Metrocheks

When picking up Metrocheks, ITA employees are reminded to check that the dollar amount of Metrocheks received is the same as the amount signed for. Also, departing ITA headquarters employees are reminded that all unused Metrocheks, bus tokens, etc. must be turned into the Office of Organization and Management Support (OOMS), in Room 4001 of the HCHB, prior to departure. If you have questions, contact Sharon Russell at (202)482-3267.

Advice from SATO

ITA travelers have recently reported having difficulty with airlines failing to honor reservations, especially for overseas travel. Travelers arrive at the airport and are told that there is no record of their reservation or that the flight is overbooked and they do not have a seat. We met with SATO to address some of the problems reported by travelers and they made several suggestions for international travelers.

• Make certain your SATO profile is updated - include all frequent flyer account numbers which may facilitate preferred seat assignments.
• Confirm your reservation 72 hours in advance of your flight.
• Arrive at the airport 2 hours in advance of an international flight.
• If, at initial check-in, the airline does not have a record of your reservation, provide the clerk with the flight confirmation reference code. The reference code appears on your SATO-issued itinerary to the right of the flight information for each leg of your trip.
• Be certain to obtain seat assignments at initial check-in for each leg of your trip.
• If an airline is not able to provide seat assignments for connecting flights, ask for an explanation. If you are not satisfied with the explanation, call SATO's emergency number: (800)827-7777 during non-business hours, during business hours SATO can be reached at (202)482-1543.

SATO advises that airlines routinely overbook flights and that this problem will increase during the summer vacation months. Be certain to make reservations as far in advance as possible. If you have problems and especially if you are bumped from a flight, please report the circumstances to SATO at (202)482-1543.

CitiDirect Access for Travel Cardholders

Citibank has provided a useful management tool for Government Travel Cardholders to view their daily transactions and monthly accounting. CitiDirect is an on-line system that provides travel cardholders access to their current and past statements and other "View Only" screens (cardholders will not be able to make changes to their account information or Statements of Account.) CitiDirect can be accessed at http://www.citidirect-gcs.com After clicking on Start Login Process, cardholders will be prompted to type in their Username, which is the first four letters of their last name and the last six digits of their travel card number. This is also their initial password. After they are in the system they will be prompted to create a new password with 6-9 mixed alphabetic and numeric characters. If a cardholder has never accessed the account, they will not need to contact CitiBank before accessing the system. If it has been 30 days or longer since cardholders have been in CitiDirect, and they cannot get into the system, they can contact the Help Desk at CitiBank to have their Username reset. The telephone number is 1(800)790-7206 for cardholders in the continental United States. Overseas cardholders should call (904)954-7850 collect. Step by step instructions are available on the Commerce BankCard Center's (CBC) website at http://casc.noaa.gov/bankcard/guidelines.html or call CBC at 1(800)782-2233 if you have questions.

New Site To Access Commerce Acquisition Manual

Cardholders and Approving Officials can now access the Commerce Acquisition Manual from the OOMS website located at: http://www.ita.doc.gov/ooms/AIINDEX.htm. The Commerce Acquisition Manual (CAM) provides guidance on the use of the Government Purchase Card. For additional information, please contact Robin Carpenter at (202)482-4989.

Human Resources Data System (HRDSweb)

HRDSweb is an easy to use “Web based” human resource reporting system designed to meet many of the Department’s HR reporting needs and is available to supervisors, managers, administrative officers and other staff (e.g., HR, EEO, Budget and Finance). HRDSweb provides users with access to over 130 reports containing personnel, performance, salary, leave, benefits, retirement, attrition, diversity, financial and other data on Commerce employees. Users can also obtain profile reports which provide useful data “snapshots.” HRDSweb information can be accessed on-line using any desktop personal computer meeting minimum configuration requirements and a web browser. Information can also be printed or formatted into electronic files using Adobe Acrobat Reader. For more information, please contact Diane Evans at (202)482-4382 or via email at Diane_Evans@ita.doc.gov.

COOL Orientation

 

Eleven orientation sessions for the new DoC automated staffing system COOL (Commerce Opportunities On Line) were conducted from March 1^st through April 16^th. Most of the feedback from the approximately 100 ITA managers and employees who attended the sessions was favorable. Attendees who would be using COOL to apply for vacancies liked the ease of application and the fact that their information would remain resident in COOL's data base. They also liked the elimination of the quality ranking essay questions, the fact that COOL is always accessible from any location anywhere in the world, and the elimination of the need for undependable and expensive mailing of applications. Management officials who would be using COOL to announce and make selections from certificates of eligibles liked the capability of reviewing applications on line at any time in any location, easily contacting applicants by email for additional information or to schedule interviews, and the image COOL sends that DoC is a state-of-the-art third millennium employer. More importantly, they especially like the prospect of receiving certificates of eligibles three days work after the closing date of the announcement.

COOL Tip of the Week

For Applicants: The COOL application module does not have spell check capability. It's a good idea to cut and paste from a word processing program after spell check has been performed.

For Managers: When filling out your COOL user's profile sheet, choose a password other than your favorite. The first time you access the manager's module of COOL, you will be prompted to change your password. For more information contact Kathy Hart at (202)482-3060.

Sensitive But Unclassified Outgoing Cables

In the past, when drafting Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) outgoing cables, the first line of text required the phrases "SBU - PROTECT ACCORDINGLY" and "DECONTROL UPON RECEIPT". Effective immediately, these statements are no longer required. However, the following procedures still apply when drafting SBU cables. The Classification Block of an outgoing SBU cable must indicate "UNCLASSIFIED". The last caption ("CAP") line of SBU cables should read "SENSITIVE" unless distribution restrictions are necessary, then the last "CAP" line should read "NOFORN", "NO CONTRACT", etc., as appropriate. If you have any questions or need further information about outgoing cables, please call Jerry Willis at (202)482-4128.

FY 2002 Budget

Questions arising from the Senate hearing were answered and sent forward to the Department for transmittal to OMB and eventual transmittal back to the Subcommittee. We are still awaiting House questions. If you need additional information contact Alan Zegas at (202)482-5739.

FY 2003 Budget

The Under Secretary is still determining the merits of the increase request proposals submitted by the various ITA units. A decision on which increase requests will be included in the budget submission to the Department (known as the Secretary's budget) is expected soon. If you need additional information contact Alan Zegas at (202)482-5739.

FY 2003 IT-related Increase Proposals

Heads-up to managers who have proposed FY 2003 budget increase requests that involve a significant information technology (IT) component! Any such proposals that are approved for inclusion in ITA's budget submission will need to have a special IT document prepared in addition to the normal budget materials. All IT-related increases go through a separate approval process at the Department level, involving the Department's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). Documentation for IT proposals is due to the Department by June 15. For additional information and assistance in preparing IT proposals, contact Frank Jaffe in OIRM at (202)482-1491.

ITA Comings and Goings

A warm welcome to Grant Aldonas who sworn in as the Under Secretary for International Trade on May 14. Prior to joining ITA Mr. Aldonas served as Chief International Trade Counsel to the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. In that capacity, he advised the Chairman on all international trade and economic matters before the Committee. Before joining the Finance Committee Mr. Aldonas was a partner with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Miller & Chevalier where his practice focused on international trade, investment, tax and litigation. Mr. Aldonas previously served in the government with both USTR, as Director of South American and Caribbean Affairs, and the State Department, as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic Affairs as a foreign service officer. A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in International Relations in 1975. He received his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1979.

Welcome to Faryar Shirzad who was sworn in as Assistant Secretary for Import Administration on Thursday, May 10. Mr. Shirzad most recently served as Majority International Trade Counsel on the Senate Finance Committee under then-Chairman Senator Roth. Mr. Shirzad headed the 29-member Bush Administration Trade Transition Team.

Welcome also to Renee Macklin, our new Chief Information Officer. Renee comes to ITA with a wealth of IT experience, having most recently served as the Director of Information Systems for Verizon Connected Solutions, Inc. Prior to that, Renee was with AT&T for approximately 20 years, beginning as an Application Programmer for AT&T Billing in 1979 and advancing to District Manager of Information Systems, Business Systems Development Unit. Renee joined ITA on May 7, 2001 and reports to the Deputy Under Secretary. She is located in room 4800 and can be reached at (202)482-3801.

Traveler's Corner

Question: How can I find out if the country which I am visiting on official travel has an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) available to obtain cash advances with my government-issed Citibank travel card?

Answer: Citibank travel cardholders can call 1-800-CITI-ATM to inquire about the availability of ATMs in foreign countries prior to official travel. If you have questions, call Sharon Russell at (202) 482-3267.

Tips and Tricks

Printing your Screen or a Dialog Box

In the old days, if you wanted to print the contents of your screen, you pressed the "Print Screen" key on your keyboard and your printer would begin printing. However, Windows 98 redirects the destination of the "Print Screen" key to the Clipboard. This means that if you want to print the contents of your screen, after pressing "Print Screen", you have to open WordPerfect or another application, open the Edit menu, and then select the Paste command. Now you can print the screen you captured using normal printing procedures for the application. If you only want a printed copy of the active window or dialog box on your screen, press "Alt" "Print Screen" and then follow the procedures above. If you have questions regarding this Tip, please contact User Assistance at (202)482-1955. US&FCS employees please call Customer Support at (202)482-4641.

How Do I Find.... Good, Current Budget/Accounting Data

Contact your Resource Coordinator (Robert Pearson - TD, Tyler Shields - MAC, Rob Goodyear - IA, Noel Negretti -US&FCS, Mitchell Luxenberg - Exec/Admin.) to determine if you are eligible to have access to the accounting system reports (on-line). If you are eligible to have access then you should contact Linda Henry at (202)482-5343 in OFM/Budget Division to obtain a form which you will fill out and return to Linda for proper transmittal to our accountants at the Department of Interior in Denver. Access is usually available within one or two days of the submission of the form to Denver. For more information contact Alan Zegas at (202)482-5739.