[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 20, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 41777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14264]
[[Page 41777]]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DHS-2005-0052]
Office of Research and Development; Proposed Federally Funded
Research and Development Center; Notice No. 3
AGENCY: Office of National Laboratories, Directorate of Science and
Technology, DHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects to sponsor a
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) to address the
need for scientific research to better anticipate, prevent, and
mitigate the consequences of biological attacks. The proposed FFRDC
will be the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center
(NBACC) which is a critical component in the overarching Homeland
Security national biodefense complex. The NBACC will both coordinate
biodefense research activities among various Federal agencies and to
execute its own research plan. Also required will be technical and
program management capabilities to facilitate operation of the NBACC
facility. This is the third of three notices which must be published
over a 90 day period in order to advise the public of the agency's
intention to sponsor an FFRDC.
DATES: The agency must receive comments on or before August 4, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be identified by DHS-2005-0052 and may be
submitted by one of the following methods:
EPA Federal Partner EDOCKET Web site: http://www.epa.gov/feddocket. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on the Web
site.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail: [email protected] and send copy to Project
Officer: [email protected]. Include docket number DHS-2005-0052
in the subject line of the message.
Mail to: United States Army Medical Research Acquisition
Activity (USAMRAA), Attn: Mary C. Rico, 820 Chandler Street, Ft.
Detrick, Maryland 21702. Mail Copy to: Department of Homeland Security,
Attn: Science and Technology Directorate, James V. Johnson, (202) 254-
6098, Washington DC 20528.
Docket: For access to the docket to read the background documents
or comments received, go to http://www.epa.gov/feddocket. You may also
access the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary C. Rico via e-mail at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FFRDC would be established under the
authority of Section 305 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Pub. L.
107-296. Pursuant to this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security,
``acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, shall
have the authority to establish * * * 1 or more federally funded
research and development centers to provide independent analysis of
homeland security issues, or to carry out other responsibilities under
this Act * * *.''
This notice is provided pursuant to 5.205(b) of the Federal
Acquisition Regulations (FAR), 48 CFR 5.205(b), to enable interested
members of the public to provide comments to DHS on this proposed
action. The potential FFRDC procurement will involve a Request for
Proposals shortly after the agency has reviewed any comments received
on this and the two prior notices. Upon request, a copy of the Request
for Proposals, including the scope of work for the proposed FFRDC, will
be provided to any interested party or parties. Contact the person
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section, above.
This also constitutes preliminary notice pursuant to section
308(c)(3) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 that DHS may establish a
headquarters laboratory to perform the functions envisioned by the
NBACC. As required under section 308(c)(3)(A) and (B) of the Homeland
Security Act, should the Secretary choose to establish a headquarters
laboratory, he will establish criteria for the selection of that
laboratory in consultation with the National Academy of Sciences and
other agencies and experts. The criteria so established will be
published in the Federal Register.
Further background of this potential establishment of the proposed
FFRDC can be found out at the USAMRAA Web site, http://www.usamraa.army.mil.
Dated: July 15, 2005.
Robert Hooks,
Deputy Director, Office of Research and Development, Department of
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 05-14264 Filed 7-19-05; 8:45 am]
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