CFO-ADMIN NEWS YOU CAN USE

A Monthly Newsletter from the

Office of the Chief Financial Officer and

 Director of Administration

 

February 2, 2011

 

In this issue of CFO-Admin News You Can Use, we focus on the following: 

• Did You Know That Ourplace Will Soon Be Permanently Replaced by ITACentral?

• Are You Self-Reporting?

• Help Us Spot Injury Trends! Report Your Accidents and Injuries

• What Is North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Secretariat?

• House Republicans Announce Appropriations Committee Chairs and Members.

• Keep Your CLC Access, Update Your Email Address in T&A

• Hiring Reform Announced by The President

• ITA Comings and Goings

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Did you know that OurPlace will soon be permanently replaced by ITACentral? 

                        

OurPlace will be shut down (decommissioned); please be on the look-out for an ITA-wide announcement. ITA Central will replace OurPlace as ITA’s enterprise-wide intranet for all network users. The new intranet offers employees a variety of tools such as collaborative virtual work spaces, a system-wide search tool, a comprehensive forms webpage, and a streamlined site navigation to assist employees in their day-to-day functions.  As part of the decommissioning process, a link will appear on the OurPlace webpage to redirect employees to ITACentral. All ITA users will be impacted by this event.  To get started, the ITACentral homepage (http://itacentral/Pages/Home.aspx), also features quick reference tools.  To receive information on training classes go to: http://itacentral/Help/Training/Lists/Courses/calendar.aspx.  If you have questions contact Elizabeth Barnaby at 202-482-0482 or via e-mail Elizabeth.Barnaby@trade.gov.

 

Are You Self-Reporting?

 

Did you know that once you’re granted a security clearance, you are subject to Continuous Evaluation?  That means your background will be reinvestigated every 5-10 years or in the interim if derogatory information becomes available.  Additionally, you have a duty to report to your security office any changes or unfavorable information concerning your personal life or activities that may have potential security ramifications.  Standards of conduct are set forth by Executive Order 12968, Access to Classified Information, and are enforced by applying the 13 Federal Adjudicative Guidelines.  Once your investigation is completed by the Office of Personnel Management, an adjudicator will review all of the information, good or bad, and weigh it against the Adjudicative Guidelines to decide eligibility for a clearance.  The 13 Federal Adjudicative Guidelines are: 

·      Allegiance to the United States

·      Foreign Influence

·      Foreign Preference

·      Sexual Behavior

·      Personal Conduct

·      Financial Considerations

·      Alcohol Consumption

·      Drug Involvement

·      Psychological Conditions

·      Criminal Conduct

·      Handling Protected Information

·      Outside Activities

·      Use of Information Technology Systems

Visit http://itacentral/ita/Administration/omo/Pages/Security.aspx for an in-depth look at the 13 Federal Adjudicative Guidelines.

 

Although you may have already been granted a security clearance, failing to report changes or unfavorable incidents calls into question one’s trustworthiness, honesty, and reliability to the United States.  This can jeopardize your continued access to classified information.  Don’t be haunted by your past because you were too embarrassed to report an incident or you thought the situation would go away.

 

If you have question about self-reporting or any other security issue, please contact Dana Ervin in ITA Security on 202-482-1205. 

 

Help Us Spot Injury Trends!  Report Your Accidents and Injuries

 

 

We need your help in identifying injury trends and ensuring that ITA is a safe place to work.  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed new accident and injury recordkeeping requirements, and we are required to report to the Department all work-related accidents and injuries.  Whenever you suffer an accident or injury while on official duty, you must report it to the Office of Management and Operations (OMO) using the CD-137, “Report of Injury, Illness, Accident or Fatality” (available at http://ocio.os.doc.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@os/@ocio/@oitpp/documents/content/dev01_002416.pdf).  You should also use this form to report all vehicle accidents while on official duty, regardless of whether they result in injury.  In the narrative, please confirm that seat belts were worn and that cellular phones, BlackBerries, and other mobile calling and texting devices were not used while driving.

 

In addition to the CD-137 form, OSHA requires that you report the number of calendar days the employee missed work and the number of calendar days the employee had a job transfer or restriction due to the accident or injury.  This data will help ITA identify any accident or injury trends, and develop strategies to reduce injuries and make ITA a safer place.  If you have questions, please contact ITA’s Safety Officer, Jeff Scherr at 202-482-3266 or Jeffrey.Scherr@trade.gov.

 

 

What Is North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Secretariat?

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Secretariat administers a permanent binational panel review system for resolving disputes under NAFTA Chapters 19 and 20, as codified under 19 U.S.C. 3315.  NAFTA provides an alternative to judicial review by domestic courts of final determinations in antidumping and countervailing duty cases, with review by independent binational panels.  The NAFTA Secretariat, comprised of a Canadian Section, a Mexican Section and a United States Section, is responsible for the administration of the dispute settlement provisions of NAFTA.   

A Panel is established when a Request for Panel Review is filed with the NAFTA Secretariat by an industry asking for a review of an investigating authority's decision involving imports from a NAFTA country. The Secretariat is responsible for administering the remuneration and payment of expenses for panelists and scientific review boards established under the NAFTA. 

The U.S. Section would pay for all of the costs of a case assigned to the Section.  After costs have been incurred, the U.S. Section would be responsible for half the costs incurred and would charge the other pertinent Section equally.  ITA’s Office of Financial Management (OFM) processes the billings and collections for these trade disputes.  After making payments to panelists, OFM is responsible for collection of half (50%) of the total costs from the corresponding NAFTA Section (Canada or Mexico). The financial processes involved in case settlement are accounts payable (in terms of panelist payments), accounts receivable (in billing the corresponding Section), and collections (based on the receipts of accounts receivable billings).  OFM also provides standard and custom reports to the U.S. Section to assist in the management and funds control process of NAFTA.

For additional information contact Catherine Roberts at 202-482-3153.

House Republicans Announce Appropriations Committee Chairs and Members

 

On January 7th, 2011, House Appropriations Chairman, Hal Rogers, announced the Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs and members for the 112th Congress.  The Republican members of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, which is the subcommittee that handles ITA, for the 112^th Congress are:

Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chairman

John Culberson (R-TX)

Robert Aderholt (R-AL)

Jo Bonner (R-AL)

Steve Austria (R-OH)

Tom Graves (R-GA)

Kevin Yoder (R-KS)

As of January 18, according to the Congressional Yellow Pages, the Minority members for the 112th Congress are still pending.  The following members were on the Sub-Committee in the 111^th Congress and are likely to return:

Chaka Fattah (D-PA)

Adam B. Schiff (D-CA)

Michael M. “Mike” Honda (D-CA)

José Enrique Serrano (D-NY)

Members have not been confirmed for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. 

For additional information contact Doug Allis at 202-482-9151.

 

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"Other News"

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Keep Your CLC Access, Update Your Email Address in T&A

All ITA employees currently utilizing a “@trade.gov e-mail address must update their email addresses in WebTA to change their Username in the Commerce Learning Center (an employee training and development system).  For most ITA employees, the email address in your WebTA is still either @ita.doc.gov or @mail.doc.gov.  The new address you must enter in WebTA is your newest email address - @trade.gov.

Why Is It Important That I Update My Email Address?

Employee email addresses serve as Commerce Learning Center (CLC) usernames, so it is important that your information is accurate.  Each pay period, a data feed is sent from WebTA to the National Finance Center (NFC) and then to CLC with the updated email addresses for ITA employees. 

What Are The Steps?

Please check WebTA to ensure you have the correct email address in the “Locator Info” section.  To change your e-mail address:

1)  Login to WebTA: https://docwebta.eas.commerce.gov/webta/

2)  Click "Locator Info".

3)  Scroll down to "Email/Internet" and enter your new @trade.gov e-mail address.

4)  Click “save” to update your information.

It will take approximately two weeks to activate your @trade.gov email address/username in CLC.  In the interim, you can still access the CLC system with your original email address.

What Are The Benefits?

CLC is an employee training and development system that is available for access 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The CLC offers a wide array of online courses to support your professional growth and augment your current training program.  This system enables you to create individualized training plans, calendars, and take courses at your own pace. 

Access the Commerce Learning Center (CLC) to find training and developmental opportunities to meet your training needs.

Who Do I Contact With Questions?

For questions or concerns about CLC, please contact ITA Learning Management System Support at italms@mail.doc.gov.

Hiring Reform Announced by the President

 

By now, most of you have already heard something about the new hiring reform initiative announced by the President and effective November 1.  This hiring initiative is meant to streamline the way the Federal Government hires and to shorten the time it takes to bring on board new employees.  This initiative will impact both new recruits from outside the Federal Government and current federal employees too.  In both situations, the lengthy essay-style questions known as KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities) will no longer be used.  Instead, applicants will only be required to answer a maximum of six true/false, multiple choice, or yes/no questions known as the Occupational Questionnaire, as well as be required to submit a resume and an optional cover letter.  Read more about the major changes impacting the way the Federal Government now hires by clicking here: http://itacentral/ita/administration/osr/Documents/OSR%20Training%20PDFs/Hiring%20Reform

%20Major%20Changes.pdf. 

If you have questions please contact Ruben Pedroza at 202-482-3072 or via email Ruben.Pedroza@trade.gov.

 

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ITA Comings and Goings

 

Arrivals - WELCOME!

CFO/ADMIN: OUS: Courtney Weisman; Brian Mahoney;  MAC: Gabriel Soledad; Christine Peterson; Mohammed Al-Adeeb; Daniel Green; FCS: Michael Marangell; Mathew David Woodlee; Ivette Marwell; Tazeem Pasha; Michelle Ouellette; Gregory James Burwell; Tathiana Mitchell

 

Departures

MAS: Michael Nicholson; Kemble Stokes; Shirley Hooker; Patrick Macauley; FCS: Sarah Caldejon; Joseph English; Eugene Quinn; Gregory Grenier; Michael Manning; John Schmonsees; Karen Zens

 

 

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