In this Issue

Metrocheks
Hurricane Relief Volunteer Travel Voucher Guidance
GAO & IG Reports
Fraudulent Emails
Final Details on Pay Raise
FY 07 Budget
PBViews Update
Commerce's New 5-Level Performance Management System

Features

Traveler's Corner
Where Do I Find
ITA Comings & Goings

Metrocheks

Metrocheks will be distributed to participating employees in Room B842B from December 20-22, 2005. December 20 has been designed for ITA employees to pick-up their Metrocheks from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. If you are unable to pick-up your Metrocheks that day, you can pick them up December 21 or 22. On December 22, the distribution will be from 8:30 am to 11:30 am. Those employees who are unable to pick-up their Metrocheks during the designated times can go to the Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters located at 400 7^th Street, SW. Take the Metrorail to L’Enfant Plaza, exiting 7^th & D. The Metrochek pick-up window is located on the Plaza Level, Southwest corner of DOT in Room 206. The office hours are Monday thru Friday, 8:30 am until 4:00 pm, with full coverage during lunch hours. If you have questions, call Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Hurricane Relief Volunteer Travel Voucher Guidance

Employees returning from the Gulf Coast Volunteer recovery effort should submit all claims for reimbursement on Form CD-370, “Travel Voucher”. Claims for reimbursement should be itemized on two separate vouchers. Voucher #1 should record all official travel-related expenses. Expenses recorded on this voucher should be transportation costs, lodging and taxes, car rentals, personally owned vehicles (pov) mileage, meals and incidental expenses, fuel, tolls and telephone calls (see Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) Section 301-11, “Per Diem Expenses” and 301-12 “Miscellaneous Expenses). Please write on the top of this voucher-“Original-Hurricane Volunteer”. Voucher #2 should be used to claim those expenses incurred that are outside of the allowable expenses under the FTR and/or DOC’s Travel Handbook, but that were required to accomplish the mission. Please write on the top of this voucher-“Amendment-Hurricane Volunteer”. Attach to your “Amendment” travel voucher a brief explanation of the claimed expenses. Upon completion of the documents, but prior to your supervisor’s review/approval, submit all “Amendment-Hurricane Volunteer” vouchers to the Office of the Secretary, Travel Management Division, HCHB, Room 6316. The fax number is (202)501-6633. The Travel Management Division will review all claims and return to the traveler for supervisory approval. Once approved, the voucher can be sent to DOI/NBC. If you have questions, please call Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Responding to GAO and OIG Reports

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) frequently prepare reports that require a response or comments from ITA. Any response to a GAO or OIG report, or any comments required by such a report, must be cleared through the Office of Organization and Management Support (OOMS) and the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Administration. There are no exceptions to this requirement. If you have questions, please call Linda Bell at (202)482-3032 or e-mail her at Linda.Bell@mail.doc.gov.

Beware of fraudulent emails asking you to “verify” bankcard or other accounts.

Banks, credit card companies and Pay Pal do NOT request you to verify account information or provide personal data through Email. Messages that you receive asking for such information are designed either to extract personal information from you fraudulently or to add a virus to your computer – please do NOT respond. For additional information contact Hamilton Humes at (202)482-6123.

Final Details on Pay Raise

The Office of Personnel Management has sent a notice to agencies reminding them that while an appropriations bill carrying an average 3.1 percent January general schedule raise has been signed into law, " until the President issues an Executive order, we do not yet know how that amount will be allocated between an across-the-board GS pay increase and increases in locality payments among the locality pay areas." OPM has indicated that it will provide additional guidance to agencies regarding the January 2006 pay adjustment as soon as the executive order is signed. Typically that happens at the end of December and the pay tables are released a day or two afterward. It's expected that the raise will be divided as 2.1 percentage points across the board and the money for the other percentage point allotted as locality pay. For more information contact Melanie Hazlett at (202)482-1027.

FY2007 Budget

OMB recently responded to ITA's appeal of the FY2007 Passback. The result is that ITA (along with the rest of the Department of Commerce) must absorb most Adjustments to Base (ATBs). However, OMB did provide funding for the Capital Security Cost Sharing Program and the Asia Pacific Partnership. The Office of Financial Management continues to work with OMB, DOC/Budget and program staff to clarify numbers and impact. If you have questions, please contact Amy Duncan at (202)482-5739.

PBViews Update

ITA’s Planning and Performance Management Staff in the Office of Financial Management (OFM) reminds all ITA performance measure owners to update FY 2006 1^st quarter performance data in pbViews, ITA’s performance management reporting system, by January 4, 2006. As many ITA measure owners know, the pbViews database was recently revised to reflect ITA’s new goals, objectives and measures. This change will enable key stakeholders to view performance from an organizational view. The new database also reflects the new ITA Strategic Plan View. ITA measure owners, in addition to reporting data are also asked to provide OFM with measure commentary by the January 4^thdue date. OFM will provide additional instructions for how users are to update the database next week. For more information regarding pbViews, please contact Dondi Ojeda by e-mail or at (202)482-5204.

Commerce’s New 5-Level Performance Management System

As you know, the Department of Commerce mandated the implementation of the 5-Level Performance Management System on October 19, 2005 for all employees not covered by a pay banding system. Individual employee performance plans must be developed and implemented no later than Friday, December 30th. In order to help you develop performance plans, OHRM has posted all available International Trade Administration competency models on our website at http://www.ita.doc.gov/hrm/trng.html. In order to help you write critical elements, OHRM has posted ITA's Critical Element Library on the website as well. For additional assistance, please contact Carol Davison at Carol.Davison@mail.doc.gov or at (202)482-2537.

Traveler’s Corner

Question: What is a traveler’s liability for unauthorized or personal use of a rental automobile using government funds?

Answer: A traveler is responsible for any additional cost resulting from the personal use of a commercial rental automobile for other than official travel-related purposes. If you have questions, please call your travel contact or Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Where Do I Find.... Information on ITA attrition?

ITA Managers and program area administrative liaisons, who are authoried to view HR reports and information specific to their organization, can tap into Quickplace, a warehouse of HR information to view attrition information. Quickplace is a secure, shared warehouse of information for HR and ITA HR liaison contacts. Quickplace enables OHRM to communicate, utilize, and share information with our customers at their convenience. For more information regarding Quickplace, please contact Ruben.Pedroza@mail.doc.gov or at (202)482-3072. Below is more specific information on Quickplace.

ITA OHRM QuickPlace Tutorial:
http://ita.doc.gov/hrm/quickplace/instructions_fs.htm

ITA OHRM Quickplace: Actual Login
https://hq-quickplace.ita.doc.gov/itaohrm

ITA Comings and Goings 10/03/05 – 12/12/05

Arrivals – WELCOME!

OUS – Jay Anderson, Franklin Lavin; ADMIN – Bobbie Doster, Byron Drake, Brenda Wills; IA – Gene Calvert, Lisa Nguyen; MAC – Courtney Cooper, Kristen Mann; MAS – Brian Beall, Mark Brown, Carla Langjahr, Jeremy Marcus, John Terpening, Cynthia Warshaw; US&FCS – Janee Pierre Louis.

Departures

OUS – Helena Butler-Pettit, Barbara Mason, Wanda Joynes; ADMIN – Doris Brown, Helena Chadwick, Linda Cheatham, Lydia Hartley, Darlene Haywood, Donna Magruder, Andrew Thomas, Judith Wilson; IA – Louis Apple, Margaret Carr, Filippa Cristaldi, Mike Hutchinson, Holly Kuga, Kyle Lamborn, Maria MacKay, Margaret Singleton; MAC – Victor Bailey, Frank Borghese, Laurie Koran, Mark Ray; MAS – David Barton, Jay Bistay, Myles Denny-Brown, Lindsey Dickinson, Edward Leviton, James Price, Allen Unsworth, Sandra Walker; US&FCS – Peter Alois, Craig Atkins, Jacquelyn Bennett, Reginald Biddle, Andrew Bihun, Phyllis Bingham, James Boney, Jewel Cole, Carolyn Creatore, Lawonne Cunningham, Tara Davis, Joseph Enright, Charles Ford, Margie Hall, Lon Hardin, Neil Hess, John Jambois, Barbara Jones, David Katz, Nancy Krause, Anthony Largay, George Lavid, Isabel Lopez, Jane Urling Lore, Michael Margarucci II, Sharon McKendry, David Miller, Paula Mitchell, Samuel Newman, Phillip Ouzts, James Pittard, Maritza Ramos, Stanley Rees, Bernadine Smith, Wendy Smith, Mary Surles, Gordon Thomas, James Thomas, Connie Tinner, Clemens Von Koschembahr, Anthony Van Vuren, Mary Wiggins, Darlene Williams, Frank Woods.