Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Anyone can submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, including government employees.  However, your request should be submitted on plain bond paper or personal stationery, not government letterhead.  You should only use agency letterhead if the request is being submitted on behalf of your agency.  Any questions can be directed to Linda Bell, (202)482-3032, or via e-mail to Linda.Bell@mail.doc.gov .

How to Change Your Voicemail Out of Office Messages from Home

Have you ever forgotten to set your out of office message on your phone?  You can do it from home.  Dial (202)482-8282 or 1(800)581-8204.  Press the # key, and you will be prompted to enter your mailbox number (i.e. 2XXXX).  Enter your password, then press 432 to record an extended absence greeting.  Don’t forget to press ## at the end of your message to save your greeting.  If you have questions, please contact Jeff Scherr at (202)482-3266.

President Bush has formally approved a 3.1 percent average pay raise for white-collar federal employees next year. The raise is included in the fiscal 2006 Transportation-Treasury appropriations measure (H.R. 3058), which the President signed Wednesday. The 3.1 percent increase provides pay parity between civilians and military service members. If you have questions please contact Doug Allis at (202) 482-9151.

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Open Season

Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Open Season is effective from November 14, 2005 through December 12, 2005.  All 2006 FEHB Guides, health plan brochures, and the 2006 premium rates are available on the OPM web site at www.opm.gov/insure/health.  The guides, brochures and text versions suitable for visually impaired are available in PDF format for downloading and printing.  The web site contains an interactive tool that will allow employees to find the health plans that service their area and allow comparisons of the costs, benefits and quality indicators of the plans. For additional info, contact Vanessa Lewis at (202)482-8327 and Dottie Bowling (202)482-3504.

FY 2007 President's Budget Preparation

The preparation of the President's FY 2007 Budget Request to Congress continues for the Department of Commerce and ITA. The initial mark for FY 2007 for ITA was provided by OMB thru the Department of Commerce on Monday, November 29. The Department's response was delivered to OMB on Thursday December 1. Final decisions regarding the FY 2007 Request will be negotiated over the next several weeks as discussions between the Department, ITA and OMB occur. Once final decisions on the budget are made, budget request documents will be updated and submitted through the Department and OMB to Congress. The amounts requested are released with the President's Budget Request for FY 2007 in early February and are not available for public release until the President's Budget is released. Additional questions should be directed to Doug Allis at (202)482-9151.

Thrift Saving Plan (TSP)

If you are an eligible Thrift Saving Plan (TSP) participant who is age 50 or older, you can make tax-deferred “catch-up” contributions from your basic pay to your TSP account.  Catch-up contributions are not subject to the Internal Revenue Code’s elective deferral limits.  However, they are limited as follows: 

Year                 Maximum Contribution

2005                $4, 000.00

2006 and          $5,000.00

thereafter

The last pay period to contribute to the TSP catch-up for tax year 2005 is Pay Period 24 (November 27 – December 10, 2005). Eligible employees may begin contributing to the TSP catch-up for the 2006 tax year in pay period 25 (December 11 – 24, 2005). Additional information regarding the TSP catch-up can be found at http://www.tsp.gov

Performance Management System

As you know, the Department has mandated that ITA implement a new five-level performance management system and create new performance plans that link to ITA strategic goals and objectives. For all ITA employees covered by the new system, the new performance plans must include a mandatory customer service critical element, a mandatory leadership element for all supervisors and team leaders, and two to three additional critical elements specific to the employee’s work situation. At least one of the additional elements in each employee’s performance plan must be linked to ITA goals, objectives and performance metrics.  We have created a critical element library to assist supervisors and employees with critical elements, major activities and sample performance metrics by objective and goal. This library also contains useful information for developing individual plans for clerical and administrative program support staff. This critical element library will be sent to all employees in an e-mail announcement soon. For additional information on ITA’s Strategic Plan (Goals, Objectives and Measures), contact Ed Meyer by phone at (202) 482-3304 or by e-mail at: ed.meyer@mail.doc.gov .

National Capital Area CFC Progress

As of December 1, ITA reached 39% of our monetary goal by collecting $86,873.00. Through the week of December 1, ITA reached a participation rate of 13%, with 172 of 1,281 employees contributing. We would like to get these numbers up for next week and to meet the monetary goal of $222,950.00 and an ever higher participation rate for ITA. Additional questions should be directed to Doug Allis at (202)482-9151.

Procurement/Purchase Card Corner

Question: How do I prepare CD-435, Procurement Request and what supporting documentation should be attached?

Answer: When procuring services or supplies, the requesting office should:

1. Prepare a CD-435, Procurement Request, which can be found on the E-forms website by logging into AOurplace@ at https://ourplace.ita.doc.gov/.

2. For services or supplies from $2,500 - $10,000, the requesting office must attach 3 quotes as the supporting documentation to the CD-435.

3.  For services/supplies from $10,000 - $24,999, NOAA, Acquisition Management Division will publicize the requirement for 10 days.   

4.  For services/supplies exceeding $25,000, NOAA, Acquisition Management Division will publicize in the Federal Business Opportunities (FezBizOpps) for 15 days before issuance of solicitation. 

5.  For contractual services the requesting office must submit a hard copy Statement of Work (SOW), and an electronic copy in MS Word only.

6.  If the dollar amount exceeds the micro-threshold of $2,500, the point of contact for the acquisition must have taken a minimum of 24 hours of Simplified Acquisition Procedures training and must show proof of their certification.  If you have questions on how to prepare CD-435 and what supporting documentation to attach, please contact Robin Carpenter at (202) 482-4989 or via email, Robin_Carpenter@ita.doc.gov.

Where Do I Find....A list of Resource Coordinators?

The Resource Coordinator is your units liaison to the CFO organization and handles budget, finance, personnel and administrative management matters for your unit. Please view the following link to find the Resource Coordinator for your unit http://www.ita.doc.gov/ofm_guidance/rcs.html.