Notice of Intent to Fund the Fundacion Del Servicio Exterior Para La Paz Y La Democracia (FUNPADEM)

Riepilogo

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), intends to add up to U.S. $2 million to cooperative agreement E-9-K-3-0097 with the Fundacion Del Servicio Exterior Para La Paz Y La Democracia (Funpadem) to strengthen labor compliance in Central America. The activities that will be implemented with the additional funds will commence no later than September 30, 2004 and continue for a period of three years until September 27, 2007. USDOL/ILAB intends to award this cooperative agreement on or after September 6, 2004. USDOL/ILAB published a Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA 03-20) for this project in Vol. 68, No. 139 of the Federal Register on July 21, 2003. As a result of the competition, USDOL awarded a $6.75 million grant to Funpadem for a four year project that is set to run through September 2007. The purpose of the additional $2 million in funds is to expand the project to include two additional countries--the Dominican Republic and Panama--that are currently being negotiated for inclusion in the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Because Funpadem is the only organization to have developed and validated the strategy to achieve