Disputing Fraudulent Charges on the Government Travel Card

Regular monthly reconciliation and on-line monitoring of travel card statements are essential steps for travel cardholders in minimizing fraudulent charges.  If a cardholder does not recognize a charge on the travel card, he or she should begin the dispute process immediately. All disputes unresolved at the supplier-Cardholder level must be submitted to Citibank within 60 days of receipt of the invoice on which the charge(s) first appeared. After 60 days, the right to dispute a charge may be relinquished.  If you note any fraudulent charges contact Citibank at 1-800-790-7206 or if you have questions contact Sharon Russell at (202) 482-3267 or via email Sharon.Russell@mail.doc.gov .

FY 2008 Congressional Appropriations and Operations

The staff for both House/Senate Appropriation Committees are working to reconcile the two versions of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill for FY 2008 in order to present it to the President. In the meantime, ITA will continue to operate under a Continuing Resolution (CR).  The CR which is scheduled to expire on November 16th, required that bureaus within DoC operate and incur obligations that mirror the same time frame in the previous year (also operating under a CR).  For the duration of the continuing resolution all procurements, including MOUs that would obligate ITA to $100,000 or more must be approved by your Resource Coordinator and the Budget Officer. For more information on operations during a CR please call  Michael House at (202) 482-5739.

New ITA Accounting System

The Commerce Business System (CBS) was successfully implemented for ITA on October 22, 2007.  Users may now access CBS through the CBS Portal: http://cbs.nist.gov/portal.  To obtain access, submit a CBS Portal access form.  The form may be accessed on the Portal (without a log-in) under “User Forms.”  From HCHB, mail can be sent to NIST via the Courier Service.  The service picks up daily in HCHB 4111 (OFM).  There are a number of resources available to answer your questions about CBS.  Who you contact will depend on the type of question you have.  If you are unsure of who to contact, you can call the Customer Interaction Center (CIC) at (301) 975-5375.

 Health Benefits Open Season and Annual Health Fair

This year, you will find one open season (November 12 – December 10, 2007) with three programs from which you can enroll or change enrollments (Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), and Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program).  It’s exciting times for Federal benefits!! Employee changes will be effective January 6, 2008.  The Department of Commerce will hold its annual health fair on November 14, 2007 where representatives from various program areas will be on hand to answer your questions about 2008 benefits.  Mark your calendars and plan to attend on November 14 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. in the Main Lobby of HCHB.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Karen Brown at  (202) 482-8065 or via email at Karen.Brown@mail.doc.gov.