In this Issue

Features

Procurement/Purchase Card Corner
Where Do I Find

Use of Department Seals and Logos

Use of Department seals and logos is not granted to outside organizations without written approval. Concurrence is required from the Assistant General Counsel for Administration (AGC/Admin), who will review the request for any possible appearance of endorsement, conflict of interest, and related issues, and the Office of Chief Counsel for Technology (OCC/T), who will review the request to ensure the Department’s trademark interests are being protected. The approval process for this type of request can take anywhere from two weeks to one month, so please plan ahead. For Further Guidance go to http://www.ita.doc.gov/ooms/ooms45.htm . Questions regarding this process may be directed to Jacqueline_Harris@ita.doc.gov or (202)482-4011.

Copier, Printer and Fax Supplies

All copiers, printers and fax machines in ITA-headquarters and the Ronald Reagan Building are serviced, supplied and maintained by Cartridge Technologies Inc. (CTI). (Except for Xerox and Oce machines, which only the manufacturers, Xerox Capital Services and Oce-USA Inc. can service.) To ensure service in a timely manner ITA and Cartridge Technologies Inc. have scheduled supply deliveries for Tuesday and Thursday ONLY. Therefore, please plan accordingly. All supply calls should be placed by 3:00 PM the day before the scheduled delivery day. You can place a service call or supply order by either calling CTI at (301)417-7202 or emailing at SERVICES@CTIMD.COM. Please make sure you provide the machines location, serial number and point of contact when placing a service or supply call. If you have questions or experience problems, please contact Robin Carpenter at (202)482-4989 or via email at Robin.Carpenter@mail.doc.gov .

Security Clearance Certification Requests

When visiting another government agency for a classified meeting or for temporary duty, you may be required to have your security clearance certified to the other agency. Form CD-414 is used to certify clearances. When completing the form, include all personal information requested as well as contact information for the agency that is requiring your clearance. Include the point of contact, such as the Manager or Security Officer, who will be receiving your clearance information. Take the completed form to the Office of Security (OSY) Security Service Center in room 1033. After verifying your clearance, OSY will send the form directly to the requesting agency. Form CD-414 is available by logging-on to “Ourplace” and going to “E-Forms”. If you have any questions regarding Security Clearance Certifications or any other security matters, please contact Kurt Arneson, ITA Security Program Manager, at (202)482-3633 or via e-mail Kurt.Arneson@mail.doc.gov

Purpose of Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is the documented approach that an organization takes to achieve its mission and vision. The graphic link to this article depicts the ideal “line of sight” for an organization. It illustrates how the Department’s mission, goals and objectives cascade to ITA’s mission, goals and objectives and subsequently to program unit strategies. Once completed, the program unit plan can be used to develop operating plans and employee performance plans that reflect annual progress toward strategic objectives. An effort has just been initiated by ITA leadership to develop ITA program unit plans that will cascade from ITA’s and the Department’s strategic plans. The most recent DOC and ITA Strategic plans are scheduled for release in March 2007. ITA program unit plans will be drafted from those plans and should be in place by July 2007. Please contact Ed Meyer for additional information at (202)482-3304 or via e-mail Ed.Meyer@mail.doc.gov .

FY07 Continuing Resolution

OMB has issued guidance covering the obligation of funds in fiscal 2007 under the recently enacted full-year continuing resolution (CR). The CR contains a moratorium on earmarks. The CR affects all government operations in DOC. The joint resolution which provides appropriations as a full-year CR, replacing the three shorter-term CRs enacted previously for the current fiscal year, states that any "language specifying an earmark in a committee report or statement of managers accompanying an appropriations act for fiscal 2006 shall have no legal effect with respect to funds appropriated" under the joint resolution. According to OMB memo M-07-10, agencies funded by the CR should not obligate funds on the basis of earmarks contained in congressional reports or documents, or other written or oral communications regarding earmarks. For more information, click the following link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/memoranda/fy2007/m07-10.pdf. Additional questions can be directed to Douglas Allis at (202)482-9151.

Washington, DC Area Dismissal and Closure Procedures

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established procedures and announcements for handling dismissal or closure procedures in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. In the last few weeks, OPM has issued announcements to the media when a disruption occurs. However, many employees may not know what the announcements mean. They are as follows: Federal Agencies are Open - Employees are expected to report for work on time. Federal Agencies are Open under an Unscheduled Leave policy - Washington, DC area are Employees who cannot report for work may request unscheduled leave by notifying their supervisors of their intent to take unscheduled leave. Federal agencies are Open Under a Delayed Arrival policy - Employees should plan their commutes so that they arrive no more than the specified number of hours later than they would normally arrive. Federal agencies are Open under a Delayed Arrival/Unscheduled Leave policy - Employees should plan their commutes so that they arrive no more than a specified number of hours later than they would normally arrive. Employees who cannot report for work may request unscheduled leave for their entire scheduled workday. Federal agencies are Closed - Non-emergency employees, including those on pre-approved leave, will be granted an excused absence for the number of hours they were scheduled to work. Early Dismissal - Employees should be dismissed by their agencies a specified number of hours earlier than their normal departure time from work. If you want additional information on Washington, DC area dismissal or closure procedures, you can go to the OPM website at http://www.opm.gov/oca/compmemo/dismissal.pdf. If you have any questions, please contact Naomi Sanchez at (202)482-0654 or via email at Naomi.Samchez@mail.doc.gov.

Procurement/Purchase Card Corner

C.Request Training
As a reminder, C Request was deployed on October 16, 2006. ITA's Acquisition office (NOAA) is only accepting procurement actions that have been entered in the C Request system. Anyone who will submit a procurement request must take c.request training. Therefore, it is imperative that you sign-up for the Requisitioner or Reviewer/Approval training class. A C.Request Requsitioner Class is being offered for those who have not taken the training. To reserve your seat please send an email to Jerry Rorstrom-Lee at Jerry.Rorstrom-Lee@noaa.gov. Seating will be reserved on a first come first serve basis.
C. Request Requisitioner Training.

March 22 9:00 AM – 2:30 PM Room 6031.
If you have questions please contact Robin Carpenter at (202)482-4989 or via email at Robin.Carpenter@mail.doc.gov .

Where Do I Find...ITA Budget and Performance Information?

Did you know that ITA has several budget and performance related documents that report ITA's budget, performance and results? The first document describes ITA's budget and performance at the summary level. This document is entitled the Budget in Brief. The "BIB", as it is commonly called, is available in PDF format on the DOC budget office website at: http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/08BIB/ita.pdf. The second document is the ITA Budget. This document reflects ITA's proposed budget for FY 2008 as it is sent to the Congress. The Budget also contains the Annual Performance Plan (APP). This document describes ITA plans and performance measures related to the ITA budget year. The FY 2008 Budget and APP is accessible on line at: http://www.ita.doc.gov/ofm_guidance/budgets/FY08PresBud.pdf . The third document reflects ITA's past financial accountability and performance. This document is the Performance and Accountability (PAR and the most recent version reflects ITA performance and accountability for FY 2006. The PAR for the entire Department is available at: http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY06PARlink.htm . ITA is described under the Department's strategic goal 1. For further information on the budget contact Michael House at (202)482-5739. For further information on planning and performance management, contact Ed Meyer at (202)482-3304.