CD-410 Work Order Deadline

The deadline for submitting FY 2007 funded CD-410 work order requests for major renovations such as room remodeling, carpet replacement, painting, etc. is July 20, 2007. Any CD-410s received after this date will be logged into the tracking system by the Department on October 1, 2007 and charged to FY 2008 appropriations. CD-410s for minor work such as hanging photos, installing cable drops, and other minor jobs can still be submitted until September 14, 2007. To ensure that your CD-410 is processed promptly, please submit your request for major office alterations/renovations to the Office of Organization and Management Support Services by July 19, 2007. If you have questions, please contact Diana Smith at (202)482-3265.

Department Seals, Emblems, Insignia, and Logos

To request Department review of a new logo or emblem, an operating unit must complete Form CD-506 Request for Approval of Commerce Seal, Emblem, Insignia, or Logo (available on both the Department’s Internet and Intranet web sites). Criteria for this type of request are spelled out in Department Administrative Order (DAO) 201-1 Section 6. The approval process for this type of request can take anywhere from two (2) weeks to several months, so please plan ahead. Questions regarding this process may be directed to Jacqueline.Harris@mail.doc.gov (202)482-4011.

ITA Computer Training Calendar

The ITA Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) is pleased to announce the Computer Training Calendar for July, August, and September 2007. This calendar is located on the ITA OHRM web site. Courses to be offered will include Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft Excel 2003, Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, Microsoft Access 2003, and Adobe Acrobat 7.0. The Microsoft Office courses will be offered at three learning levels: Introduction, Intermediate, and Advanced. Adobe Acrobat 7.0 will be offered only at the Introduction level. Courses will accommodate a maximum of 12 participants and are filled on a first-come first-served basis. Classes will be held in Training Room 6872 and start promptly at 9:00 am and end at 4:00 pm, unless otherwise indicated on the calendar. To register for any of these courses, please fax your supervisory approved Standard Form 182 (SF-182) to (202)482-3946 or bring to room HCHB 7424 at least 5-business days before the start of the course. If you are unable to attend the training for which you are registered, please contact Lester Purnell at (202)482-2262 or Anesia Robinson at (202)482-1380 at least one week before the start date of the class. Otherwise your office will be charged for the cost of the class. These programs are physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Anesia.Robinson@mail.doc.gov.

What's New With TSP

April 11, 2007, the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) Program celebrated its 20th anniversary of the first contributions to the TSP that began in 1987 with 660,000 accounts. Today that number has grown to 3.7 million participants. The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) has taken a major step to help keep account transactions and information on their website more secure. Employees are now required to log into the Account Access section with a longer, more complex web password. You will no longer be able to log into Account Access with your TSP Personal Identification Number (PIN). But keep your TSP PIN!! You will still need it to access your account by telephone via the ThriftLine at ( 877)868-3778 (toll free). You will not be able to use your web password on the ThriftLine. The Thrift Investment Board has released a new historical returns chart for the varying funds. To view, log into http://www.tsp.gov/rates/allreturnscharts.pdf. The 2006 TSP Participant Survey and other reports of interest are available at http://www.frtib.gov/ in the electronic reading room. If you have questions, contact Karen Brown at (202)482-8065 or via email at Karen.Brown@mail.doc.gov .

FY 2008 Budget

On Thursday June 28, 2007 the full Senate Appropriations Committee, Chaired by Senator Byrd, passed the ITA budget and increased funding by $5 million over the President’s proposed budget. The Senate proposed amount is $417 million and includes a $3 million increase for Import Administration to more rigorously enforce U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws. The next step in the Senate is for the entire Senate body to vote for the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill – no date has been set for full Senate action. This full Senate Appropriations Committee action represents just one of the 10 steps that a bill passes through on its way to the President’s desk for signature. At every step the bill can be adjusted or rejected. For more information on the status of ITA’s FY 2008 appropriation bill, contact Michael House at (202)482-5739.

FY 2009 Budget – Under Review within the Commerce Department

Concurrent with executing the FY 2007 budget and following the progress of the FY 2008 budget as it winds its way though Congress, ITA management has been working with Departmental management in the review of the FY 2009 budget proposal submitted to the Deputy Secretary in May. The Departmental review is rigorous, detailed and thorough with a constant exchange of information between ITA and the Department as they evaluate ITA’s budget in the context of the entire Commerce Department’s financial requirement in FY 2009. We anticipate receiving Departmental feedback during the second half of July. For more information on the status of ITA’s FY 2009 budget contact Michael House at (202)482-5739.

Performance Management Updates

The Office of Financial Management would like to thank all ITA program units for submitting preliminary data for submission in to the third quarter Deputy Secretary's Report. The preliminary report demonstrated a few positive results for ITA. First, Import Administration plans to meet its annual target of 100% for its measure "Percentage of AD/CVD proceedings completed within statutory deadlines". Market Access and Compliance intends to meet all year-end performance targets. Manufacturing and Services is making appropriate progress towards meeting the majority of its FY 2007 performance targets. The U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service anticipates higher levels of Export Success productivity in the fourth quarter compared to previous FY 2007 quarters. Although initial ITA results appear to be positive, there remain key areas where ITA will need to monitor performance in order to enforce corrective actions for improvement. Reminder: All program units are expected to enter final third quarter data and commentary into pbviews by July 9 cob. Please contact Dondi Ojeda at (202)482-5204 or Dondi.Ojeda@mail.doc.gov for further information.

Commerce Business System (CBS) Implementation Project

The project to implement ITA's new accounting system, CBS, is proceeding on schedule for October 2007. Testing is underway for the eleven new ITA reports and eight modified reports. The team has been carefully testing each report to verify that the lay-out and functionality is consistent with the Reports Workgroup requirements. We are currently conducting system tests for core processes and CBS interfaces (e.g. Payroll, Bankcard, Procurement, & Travel tickets). We have completed the first of four scheduled Mock Conversions to test the conversion of data from the current FFS accounting system to CBS. Mock Conversion #2 was completed on June 29. Future Mock Conversions will build on lessons learned from previous tests. We are currently conducting system testing associated with Department of State (DOS) interface routines. The DoS interface was also included in Mock Conversion #2 and the results indicated that the DoS data were successfully posted. The ITA CBS Summit is scheduled for August 28th – 29th. Registration will begin in July. For more information on the CBS Implementation Project please contact Roxanna Allen at (202)482-8363 or Roxanna.Allen@mail.doc.gov .

Traveler’s Corner

Question: Can a traveler be reimbursed for collision damage waiver or theft insurance when renting a vehicle while on official travel within the Continental U.S.?

Answer: A traveler will not be reimbursed for collision damage waiver or theft insurance for official travel within the Continental U.S. If you have questions, please call your travel contact or Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Where Do I Find... Information on the FY 2008 Appropriation?

The House full committee mark-up of the proposed FY 2008 Commerce, Justice, State and Related Agencies appropriation bill has been postponed to July 11, 2007. To track the progress of appropriation activity, please go to the Library of Congress website (http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app08.html) and scroll down to Commerce/Justice/Science Subcommittee. If you have questions contact Michael House at (202)482-5739.