the Chinese Government talking in more
forthright terms
about the exchange between
President Hu and President Bashir on the
issue of
Darfur and the Chinese being fairly forward-leaning
on the need to have
the
force enter Darfur, be allowed to enter Darfur. On the other hand, you
also
had
the announcement of a number of other economic agreements and the
construction
of a presidential palace, so
I think that that, at best, sends some
mixed
signals in public. I can't speak to what
went on in private.
QUESTION: Yeah, one is words and one is actions. It looks like the
actions may
be speaking louder than those words
he said about Darfur.
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, like I said, George, I don't know. I don't have
the
details
of the exchange in private. But we're going to continue working
with
the Chinese to see what they can
do to apply any appropriate pressure
to get
that force in there.
QUESTION: You're suggesting skepticism about Bashir's willingness to go
ahead
with this. Can you use that
word yourself?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, at this point, George, I'm not going to use that
word. He
has sent a letter. We've taken
at his -- that -- his word at face value
that he
is committed to all phase -- implementing all three phases of the
Addis
agreement. Because of where we are with the -- in the force generation
for the
AU/UN force, he has not had a real opportunity to act on the more
significant
aspects of that
package, phases two and three. So it's at this point, I
think,
premature to answer the question of whether or not
he will follow
through on
that commitment, that principled commitment. We'll see.
In order to determine that, you need to have the forces generated to go
in
there, and
we don't have those yet. And that's why it is so important
that the
member-states of the UN step up and answer the
call for these forces.
QUESTION: Once the force is assembled, will Bashir be given some kind
of set
deadline that he's going
to accept them or not?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, because of the timelines involved in generating
the forces
and the infrastructure, this doesn't
happen -- this won't happen next
week.
You're not going to end up with the 15,000-plus forces and
the third
phase
ready to go next week. So there will be some time.
Necessarily there will have to be some back and forth between the AU/UN
and
Sudan. I can't tell
you what timeline they're operating on. I know that
the UN
peacekeeping operation has a standard playbook, if you
will, in terms
of
timelines. We think that they should look at every possible
way to
shorten
those timelines. So we'll see. The basic answer is we don't know yet
because
we're not there. We still have these required steps that we need to go
through
generating the force.
Jonathan.
QUESTION: So what is that timeline the UN is suggesting then? Sorry, I
didn't
quite --
MR. MCCORMACK: You can talk to them about their own internal timelines.
QUESTION: New topic?
MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah.
QUESTION: Did you get a chance to see the Japanese Foreign Minister's
comments
calling the U.S. Iraq policy immature?
MR. MCCORMACK: Oh, I still have not looked at those. I have to take a
look at
them, sorry.
QUESTION: I have a question on Turkey.
MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, go ahead.
QUESTION: Mr. Gul said yesterday that the Armenia bill represent a
serious
threat to the
relation with the United States. Actually, he said, "An
acceptance
of this Armenia bill will have a serious effect on the
relation
between United States and
Turkey." Do you agree with him?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, that's his assessment. We take him at his word. We
understand
the sensitivities in Turkey. We also understand the
sensitivities in
other communities in the U.S. and other places
around the world. We are
talking
to the Congress about this. I think Foreign Minister Gul and the
Turkish
Government is well aware of our system of government and they
understand that
Congress is an independent
branch. We are, however, in close contact
with
members of Congress on the issue and
we have conveyed to them the
sensitivities
expressed to us by the Turkish Government concerning this particular
resolution.
Sylvie.
QUESTION: Another subject?
MR. MCCORMACK: Yes.
QUESTION: The Secretary welcomed this morning the proposal of Mr.
Lantos to --
for a new law to allow the U.S.
to participate in this international
bank for
nuclear fuel. Did you -- what kind of contribution the U.S. could
do to
this
bank and --
MR. MCCORMACK: I'm playing catch-up on this one, Sylvie. We'll have to
get you
an answer. Yeah, I'll get you an
answer.
Okay.
QUESTION: Something else that Rice was questioned on today, Iran, and
there was
some discussion that the Iranians
were prepared to recognize Israel or
this
idea was being floated.
MR. MCCORMACK: Right.
QUESTION: Do you have any comments on that?
MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah, I think she addressed it pretty clearly. She said
that if
either somebody had told her that
the Iranians were proposing that or
some --
or she had read that in some of the papers that flowed into her
office,
she
would have remembered. And she doesn't remember any such thing.
Yes, Jonathan.
QUESTION: But she was also asked about the dossier, which she didn't
answer. A
Democrat congressman wanted to
know what had happened to this dossier.
Is there
anything you can update us on this? I mean, is it now just -- you
know,
on the
backburner because you haven't got the evidence?
MR. MCCORMACK: No. You know, I was trying to tell you guys for the past
week
about this; that is,
we're going to do this on our own timeline. We're
going to
do it in such a way that the presentation is clear, that
it is factual,
that it
is to the point. But more importantly, we're going to do it in such a
way that
does
not inhibit our ability to collect further such information in the
future.
Basically, you don't want to burn your sources
and methods.
So all of those things considered, we are taking our time in putting
this
together.
I'm sure that at some point, at a time of -- at a time that
everybody
is comfortable with, we will put it out there.
But it's not for lack of
a rich
fact base. It is -- has more to do with all the considerations that
I've just
outlined.
QUESTION: Have you seen a draft of it yet?
MR. MCCORMACK: I haven't seen it yet, no.
QUESTION: Do you know why some people are doubting your -- the real
explanations? Don't you think the risk to -- not to be taken seriously,
not --
MR. MCCORMACK: We're not worried about that. We're not worried about
that.
There are always
going to be people, doubters, critics, skeptics.
That's fine.
We accept that. But just because some people may be
holding their
breath here
and pounding their fists on the table, it's not going to influence us
in
hurrying through something that we don't think is ready or appropriate
to do at
this time.
All right, thanks a lot, guys.
QUESTION: One more.
MR. MCCORMACK: Oh --
QUESTION: Sorry about that.
MR. MCCORMACK: A late breaker, okay, yeah.
QUESTION: As you know, President Musharraf visited Ankara yesterday and
he and
Prime Minister Erdogan have agreed
on new initiative for
Israel-Palestine
conflict. My question is about that. What is
the United States stance
on this
issue? Does the U.S. support these new efforts?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well, as I understand it, President Musharraf has made
some
recent trips
around the globe to Arab Muslim states and some non-Arab
Muslim
states to talk about a couple of the different
issues. One, to -- how
they can
band together to address the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and two,
also
how to, in some way, address the divide within the Muslim
community
between the
Sunni and Shia.
And at this point, I'd say that we want to learn more about the details
of
their initiative.
As a general comment, any initiatives by responsible
parties
such as Pakistan or Indonesia or Egypt or Turkey in trying
to tackle
some of
these tough issues in a responsible way are welcome. But I'm going to
defer any
specific
comment until we have a better understanding of what it is
that is
being proposed. As I understand
it now, it's still taking shape.
QUESTION: Thanks.
MR. MCCORMACK: Sure. Oh, where have you been all the briefing?
QUESTION: Well, you know, some --
MR. MCCORMACK: Coming in here at the end.
QUESTION: Someone is testifying. I actually have a question about
something
that the Secretary
talked about this morning about Kosovo. She said she
has
assured Russia that Kosovo is not a precedent
for anything. Did she
mean some
areas of the former Soviet Union that Russia might be concerned about?
MR. MCCORMACK: Right. Well, this has been the Russian -- this has been
a
Russian
argument in public that they have made that a solution that in
some
form granted autonomy or independence
for Kosovo might set -- might be
a
precedent for some of the (inaudible) conflicts
that are in the North
Caucasus,
you know, with respect to Abkhazia and South Ossetia and there are a
couple
others as well.
And it has been our view that the set of facts related to Kosovo are
unique and
do not constitute a precedent for
those other conflicts in the Caucasus
or any
other particular conflict.
QUESTION: What about the Albanian -- well, are there any concerns that
there'll
be an effect of some sort on the
Albanian community in Macedonia
because it's
right by Kosovo in terms of we know there were hostilities there
only
-- well,
less than five years ago.
MR. MCCORMACK: I can't speak to it specifically, Nicholas. There are
concerns
about what happens with Kosovo
throughout the Balkans because, as we've
learned
over the past 15, 20 years, the ethnic mixes in that part of the world
can be
combustible. And what the international community has attempted to do
over the
past 15 -- 10,
15 years is to find ways that those communities can
resolve any
differences peacefully and that they can coexist together
in peace
within that
same space.
So whenever you move one piece of this puzzle, it might have effects
throughout
other parts of that region; of
course you have to take those into
consideration
and people are very carefully consulting throughout the region with
anybody who
might be interested in the issue of Kosovo.
QUESTION: Can I ask one more question on Iran, please?
MR. MCCORMACK: Sure.
QUESTION: Lavrov is in Tehran again. Do you see this as any indication
that
Russia is exerting
more pressure ahead of this IAEA report?
MR. MCCORMACK: The Russians have played a positive role in trying to
convince
the Iranians to be responsible
actors. Unfortunately, thus far the
Iranians
have refused to heed the advice of Russia. Secretary
Rice had good
conversations with the Foreign Minister
about Iran and I think we have
a clear
idea of where the Russians stand vis-à-vis Iran. We're going to be
talking
to
them as well as others in the run-up to this report from Director
General
ElBaradei
and the deadline that comes up, I think on the 21st, that's
in the UN
Security Council resolution about what we might
do next.
But they are playing a responsible role in trying to convince the
Iranians to
come around and accept the
offer that's been laid out there for them.
QUESTION: Do you have any sense that the Russian position has changed
or is
changing?
MR. MCCORMACK: No, no. I think that we all share the same objective.
There have
been differences over tactics and
how hard to push and how fast, but we
have
worked through those. We got a 15-0 vote. So we're going to
continue
standing
shoulder to shoulder on this, and when we have differences over tactics
we'll
work
them out.
Nicholas, again.
QUESTION: Just one quick one. The Secretary also said this morning that
she
plans to meet with
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to talk about
the Iraq
issue that you talked about yesterday.
MR. MCCORMACK: Right.
QUESTION: Has that meeting been scheduled? Do you know if it will be
here or
over in Geneva?
MR. MCCORMACK: No, it will be here.
QUESTION: It will be here?
MR. MCCORMACK: He's coming here, I think next week. What's today's
date?
Today's
the --
QUESTION: The 7th.
MR. MCCORMACK: The 7th. Yeah, it'll be next week.
QUESTION: Sorry. At her request, that is?
MR. MCCORMACK: I think he had a scheduled meeting with Paula Dobriansky
on
humanitarian
issues and I think we also scheduled a meeting for him
with the
Secretary.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR. MCCORMACK: Is that it? Thanks.
(The briefing was concluded at 12:55 p.m.)
DPB # 22
Released on February 7, 2007
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