# Presentation: 021605

## Operation Staff Meeting (OSM)November 2002

- Presented by the DCP ARC

*Putting the pieces together*

## Agenda

- Reminders
- New OC codes for PSO’s
- New procedures for PSO’s w/ an honorarium
- Additional Omega invoice now required
- New Federal PerDiem rates
- When to use OC 21.51 & 21.52
- Non-Contract Carrier Justifications
- NBS Travel training news
- Travel card meeting
- Personnel Issues

## Previous Issues 

**Actual Expense Allowance (AEA) memos**
- The ARC is no longer allowed to approve AEAs **after the fact** unless it is an emergency situation.  A need to stay in the conference hotel (even when conferring with colleagues or attending special meetings) is no longer an acceptable justification for an AEA.  _AEAs can be approved for the following reasons:  _
- it is a prearranged conference or meeting where the rooms and meals must be procured without availability of less expensive alternatives;
- lodging at per diem rates is so far away from the chosen hotel that transportation costs render the alternative more or equally expensive;
- per diem for an area is generally available but costs have escalated for a short period of time due to a special event [i.e. New Orleans during the Jazz Festival or Mardi Gras]; or
- due to special duties of an assignment an employee incurs unusually high expenses in the conducting of government business.

## PREVIOUS ISSUES (continued)

**Who’s your backup?**
**Please email your Administrative Technician who your back up is.  This will help ensure that your group’s travel orders, procurement, etc are completed during an unexpected absence.  After we have a list of all the backups, we will be developing and distributing a listing for the ARC staff members and Group Chiefs. **

## PREVIOUS ISSUES (continued)

- ARC DEADLINES:  Complete procurement documents and travel orders are due to the ARC no later than the following:
- PSO’s- 1 week (must have ACH)
- ROC- 1 week
- RQM- See your A.O. for deadline
- Local T.O.’s- Please submit them on a monthly basis
- Domestic T.O.’s- 1 week
- Foreign T.O.’s- 6 weeks
- Domestic 348/520’s- 4 weeks
- Foreign 348/520’s- 6 weeks

## PROCUREMENT

- ISSUES

## PROCUREMENT

**New** PSO with honorarium Procedures.
_**THE POLICY:**_
- If a Non-Gov’t meeting/conference attendee **receives an honorarium** on a Professional Service Order (PSO), they may NOT use Omega to reserve and procure their airfare.
- We may **not** use a Record of Call to purchase tickets for these individuals.
**Attendees receiving honoraria must reserve and purchase their own airfare and they will be reimbursed for their tickets on the PSO.**

**Notes:**
Vanessa

## NEW POLICY for PSO’s with Honoraria (continued)

- Background Information
**Professional Service Orders** (PSO’s) are payments given to attendees after a meeting.
- PSO’s are comprised of:
-    1. _** Honoraria**_: (if applicable) Not to exceed $200/day
-     2.  _**Per Diem**_: (at the federal rate)
-     3.  _**Travel**_: (ground transportation and airfare)
- The total cost of a PSO must not exceed $3000
-                                 (continued)

## NEW POLICY for PSO’s with Honoraria (continued)

- These are “**fixed price**” contracts.  This means the PSO is an estimate of costs.  In order to expedite payments and to save administrative costs, the PSO’s can be paid based on the estimates; no receipts are required.  HOWEVER, if after the meeting, the PSO needs to be increased, all receipts must be attached with an explanation; A decrease in estimated costs can simply be noted on the PSO.
- PSO’s must be released for payment by the ARC within 7 days from the meeting end date. (This means that the ARC needs signed copies from the attendee within 5 days from the last day of the meeting).

## NEW POLICY for PSO’s with Honoraria (continued)

_**THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS NEW POLICY**_
- If attendees wait until the last moment to buy their airfare, we’ll end up paying quite a bit more for their travel.
- Overall meeting costs will increase because non-gov’t attendees will no longer get the Federal rate.
- Since PSO’s are fixed-price contracts, we must have an accurate estimate of the airfare prior to the meeting.   We are encouraged **not** to make changes to PSO’s.  It will be up to the program to get accurate estimates on the non-gov’t traveler’s airfare.

## NEW POLICY for PSO’s with Honoraria (continued)

**What OC Codes do you use on the 1****st**** line item on a PSO?:**
- For Fee for Service:
- 25.13 (1st line item = Fee)
- For Honorarium:
- 25.2H (1st line item = Honorarium)
**What OC Codes do you use for travel & Per Diem on a PSO?:**
**21.21 for Domestic**
**21.23 for Foreign***** ***
***                    ******(see attached samples)***

## TRAVEL

- ISSUES

## TRAVEL ISSUES

- Additional Omega Invoice now required
- Omega has begun issuing a third invoice for **paper ticket costs.**
**If you remember from our October meeting, some airlines have begun charging $20 for a paper ticket.  Many other carriers are following their lead.  There is no additional charge for e-tickets.**
- In order to properly close out a travel order, please submit this newest invoice along with the other two standard invoices showing ticket costs and transaction fees.

## TRAVEL ISSUES (continued)

- New FY 2003 Federal Per Diem rates became effective on 10/01/02
- 13 new destinations were added to the per diem listing.
- The majority of destinations were not changed.
- However, some m&ie rates fluctuated both up and down.  See attached “**Principal Travel Assistants Meeting 10/29/02**” to view the m&ie rate tiers with a breakfast, lunch, dinner and incidental breakdown for 6 different m&ie rates.

## TRAVEL ISSUES (continued)

- When should we cite the Meeting/Conference OC code’s?
- In the majority of situations, 21.51 & 21.52 should only be used for AACR and ASCO.  Other travel is deemed programmatic in nature or is a site visit:
*(refer to TRAVEL OC CODE CHART on next slide)*

## TRAVEL ISSUES (continued)

| OC Code | DEFINITION |
| --- | --- |
| 21.11 | Domestic Site Visit   (used for some PLCO site visits) |
| 21.15 | Domestic Program Audit/Site Visit |
| 21.91 | Foreign Site Visit |
| 21.21 | Domestic Program Travel |
| 21.23 | Foreign Program Travel |
| 21.41 | Travel for Training Purposes (gov’t) |
| 21.43 | Travel for Training Purposes (non-gov’t) |
| 21.51 | Attending Domestic Meeting/Conference  (AACR & ASCO) |
| 21.52 | Attending Foreign Meeting/Conference  (AACR & ASCO) |

## TRAVEL ISSUES (continued) 	

- Non-Contract Carrier Justifications
- Per new regulations, cost alone is no longer a sufficient justification for use of a non-contract carrier.  It must be combined with any one of the following:
- space on a contract carrier is not available in time to accomplish the purpose of your travel;
- or the contractor's flight schedule is inconsistent with explicit policies of your department or agency with regard to scheduling travel during normal working hours
- the non-smoking section is full and you cannot fly in the smoking section;
- rail service is available and cost-effective;

## NBS TRAVEL TRAINING NEWS

_**Reminder:**_  Required training:
- 1 hour CBT:  Should be completed this week.
- 6 hour CBT: 3 options:
- At your desk
- EPS T41 (email Jill if you’re interested)
- Facilitated hands-on session (see handout)
- Lab Day: Registration is required by Nov. 30th.
- Classes available 11/18/02-1/31/03
- Please note:  There have been changes to the Student Guide (see attached email)

## TRAVEL ISSUES (continued)

- TRAVEL CARD MEETING
- Travelers need to call US Bank before they leave on foreign travel.
- Notify the bank when and where they are going.
- This ensures that travel cards will work.
- 1-888-994-6722

## PERSONNEL

- Issues

## PERSONNEL ISSUES

- Carole Watson has left the ARC
- Carole is now located in EPS 5016;
- The DCP will remain one of her customers;
- Her assistant, Brenda Harrell can be contacted at: 402-8985
- Open Season for Health Insurance: 11/11-12/09/02
- The effective date of the deduction will be: 1/12/03, pay period 03.
-  Open Season for **TSP**: 10/15-12/31/02	            			*(continued)*

## PERSONNEL ISSUES (continued)

- The ARC is retaining a small supply of TSP & Health Insurance forms;
- Please submit TSP forms to the ARC;
- Or, better yet, use the links below to make your own changes online:
- Here are some useful websites:
- Employee Express: (to increase/decrease contribution amounts)
-     _[http://www.employeeexpress.gov/emain.htm#](http://www.employeeexpress.gov/emain.htm)_
- Thrift Savings Plan: (to change allocations)
-     _[http://www.tsp.gov/](http://www.tsp.gov/)_
- Electronic Forms Website: _[http://forms.cit.nih.gov/](http://forms.cit.nih.gov/)_

## PERSONNEL ISSUES

- Time Keeping discrepancies
- Michelle will be distributing time keeping discrepancy reports to all the time keepers by the end of this week.

## Thank you 

- Thank you

- The next OSM will be December 11th, 2:30-3:30pm

*Putting the pieces together for a new fiscal year*

- That's All Folks!