Organization Changes

The Office of Organization and Management Support (OOMS) is available to provide guidance and to facilitate the implementation of organization changes that impact ITA. The organization structure and assignment of functions of ITA are prescribed in Departmental Organization Order 40-1, changes to the delegation of authority and the functions of the Under Secretary for International Trade are prescribed in Departmental Organization Order 10-3, and changes to the internal organization and assignment of functions within ITA are set forth in Organization and Function Order 41-1. For assistance or further information regarding the implementation of organization changes, contact Charles Jefferson at (202)482-6078 or via email at charles_jefferson@ita.doc.gov.

Metrocheks

Metrocheks will be distributed to participating employees in Room B841B from June 28-30, 2005. June 28, 2005 has been designated for ITA employees to pick-up their Metrocheks from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. If you are unable to pickup your Metrocheks that day, you can pick them up June 29 or 30. Please note that on June 30, 2005, Department of Transportation (DOT) representatives will be at HCHB from 8:30 to 11:30 am only. Those employees who are unable to pick-up their Metrocheks during the designated times can go to the Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters, located at 400 7^th Street, SW. Take the Metrorail to L'Enfant Plaza, exiting at 7^th and D. The Metrocheks pick-up window is located on the Plaza Level, Southwest corner of DOT in Room 206. The office hours are Monday thru Friday, 8:30 am until 4:00 pm with full coverage during lunch hours. If you have questions, call Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Copier and Printer Maintenance and Supply Program

Just a reminder that Cartridge Technologies Incorporated (CTI) provides all maintenance and supplies for the printers and copiers (with the exception of Xerox and Oce) in the HCHB, Franklin Court and the Ronald Reagan Building. Xerox customers must contact Xerox at (800)821-2797 to place a service or supply call. Oce customers must contact Oce at (800)627-1113 to place a service or supply call. If you need to make a service or supply call please send an email to SERVICE@CTIMD.COM with a cc to Robin Carpenter, Copier Manager, and provide the following information: Contact Name and Number, Model and Serial Number, Copier Location, Description of problem. Through this copier and printer program, customers can request: Copier/printer repairs, Copier/printer supplies, Toner Cartridge pick up, Copier relocation. If you have questions regarding the copier/printer program, contact Robin Carpenter at (202)482-4989 or via email at Robin_Carpenter@ita.doc.gov .

Updated Mail Codes

As a result of the reorganization of ITA, the two-digit mail code for your office may have changed. Follow the link to the Mail Codes list, determine your code, and immediately start using the numbers assigned to your program unit. If you have questions, please contact Judith Wilson via e-mail, Judith_Wilson@ita.doc.gov or call (202)482-3265.

Employee Relations Update - Probationary Period

Please remember that the Probationary Period is a part of the hiring process. Don't wait for the one-year period to end. If there are conduct or performance concerns regarding probationary employees, please contact Mike Stein, Acting Chief, Employee and Labor Relations Group for ITA/ADMIN/OHRM. He can be reached at (202)482-2274 and he can also be reached by e-mail at mike_stein@ita.doc.gov.

Supervisory Certification of WebTA

The webTA is a Departmental system, and the Leave and Premium Pay Request Feature should be used in lieu of the paper OPM Form 71 (Formerly Standard Form SF-71), etc. Supervisors/Managers must ensure that the certified webTA is printed, signed and dated each pay period until the Department gets electronic signature authority. All T&A records must be retained for a six-year period. After one year, T&A records may be sent to an inactive record storage site provided they are readily retrievable for audit or other purposes. All records, including Certified Default Tour Processing Reports or copies of the reports, should transfer with the employee as he or she moves within the Department to facilitate the T&A audit process. If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Lorese Green at (202)482-5232 or at Lorese_Green@ita.doc.gov and Annjuana Rogers at (202)482-3806 or at Annjuana_Rogers@ita.doc.gov.

FY 2006 Budget

On June 7, 2005, the House Science, State, Justice, Commerce committee met to propose appropriation language for ITA's FY2006 budget. The funding level proposed by the House is $2M less than ITA's request. The Senate Appropriations Committee plans to markup the Commerce, Justice, Science bill on June 23rd. The House and Senate will have seven legislative weeks (three in July and four in September) to come to agreement on the 12 appropriation bills before the Oct. 1 start of fiscal 2006. It appears unlikely all will be passed and ITA could again, start the fiscal year under a Continuing Resolution. For additional information, please contact Amy Duncan at (202)482-5739.

Inter-Agency Agreements

Any work being provided by another government agency on behalf of ITA, or work that is being performed by ITA on behalf of another government agency, needs a reimbursable/payable agreement. Program units of ITA are responsible for preparing the agreement, providing points of contact from each agency, and providing the accounting codes. All agreements are to be routed through the Office of Financial Management for assignment of reimbursable/payable agreement number, funds availability validation, and accounting code validation. If you have questions call Roxanna Allen (202)482-8363.

Brussels Data Verification and Validation Analysis

The FY2005 Annual Financial Audit provided an opportunity to conduct a verification and validation analysis of the export success data in the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service's Brussels Post. The Planning and Performance Management (PPM) group in the Office of Financial Management provided an advance copy of an audit checklist to the Brussels staff of the US&FCS. The checklist included questions regarding the data collection/reporting of performance metrics for staff to complete. PPM used the checklist to follow-up with a conference call to address the questions and assess the process for collecting and reporting the export success metrics. The overall assessment indicated that the staff in Brussels recognize the importance of accurately capturing legitimate export success metrics and have developed processes and controls by which to report and record such data. For further information on Data Verification and Validation, contact Rhonda Jackson in the Office of Financial Management at (202)482-2242.

Procurement Corner

Question: How do I dispute a transaction on a purchase card statement?

Answer: A cardholder may dispute a transaction on the government purchase card statement in the Citibank Citidirect system by logging on to http://www.cards.citidirect.com (If the cardholder has never been in Citidirect before or it has been several months since they last visited the website, please contact Citibank's Help Desk at 1-800-790-7206, option 2, for Username and Password instructions).

1. On Citidirect's Home Page select Inbox and Current Status.
2. Place cursor over the card number for the month of the statement desired.
3. Select the correct radio button beside the post date of the transaction to be disputed.
4. Click the Dispute button.
5. Information regarding the transaction appears.
6. Select the most appropriate reason for dispute.
7. Select Submit Dispute.
8. Print and sign the Dispute form.
9. SEND THE SIGNED DISPUTED FORM TO CITIBANK WITHIN 30 DAYS FROM CITIDIRECT SUBMISSION OR THE DISPUTE WILL BE DISREGARDED.
10. To track a disputed transaction, the cardholder may select Inquiry and Dispute Log on the Home Page.

Where Do I Find....Document Direct and Flashpoint

Did you forget your password(s)? Has it expired or maybe been revoked because you can't remember the exact combination of letters, numbers and other characters? Help is a phone call away. Contact Crystal Bush in OFM at (202)482-8365.

ITA Comings and Goings 04/16/05 - 06/17/05

Arrivals - WELCOME!

OUS - Israel Hernandez, Jay Jones, Marlon Scott, Tiffany Smith; ADMIN - Antoinette Chance, Phyllis Daniels, Cynthia Jacobs; IA - Samantha Biondo, Michael Obhof, Peter Petrlich; MAC - Ashlee Erny; MAS - Lindsey Dickinson, James Durnil, Nicole Hinson, Blaine Wiltse, Dean Woodard; US&FCS - Miguel Green, Michael MacDonald, Lisa Mitchell, Raymond Mosely, Tonya Williams.

Departures

ADMIN - Forrest Harris, Thomas Odend Hal; MAC - Laurette Dickerson, Rebecca Karnak, Tracy McKibben, Melissa Wilson; MAS - Patterson Brown, Wray Candilis, Linda Harbaugh, Mary Kertley, Kristie Mikus, Heather Pederson; US&FCS - Jenny Chang, Windy Goodale, William Holroyd, Rochelle Kleter, Wade Murphy, James O'Brien, Rebecca Richardson, Ivan Rios, Matthew Wright.