# Presentation: 170031

## Operation Staff Meeting (OSM)Dec 2004

- Presented by the
- DCP ARC

**National Institutes of Health**

**DHHS**

## AGENDA

_**Welcome & the Goals of These ARC Meetings**_
_**General Admin Issues**_
- Updating your Global Address Listing (GAL)
- Felicia’s new In/Out Board
_**Travel**_
- Lead Times
- Unusual Travel Situations
- Traveling under a CR
- Travel Card Issues
- Lodging Tax Reimbursement
- Conference Rate
- Use of Omega
_**Submissions to the ARC**_
- Lead Times
- Registration Forms
- Paper for the copy machines
_**Information for Employees**_
- Updating your Home Address
- Open Season Information

## Welcome to NANCY NANNETTI:
Nancy Nannetti
“Escaped from the Lab of Pathology” at the Clinical Center for Research (Bldg 10)
Nancy is sitting across from Eric in EPN 3055
Nancy is reviewing travel for Eric & Vanessa’s groups, entering Fascard requests and will be a NIHITS SuperUser.
Stop by and say, “Hi” if you haven’t already.

**Nancy Nannetti**
- “Escaped from the Lab of Pathology” at the Clinical Center for Research (Bldg 10)
- Nancy is sitting across from Eric in EPN 3055
- Nancy is reviewing travel for Eric & Vanessa’s groups, entering Fascard requests and will be a NIHITS SuperUser.
- Stop by and say, “Hi” if you haven’t already.

## Goals of These Meetings

- Develop and Strengthen the partnership between the ARC and DEAS in support of the Division of Cancer Prevention.
- Open a dialogue between the ARC & DEAS staff.
- Present new regulations and policies.
- To give the DEAS staff an opportunity to share information.

## General Administrative Issues

## Updating Your Global Address Listing (GAL)

- The GAL is the Global Address Listing used by MS Outlook.
- Your GAL information contains not only email information, but address, phone, fax etc.
- NCI Computer Services recommends that you update this information whenever you move from one location to another.
- Even if you haven’t moved, it’s still a good idea to check your GAL information to verify that it is correct.

## Updating your GAL (continued)

- Go to www.mail.nih.gov/
- Click, “Email and NIH domain Account Management” (upper left)
- Click, “Modify your mailbox account”
- Enter your email address
- Enter the same User Name and Password you use to log into your computer each morning.
- You are now in the Enterprise Directory Manager screen and you can modify your bldg, room, phone, fax and a variety of other information.

## Felicia’s In/Out Board

- Felicia will post an In/Out Board by her desk.
- This will be updated daily.
- The back-up Task Leader will be listed on the board along with Felicia’s whereabouts.

## Travel

## Travel Authorizations to the ARC

- HHS-99 Local & Domestic Travel Authorizations should be submitted to the ARC a minimum of 9 business days prior to the trip.
- Foreign Travel Authorizations should be submitted to the ARC a minimum of 6 weeks in advance.
- HHS-348 (Domestic & Foreign) should be submitted to the ARC 8 weeks in advance of the trip.
- Before you submit authorizations or vouchers to the ARC, please review them for errors.

## Brief Discussion on Changes to Travel

- When a Travel Auth or Voucher has been returned for correction by the ARC, any DEAS Staff can go into the order and make the change.

## Unusual Travel Situations

- Non-Contract Carrier, Rental Car, and AEA memo justifications are just a few unusual travel situations which require additional scrutiny.
- If any DEAS staff receive a request from a traveler for one of these situations, please:
- Request an explanation from the traveler.  Perhaps show the samples (attached) so they can efficiently describe their needs.
- Discuss the situation with Felicia.

## Traveling under a Continuing Resolution (CR)

- This policy is applicable to all travel _including sponsored travel_.
- Each Travel Authorization should continue to be annotated to read, "Pending Availability of FY 05 Funds“ until an appropriations bill is signed.
- We understand travelers are anxious to receive their tickets.  The ARC will continue to notify staff as soon as we receive information on the latest CR.

## Travel Card Issues

- Attached to your handouts

## Travel Card Issues(continued)

- Travel Card Issues(continued)

## Lodging Tax Reimbursement

- Reminder: Lodging Tax- This applies to DomesticTravel:
- If Conference Allowance or AEA are not authorized for a trip, you may only reimburse lodging tax that would have been assessed to the room rate had it cost the allowable lodging rate.
- If done incorrectly, OFM will be requesting repayment of any overages when spotted during their audits.

## Lodging Tax

- For example:
- A Travel Auth is approved at the lodging rate of $150/night.
- The Traveler, on their own, elects to stay at a hotel that is $200/night.
- Lodging Tax rate = 16% per night.
- This means that you can only reimburse lodging taxes in the amount of 16% x $150/night.  You can not reimburse lodging taxes against the $200 since this was not the authorized rate.

## Conference Rate

- The conference rate can be used for meetings, retreats, seminars, symposiums or events that involve attendee travel.
- Although the approval process for conference rate allowance is not as extensive as requesting Actual Expense Allowance (AEA), conference rate approval is not automatic.
- An attempt to book hotel reservations at the standard lodging per diem rate is the first step.
- If OMEGA can't find a room within standard lodging per diem, and the available room rate is a maximum of 25% above the standard lodging per diem rate, conference rate allowance can be requested.
- Anything above 25% more than the allowable lodging rate can be paid ‘out of pocket’ by the traveler.  Or in unique situations an AEA memo could be submitted.

## Use of our TMC (Omega)

- The Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) mandate the use of Government-contract Travel Management Centers (TMC) for the issuance of air and train tickets (GTAs) and contract rental car reservations, as well as hotel reservations.
- Therefore, hotel reservation requests must be made through OMEGA.
- Booking a reservation directly through the hotel or search engines such as Hotels.com is not allowed.

## Submissions to the ARC

## Lead Times for Submissions to the ARC

- Professional Service Orders (PSO) and Records of Call (ROC) requests should be submitted to the ARC at least 2 weeks in advance.
- If the ARC is making the purchase on a Visa IMPAC instead of the group’s cardholder:
-  Felicia recommends performing a monthly survey of supplies in order that a monthly purchase request for these items be submitted to the ARC.
- Registration forms should be submitted to the ARC as soon as the traveler obtains approval to attend.
- Check that these forms are complete and accurate prior to their submission to the ARC.

## Registrations for Meetings

- When submitting meeting registration forms to the ARC for Visa IMPAC payments, please be careful to ensure that they are sent individually and not attached to travel authorizations.
- All Visa IMPAC registrations and travel authorizations are handled separately.

## Paper for the copy machines

- Attached is a pre-filled-out purchase request for a large paper supply order for the main copy machines.
- Any DEAS staff can complete this task.
- After the form is submitted to the ARC, you should post a note by the machine saying, “paper ordered” with the date.

## Information for Employees

## Update Your Current Home Address

- Employee Express ( *www.employeeexpress.gov* ) can do quite a few things:
- Federal & State Tax
- Direct Deposit & Financial Allotments
- Health Benefits
- Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
**Home Address Change**
- Because we’re nearing tax time, it is especially important that you verify or update your home address so you will receive your W2’s in a timely manner.
- You can verify your address by going into ITAS and viewing your pay slip.
- You will need a PIN to use Employee Express.
- If you have lost or forgotten your Employee Express PIN, you may request a new one online or via telephone
- From www.employeeexpress.gov you can click on “*Lost or Forgot PIN*” below the login box.  By submitting this request via email, you will be emailed a temporary PIN the next day.
- Or you may call the Employee Express Helpdesk 800-573-0940

## Open Seasons

- Federal Employees’ Health Benefits (FEHB) Open Season began on 11/8 and will end on 12/13. During open season, if you are eligible you may enroll; change plans or options; change from self-only to family or from family to self-only; cancel enrollments; and/or change your premium conversion option. After open season, these options will only be available under limited situations. Open Season requests will be effective January 9, 2005.  Further information is available at: *http://hr.od.nih.gov/benefits/OpenSeason/FEHB_open2004.htm*
- Flexible Spending Account (FSA) Open Season began on 11/8 and ends on 12/13. During this time, if you are eligible you can elect to enroll in a Health Care FSA (HCFSA) and/or a Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA). These accounts are set up on a “plan year” basis, i.e. January 1 through December 31. The FSA plan year will begin on January 1, 2005 and end on December 31, 2005. You must enroll for the 2005 Plan Year even if you already have an account for the 2004 Plan Year.  Further information is available at:  *http://hr.od.nih.gov/benefits/OpenSeason/FSA_Open_Season_2004.htm*

## The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) semi-annual open season began October 15, and continues through December 31, 2004. During the open season, if you are eligible, you may start contributing or change the amount of your current contributions. 
Open season requests received by December 11, 2004 will be EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 12, 2004. 
Requests received after December 11, will be effective the beginning of the pay period after your submission in Employee Express. 
You must start or change contributions using Employee Express.
TSP Catch-Up Contributions:  If you are, or will be, age 50 or older during Calendar Year 2005, and you expect to contribute the maximum amount to your TSP account (15% for FERS and 10% for CSRS) during 2005, you can make additional catch-up contributions, up to $4,000, during Calendar Year 2005 by using Employee Express.
Further information on the TSP Open Season and Catch-Up Contributions can be obtained at: http://hr.od.nih.gov/Benefits/OpenSeason/tsp_open_season_2004.htm

- Open season requests received by December 11, 2004 will be **EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 12, 2004**.
- Requests received after December 11, will be effective the beginning of the pay period after your submission in Employee Express.
- You must start or change contributions using Employee Express.
- TSP Catch-Up Contributions:  If you are, or will be, age 50 or older during Calendar Year 2005, and you expect to contribute the maximum amount to your TSP account (15% for FERS and 10% for CSRS) during 2005, you can make additional catch-up contributions, up to $4,000, during Calendar Year 2005 by using Employee Express.
- Further information on the TSP Open Season and Catch-Up Contributions can be obtained at: *http://hr.od.nih.gov/Benefits/OpenSeason/tsp_open_season_2004.htm*

- Open Seasons (continued)

## OPEN DISCUSSION

- Problems?  Issues? Concerns?
- Anything you’d like to see on next month’s agenda?
- Do you have something you’d like to present?
- Just let us know!