In this Issue

Transit Benefit
What are Official Records
Through the Maze
New ITA Accounting System
PBViews/Performance
ITA Budget Status
Achieving a Meeting of the Minds on Performance

Features

Travelers Corner
Where Do I Find
ITA Comings and Goings

Transit Benefit Increase and March 2007 Metrochek Distribution

The IRS Revenue Procedure 2006-53, dated November 2006, increased the monthly limitation on the transportation fringe benefit exclusion to $110 beginning with tax year 2007. If your monthly transportation cost (excluding parking), exceeds the previous $105 per month limit, you should complete the Transit Benefit Increase Form, which is located at: http://www.osec.doc.gov/oas/2007_INCREASE.pdf. Those who receive their SmartBenefits via the Department of Transportation (DOT), must complete form ITA-2064, DOC Application For Transit Benefit, which is located at: http://ourplace.ita.doc.gov/DOC/workflow.nsf?OpenDatabase. Please be reminded that you must include your office accounting classification code on either form. Upon completion of the form, please bring the form to Sharon Russell, ITA Transit Benefit Coordinator. Ms. Russell is located in Room 4001. Metrocheks will be distributed to participating employees in Room B841B from March 20-22, 2007 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Please note that on March 22, 2007, the Department of Transportation (DOT) representatives will be at HCHB from 8:30 to 11:00 am only. Participating employees who miss the quarterly distribution may pickup their Metrocheks at DOT after March 22, 2007. DOT headquarters is located at 400 7th Street, SW. Take the Metrorail to L’Enfant Plaza, exiting at 7th and D. The Metrocheks pickup 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, please call Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267. ITA employees located in the domestic field should contact Debra James at (937)259-2523.

What are Official Records?

The Federal Records Act defines official records as including "all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine-readable materials, or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of the data in them (44 U.S.C. § 3301). Many of the key terms, phrases, and concepts in this statutory definition of records are defined in 36 CFR §1222.12. The Act further clarifies electronic records as information in any form, including textual documents such as word processing files or electronic mail messages; images such as maps or pictures; World Wide Web content; and computer code. Electronic records may be stored in computer memory or on storage media, such as optical disks or magnetic tapes. They may or may not have paper backup. Electronic records are subject to the same records management standards of National Archives and Records Administration and the Department of Commerce as any other records. The disposition of ITA records is governed by record control schedules. Record control schedules must be updated regularly to reflect changes in operations and the needs of the organization. Information about records and record control schedules can be found at http://www.ita.doc.gov/ooms/RSC_Homepage.htm. For additional information or guidance, you may contact Nina Harris, the ITA Records Officer, at 482-3585 or Charles Jefferson at 482-6078.

Through the Maze

A “How To Enter a Procurement Action into C. Request,” (OOMS 48) and “How To Approve/Review Documents in C. Request, (OOMS 49) were added to the Through the Maze Manual. Both documents provide step-by-step instructions on how to access C. Request, enter procurement actions and review/approve procurement requests. If you have questions contact Robin Carpenter at (202)482-4989 or via email at Robin.Carpenter@mail.doc.gov.

New ITA Accounting System

ITA will be replacing its current accounting system (FFS) with the Commerce Business System (CBS) in October 2007. NIST will begin providing accounting operations support to ITA when CBS is implemented. NIST currently provides accounting support for itself and nine other Department of Commerce Bureaus. Implementation of CBS will facilitate standardization of accounting systems and operations throughout the Department of Commerce which should yield cost savings for the Department. The CBS implementation activities are progressing on schedule and additional information and training will be provided as the project moves forward. For further information please contact Roxanna Allen at (202)482-8363.

PbViews/Performance Office Hours

OFM is pleased to announce the beginning of pbViews/performance office hours. The purpose of these bi-weekly sessions is to enable pbViews users to: voice concerns they may have regarding pbViews; receive one-on-one training; attend presentations on performance measures; and receive troubleshooting assistance from performancesoft, OCIO, and OFM. All pbViews users are asked to access the pbViews database within the next few days to see if it is working to the user's satisfaction. This will ensure that OFM can resolve any issues prior to the end of the quarter (and year). It is extremely important that OFM receives feedback, as pbViews is ITA's primary tool for tracking performance and will likely be used in the future for additional types of analysis. Please contact Dondi Ojeda with questions or concerns at dondi.ojeda@mail.doc.gov, or at (202)482-5204.

**March - May pbViews/performance Office Hour Schedule*:**

March 21^st 11 AM - noon - Quarterly Deputy Secretary Reports: What you need to know and why

April 4th 11 AM - noon - Troubleshooting: Why can't I see data?

April 18th 11 AM - noon - pbViews Training: New Users/ Refresher

May 2nd 11 AM - noon - Performance Management for ITA vs. Performance for HR

May 16th 11 AM - noon - Balance Scorecards, Process Maps and Internal Views

May 30th 11 AM - noon - pbViews Training: New Users/ Refresher

*Please note all sessions will be held room 4115

ITA Budget Status

At any given time, ITA is participating in three different budget environments. The status of each of these budget environments is described below: If you have questions on any of these items, please contact Michael House at (202)482-5739.

FY 2007
Congress passed a full year continuing resolution (Public Law 110-5 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.J.RES.20.enr:) for ITA providing essentially the same funding as was provided in FY 2006. Budget is working with the DUS to develop allocations to program units.

FY 2008
The Secretary has completed his testimony before the House and Senate appropriation subcommittees with hearings on March 1st in the Senate and March 6th before the House. Under Secretary Lavin testifies before the House appropriation subcommittee on March 20th. It is unclear if the Senate will schedule a hearing with the Under Secretary.

The FY 2009
On March 7th, Deputy Under Secretary O'Neill signed a memorandum initiating the FY 2009 budget process. The new process introduces the requirement to consider the impact of any program change on meeting ITA's strategic goals and objectives over multiple years, instead of just FY 2009. The ultimate objective of this process is to align ITA's resource requirements and activities to the strategic plan and objectives in a compelling and strong justification for the important work that ITA does to create economic opportunity for U.S. workers and firms by promoting international trade, opening foreign markets, ensuring compliance with trade laws and supporting U.S. commercial interests at home and abroad.

Achieving a Meeting of the Minds on Performance

Do you know what is expected from you and your work product? Are you able to discuss your performance with your supervisor so that you both have the same view? Do you know how to distinguish performance levels? You can learn how to optimize individual and team performance through providing effective feedback, documenting accomplishments, and effectively distinguishing performance at the "Achieving a Meeting of the Minds on Performance" presentation for supervisors and employees. The presentation will be conducted Tuesday, March 13 from 2:00-3:30 in room 4064 or Thursday March 15 from 10:00-11:30 in room 4064 or Thursday March 15 from 2:00-3:30 in room 4064. Please contact Christine Covington at (202)482-3041 or via email Christine_Covington@ita.doc.gov to register. The first 100 attendees' names will be entered in a drawing to win a door prize.

Traveler’s Corner

Question: Can an ITA employee solicit payment for travel, subsistence, and related travel expenses from a non-Federal source?

Answer: An ITA employee is prohibited from soliciting payment for travel, subsistence and related travel expenses from a non-Federal source but may accept a travel gift if it is offered by a non-Federal source and is approved by the program Deputy Assistant Secretary. If you have questions, please call Sharon Russell at (202) 482-3267.

Where Do I Find...Guidance on the Performance Management Mid-Term Progress Reviews?

To help ITA employees prepare for the upcoming Mid-Term formal Progress Review for FY 2007, the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) has put together progress review guidance. This information will assist employees and supervisors to better prepare for the progress review. The required formal progress reviews must be conducted no sooner than 120 calendar days from the implementation of the performance plan and no later than April 30, 2007 for mid-term purposes. If an employee has not been in the position for at least 120 days by April 30, formal progress reviews should be conducted as soon as the employee has reached 120 days. Please visit the ITA OHRM Performance Management Web page at http://ita.doc.gov/hrm/pms.htm to view the Mid-Term Progress Review Guidance. For more information, you may contact Anesia Robinson at (202)482-1380 or via email Anesia.Robinson@mail.doc.gov.

ITA Comings and Goings 1/5/07 – 3/5/07

Arrivals – WELCOME!

ADMIN – Karen Brown, Clarance Burden, Mary Fleming; MAC – Jeffrey Kozlowicki; US&FCS – James Anderson, Tina Harrison, Karl Kailing, Christopher Rager, Sheri Valera.

Departures

OUS – Amber Wesley; MAC – Jennifer Rusk; USFCS – Julia Hanks, Jennifer Holyfield, Michelle Park.