Wednesday, April 3, 2002

Metrocheks

For those who were unable to pick up their metrocheks on April 2 or 3, Metrocheks are available for pickup in Room B841B by any participating employee on April 4 from 8:30 - 3:30. Those employees who are unable to pick up their Metrocheks on April 4 can go to the Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters, located at 400 7^th Street, SW. The Metrochek window is located on the Plaza Level, Southwest corner of DOT, in Room 206. Metrocheks will be available at DOT Monday thru Friday (8:30-4:00). Please be sure to take a valid DOC identification with you. If you have questions, please call Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Survey Approval

 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 requires Government agencies to obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) prior to obtaining or soliciting identical information from 10 or more persons. Methods of collection include written survey or report forms, application forms, schedules, questionnaires, focus groups, and on-line questionnaires and surveys. Information collected from the public via the Internet or by telephone requires OMB approval as well. General guidelines for webforms are as follows:

1. OMB-approved information collection forms do not require any additional clearance when placed on a website but must display the OMB Control Number and Expiration Date, Burden Statement and Privacy Act Statement.

2. Website forms with an undifferentiated comment box that merely asks for general comments (e.g., Tell us what you think), name, address and/or email address do not require OMB-approval.

3. Website forms that request respondents to tell the Government about anything specific in addition to providing general comments, name, address and/or email address require OMB approval.

If you have questions contact Herman Dogan at (202)482-3031 or via email at Herman_Dogan@ita.doc.gov.

ITA Speakers' Series for April 16

The Speakers' Series invites speakers to discuss current issues and their impact on the rest of ITA. The Series is designed to meet monthly and informally for an hour. Mark your calendar and join us on the following dates:

Date and Time: Tuesday, April16, 2002 at 10:00

Location: Room 1414

Speaker: Paul Kirwin, Manager of SBA's Export Express Program

Topic: Because of popular demand and the interest of his topic to ITA, the Speaker's Series has again invited Paul Kirwin from Small Business Administration to talk about SBA's Export Express Program which is a loan guaranty program for very small businesses. There are more than 250 lenders around the country that are eligible to participate in Export Express. SBA has centralized processing of Export Express loans and provides participating lenders with a response within 36 hours. For more information, contact Rosemary Pappas at (202)482-0482.

ITA's Safety Officer

On May 22, 2001 Secretary Evans, in a memo to all employees, outlined his commitment to the safety and health of all Commerce employees. In support of the Secretary's initiative, Tony Proctor has been appointed to serve as ITA's Safety Officer. ITA has a good safety record, but we still experience some preventable accidents and injuries. To prevent and minimize injuries and/or illnesses to our staff, occupational safety and health must be given full consideration in planning, development, and operation in each unit. Over the next year, Tony will work with the Office of the Secretary, Office of Safety and Occupational Health, ITA Office directors, and safety specialists from each unit to develop, implement and maintain a strong safety awareness program. He will contact each unit in the near future to discuss the safety program. ITA is fully committed to the welfare of its employees and I ask you to join me in welcoming Tony to this position, and giving him your full support and commitment. If you have questions, please contact Tony Proctor at (202)482-2384.

FY 2003 Budget

We received four questions from the Senate appropriations subcommittee, as follow-up to the hearing on the 2003 budget request on Wednesday, March 13, 2002. The questions are being responded to by the appropriate program offices through ITA management to the Department. Now that both houses of Congress have held their hearings, markup is the next step in the process and will begin around mid-May. For more information, contact Alan Zegas at (202)482-5739.

FY 2004 Budget

Initial planning for the FY 2004 budget request has begun. The formal call for budget proposals from the Deputy Under Secretary to the Assistant Secretaries was issued last week. For more information, contact Alan Zegas at (202)482-5739.

Department of Interior National Business Center (NBC) Temporary E-mail Address

The NBC has made available a temporary e-mail address for all of its ITA customers. This e-mail address is as follows: DOINBC.Denver@mail.doc.gov at the U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC) in Denver, Colorado. ITA customers can send regular files or messages to this NBC e-mail address. If there is an urgent response requested, you should call or fax the necessary material to your contact at NBC. For more information, contact Michael Gendron at (202)482-8365.

Trivia Question!!

 

When is the FY 2004 Secretarial Budget Submission for the International Trade Administration due to OFM?

 

Answer to Last Issue's Question:

Do you know what two ITA groups have been merged to create the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)?

Answer: A Memorandum of Understanding has been established between all ITA program units and the OCIO. The two groups that have been combined to create OCIO are the Office of Information Resources Management, formerly in Administration, and the Office of Information Systems, formerly in the Commercial Service.

Traveler's Corner

Question: When should a traveler request authorization for reimbursement for actual expenses?

Answer: A traveler should request authorization for reimbursement for actual expenses in advance of travel. However, approval after the fact may be granted when supported by an explanation. If you have questions, please call your travel contact or Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Where Do I Find....

1. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have launched an Internet telework information clearinghouse for federal employees. The website provides links to telework sites at OPM and GSA, along with links to telework information from other agencies and the private sector. The site also includes self-help guides for teleworkers and their managers and a link to telework centers, available to the private sector as well as government employees. The interagency telework website is found at: http://www.telework.gov .

2. The interagency Human Resource Management Council and the Office of Personnel Management have developed a workforce planning web-site to provide up-to-date information on workforce planning. The website is: http://www.opm.gov/workforceplanning . The site includes a handy workforce planning desk aid for managers and supervisors. For more information contact Darlene Haywood at (202)482-3620.

The Yardstick

 

ITA has numerous measures to track ITA-wide performance. Soon our results will be available for the second quarter of this year. However, did you know that in the first quarter of FY2002 alone:

The " $ Value of Advocacy Projects completed was $ 1.5 Billion Dollars? (A half a billion dollars more than projected for the quarter!);

MAC's Trade Compliance Center reported (from October thru December) that ITA addressed trade barriers worth $9.5 Billion? and

Nine out of ten District Export Council (DEC) members surveyed last fall perceived that the Trade Portal was easy to use?

These are just a few of the facts we are learning about how well ITA performs. As more data are available over time, we will be able to report trends in this newsletter. Stay tuned to the Yardstick to learn more about ITA performance. We'll try to "measure up". For more information about ITA's Performance Program, contact Ed Meyer at (202)482-3304.