In this Issue

Features

Question of the day Travelers Corner
Where Do I Find
ITA Comings and Goings

Business Card templates for ITA

All ITA employees who have supervisory approval on business cards may obtain them by providing a completed SF-1 and an ITA Business Card Procurement Form to the Commerce print shop, Office of Administrative Operations, Room 2846 . ITA will cover up to $60 for approved business cards. The cost to print 250 cards using the template is $50 and for 500 is $70. To obtain the correct forms, visit http://trade.gov/brand and click on the link under "templates" labeled "business cards". Additional templates reflecting the new ITA brand include PowerPoint templates, a MS Word document, briefing book cover and CD labels. More templates will be made available as they are established. If you have any questions, please contact Nina Harris at (202) 482-3585.

Personal Property Accountability

Reminder Personal property accountability is the responsibility of each ITA employee, and each employee must take reasonable precautions to protect any IT equipment assigned to them, including laptops, BlackBerrys/PDAs, etc. If the property is lost, stolen, or missing, you must report it immediately within 5 business days to your office’s Property Custodian; ITA's Property Management Officer at Jeffrey.Scherr@mail.doc.gov and the OCIO Customer Service Center (202) 482-1955 or 1-877-206-0645. You must also notify the HCHB Office of Security (202) 482-4584 or if you are not at Headquarters, your local police, of all missing and stolen property. Your Property Custodian should complete an online CD-52, Report of Review of Property, using the Sunflower system. Please be sure to explain the circumstances surrounding the loss of the piece of equipment. The Property Board of Review will then review the circumstances surrounding the loss to determine if there is any negligence or fault. Following the Property Board of Review's determination, the asset will automatically be removed from the office's inventory. If you have questions, please contact ITA's Property Management Officer, Jeff Scherr, at (202) 482-3266.

Citibank Travel Card

ITA Citibank travel cardholders are reminded that payment of their Citibank travel card is due upon receipt and on time even if awaiting reimbursement. The travel card is to be used only for expenses associated with official government travel. The card is not intended for personal use. If you have questions, please call Sharon Russell. ITA Travel Card Coordinator, at (202) 482-3267.

Contractor Travel Information

In general, government contractors may NOT travel on a Government Travel Authorization. They are also NOT eligible for Contract City-Pairs airfares, nor may their tickets be charged to a government centrally billed account.

What is the definition of a contractor? The individual is NOT an agency direct-hire employee, The individual is NOT employed by the agency as an expert or consultant and paid on a daily (when actually employed) basis, OR The individual is employed under a Personal Services Contract for a defined period of time.

May we use an invitational travel order for a contractor? No, if the individual earns more than $1 per year from the agency, you may NOT use an Invitational Travel Authorization.

How should our contractors travel? Travel costs should be part of the negotiated agreement if the expectation is that the contractor will travel as part of their contract. The contractor should invoice the agency for any travel costs the same way that s/he invoices for labor services. If there is any clarification or assistance we can provide, please contact Sharon Russell at (202) 482-3267 or Anneliese Simmons at (202) 482-6123.

CSRS and FERS

Below is a summary on annual changes to the two federal retirement systems:

Basic Benefits: CSRS survivor annuity benefits and CSRS retirement annuity benefits were increased by 2.3 percent on Jan. 1. FERS basic retirement annuity benefits and FERS survivor annuity benefits were increased by 2 percent.

Variable Interest Rate: The rate for service credit payments, refunds and voluntary contributions will be 4.75 percent for 2008, down from 4.875 percent in 2007.

Children's Survivor Annuities: These payments increased 2.3 percent on Jan. 1. The 2008 rate for a child with one parent surviving will be approximately $444 per month. A child with neither parent living will receive about $532 per month. The benefit of a surviving child of a FERS employee or retiree will be offset by the Social Security children's benefit, if payable.

Death Benefits: When a FERS employee dies, a surviving spouse (or former spouse) may be eligible for the basic employee's death benefit. This is equal to 50 percent of the employee's final annual pay (or high-three average pay, if higher) plus a $15,000 payment that is increased annually by CSRS cost-of-living adjustments. For deaths that occur between Dec. 1, 2007, and Nov. 30, 2008, that payment will be $28,093.

If you have any questions, contact Karen Brown at (202) 482-8065 or via e-mail Karen.brown@mail.doc.gov.

Question of the Day

Can you answer the question of the day? Be featured in our bi-weekly Administrivial Pursuits by answering or providing questions of the day. Questions and answers may be submitted to Nina Harris via email Nina.Harris@mail.doc.gov.

Question of the Day: Can an ITA employee solicit payment for travel, subsistence, and related travel expenses from a non-Federal source?

Answer to Last Issue's Question: If a cardholder's Single Purchase Limit (SPL) is $3,000, can that cardholder purchase computer equipment for $2,500 one day and make the same exact dollar amount the next day to stay under their SPL? Answer: No, the Department's Commerce Acquisition Manual (CAM) states that it is strictly prohibited for a cardholder to split a purchase not to exceed their single purchase limit (SPL). A split purchase occurs when a cardholder places two or more separate orders for supplies/services to avoid exceeding their purchase card threshold or avoid competition. If you have questions contact Robin Carpenter at (202) 482-4989.

Travelers Corner

Question: What is the timeframe for submission of a travel voucher?

Answer: Travel vouchers should be filed within 5 days after completion of travel. Travelers’ on extended temporary duty should file a travel voucher every 30 days. Also, travelers’ must use their legal name when completing a travel voucher. No nicknames should be used. If you have questions, please call your travel contact or Sharon Russell at (202) 482-3267.

Where Do I Find... FY 2008 Salary Rates

Federal employees will receive a 3.5 per cent pay increase this year. The raise was included in the FY 2008 omnibus appropriations bill. President Bush signed an Executive Order allocating the 3.5 per cent adjustment between an across-the-board increase and locality pay. For Federal employees living in the Washington, DC area the total increase will be 4.49 per cent. The FY 2008 salary charts are available at http://www.opm.gov/oca/08tables/html/dcb.asp. Increases should be included in your pay period one paycheck. The official pay day for pay period one is Thursday, January 31, 2008. For additional information please contact Naomi_Sanchez@ita.doc.gov (202) 482-0654.

ITA Comings and Goings 11/02/07 - 01/10/08

Arrivals – Welcome!

ADMIN – Casey Allen OCIO – Howard Levitas MAS – Morgan Barr, Sandra Younes, Martha Paluch, David Rutter; MAC – Fernando Sanchez, James Walker, Andre Cornwell OUS – Christopher Padilla, Iwaner Stewart; USFCS – Julie LeBlanc, Frances Purvis, Ronald Babula, Lacelliese Witowski, Daniel Shaw, Shameen Williams, Kimberly Robinson, Barbara Lapini, Howard Scott, George Tracy; IA – Adrea Berton, Demitrios Kalogeropoulos, Rebecca Pandolph, Jason Evans, Bhargav Basari, Blaine Wiltse, Robert Greger.

Departures

ADMIN – Tonya Hyder IA – Kristina Boughton Horgan, Trinette Boyd, Bernard Carreau, Paige Rivas MAC – Robert Lee, Sara McDowell; MAS – Robin Darden, Joanne Hepburn, Amanda Horan, William Kolarik Jr, Jeremy Marcus; USFCS – Carolyn Brooks Miller, Debra Guice, Carl Jacobsen, Dennis Millard, Soumaya Williams.