As to acceptance of gifts, an employee shall neither solicit nor accept any gift, favor, entertainment, loan or any other thing of monetary value from any person who has or is seeking a business relationship with CBO, or who has interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or non-performance of the employee's official duty. The foregoing is subject to a rule of reason. Thus, one may accept unsolicited promotional material, like a pencil of nominal intrinsic value; and one may exchange birthday gifts where it is clear that the family or personal relationships involved are the motivating factors. But every CBO employee has the reputation of this organization in his care, and if the acceptance of a gift could lead to criticism by a fair-minded observer, then that gift must not be accepted. No employee shall solicit a contribution from another employee for a gift to an employee in a superior position. No employee shall accept a gift or a loan from any employee receiving a lesser salary. There are no exceptions to this paragraph. Nothing in this memorandum precludes an employee from unpaid participation in the affairs of, or acceptance of an award for a meritorious public contribution or achievement given by, a charitable, religious, professional, social, fraternal, nonprofit education or recreational, public service, or civic organization. This statement must be completed by every Congressional Budget Office employee whose annual compensation rate is $25,000 or more, or whose duties include recommending or approving any procurement of goods or services for CBO from a particular vendor. The completed form is to be forwarded to the Office of General Counsel, CBO, where it will be available for public inspection. You are not required to furnish any information relating to a connection with, or interest in, a professional society or a charitable, religious, social, fraternal, recreational, public service, civic, or political organization or any similar organization not conducted as a business enterprise and which is not engaged in the ownership or conduct of a business enterprise. Educational and other institutions doing research and development or related work involving grants of money from or contracts with the Government are deemed to be "business enterprises" for purposes of this report and should be included. The information to be listed does not require a showing of the specific amount of financial interest, indebtedness or the value of real property. In the event any of the required information, including holds placed in trust, is not known to you but is know to another person, you should request that other person to submit the information on your behalf and should report such request in Part IV of your statement. The interest, if any, of a spouse, minor child, or other member of your immediate household shall be reported in this statement as your interest. If that information is to be supplied by others, it should be so indicated in Part IV. "Member of your immediate household" includes only those blood relations who are full-time residents of your household. CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, Memorandum To: CBO Staff From: Alice M. Rivlin Subject: Correspondence Control System This memorandum establishes a correspondence control system for CBO. Its objective is to assure the prompt assignment of important correspondence and the timely response by CBO staff. Incoming mail All incoming congressional correspondence and other mail addressed either to the Congressional Budget Office or Alice Rivlin should be delivered to Helen Burnett for processing. Helen (with participation, as appropriate, by Ed Deagle, Bob Reischauer, and Gloria Adams) will identify the correspondence requiring "controlled status" and determine who within CBO should be responsible for developing a response. Individuals receiving correspondence outside the normal mail channels, especially congressional mail, will be responsible for assuring that the correspondence is entered into this system. Regardless of the mechanism by which CBO receives congressional requests or the action required, copies of all congressional correspondence should be provided to the Director's office. Signature procedures Correspondence submitted for the Director's signature should be routed to the Director through Helen Burnett/Gloria Adams. Each signature set should include the original incoming correspondence that initiated the CBO response and the final reply with two copies. On the two copies will be annotated the author's name, typist's initials, and date of preparation with initials or signature of appropriate Assistant Director (see sample attached). Any coordination required will be accomplished per the sample. One copy will be retained by the Director's secretary and the official file copy will be returned to the originating division. The final reply will be dispatched from the Director's office unless the originating office requests that it be returned. All controlled correspondence will be signed by the Director. Such correspondence should be received in the Director's office by noon, if possible, of the due date. Both Helen and Gloria will be responsible for expediting controlled correspondence. Delegation of signature authority In general, correspondence from government officials to the Director will be signed by the Director; correspondence from other sources will be screened and signature authority either will be retained by the Director or delegated to the official responsible for preparing the reply. Attachment. Official File (yellow tissue) BA:RPEmery:tj:8/20/75 (Office symbol, author's name, typist's initials, and Concurrences: (If needed) Memorandum date prepared. Author should initial above name.) (Office symbol, initials/signature and date.) Memorandum To: Executive Staff From: Stanley L. Greigg, Director, Office of Information Subject: Congressional Correspondence Control Although the subject of Congressional relations was discussed in detail at our recent session at Airlie House, the purpose of this memorandum is to underscore the high priority CBO places on Congressional correspondence and to outline a basic procedure for responding to this type of communication. All incoming Congressional (franked) mail will be coordinated through the Office of Information. Congressional mail addressed to the Director or to CBO will be handled specifically by Helen Burnett, Office of Information. Mail under these two designations will be opened, stamped showing "date received," logged by subject, and referred to the appropriate division marked “Action." In channeling such correspondence, the division director has the responsibility of drafting the response. The response takes on priority consideration, as it is CBO policy to reply to the author of the correspondence within 24 hours of the dare received. The response can take the form of either a final draft or an interim reply. If an interim reply is to be used, every effort should be made to be as specific as possible as to when information requested will be available. Once the draft response has been prepared, it should be sent to the Director's Office for review, typing and signature with a copy to be supplied to the Office of Information. Where Congressional correspondence is addressed directly to an individual within CBO, such correspondence becomes the direct responsibility of that individual and the same response procedure applies. In correspondence of this nature, it is doubly important that careful coordination be maintained with the Office of Information, so that the Director of CBO is fully apprised of all Congressional requests. It is equally important that CBO maintain a careful record of Congressional telephone requests. The Office of Information will supply all divisions a form, "Record of Congressional Telephone Inquiry." These forms are to be used in duplicate with a copy to be supplied to the Office of information at close of business each day. If there is a need for a written response, the procedure as outlined above for control of Congresional correspondence will be followed. Subject: Review Procedures for Documents Going Out of CBO The volume of our output is increasing and we need to establish some formal review procedure to ensure that documents going out of CBO meet a high standard of quality-both in analysis and writing—and are fair, non-partisan, and objective. We also need to make sure that our reports get out quickly so the review procedure must be as expeditious as possible. This memorandum outlines a tentative procedure we should try and see how it works. The documents covered by the procedure here include all CBO reports, whether requested by a committee or internally generated. Documents labeled "draft" are subject to review before going out. Highly informal memos that are part of a joint analytical effort with Budget Committees or other staffs need not be reviewed before being shared, but copies should be sent to me and Bob Levine so we will know what is being produced. Scorekeeping reports are exempt from this procedure. The procedure involves the following steps: (1) The report should be reviewed by the Assistant Director. (2) The report should be distributed by the Assistant Director to the Executive Staff and anyone else he feels would be interested. A cover memo should request comments in writing by a particular date. Not all the addressees will want to comment but those who do must get them in on time. (3) For each report I will appoint (after consultation with the Assistant Director) one or more referees from outside the division in which the report was written. Normally there will be one referee for a short, single-issue paper, such as our recent piece on Defense Department handling of price changes. For longer studies (such as our June 30 report on the economy), two referees, or conceivably even three, will be appropriate. Referees should read the report carefully and provide written comments and an overall evaluation in the form of a memo to me with copies to the author, the relevant Assistant Director and Bob Levine. (4) In all cases the comments, whether by referees, voluntary contributors, or myself, should be prompt, explicit, and constructive. We need to be frank with each other in order to ensure a high quality product. There is nothing to be gained by suppressing unfavorable comments for fear of hurting he author's feelings. On the other hand, it is not useful to suggest major new departures that cannot be undertaken in the allotted time or vague negative feelings that do not tell the author what to do to improve the manuscript. (5) All comments should be in writing. In general, marked-up manuscripts are not helpful. Please try to suggest alternative language rather than merely suggesting to the author that his point is unclear or expressed in too much jargon. This review process is not a substitute for review and comment outside CBO. Ordinarily this internal review will take place before manuscripts are bounced off the Budget and other Committee staffs and those off the Hill. When time is short, internal and external review may have to take place simultaneously. Let' try this procedure for awhile and see how it works. Suggestions for improving the procedure will always be welcome. Memorandum To: Executive Staff From: Alice Rivlin Subject: Procedures for Keeping Track of Projects Date: December 19, 1975 The experience of the past few months underscores the importance of keeping careful track of the origins of our various projects and the process by which the resultant reports are reviewed and released. To avoid a recurrence of some of our past problems the following set of procedures should be followed. 1. When an initial request is made on the phone or in a letter that does not come through the Director's office, the Intergovernmental Relations Office (Stan Greigg) should be informed. If there are any apparent problems Bob Levine or myself should be brought into the discussion. When the automated tracking system is available there will be a duplicate form that will serve as a means of notifying the Director's Office and the Intergovernmental Relations Office of request. 2. All requests should be obtained in writing, preferably in a letter from the Committee Chairman, Subcommittee Chairman or Task Force leaders. Alfred Fitt's memo on sources of requesters will go into this in more detail. 3. Each division has the responsibility to check with OTA, CRS, JEC, GAO, etc. to ensure the requested work does not duplicate an effort already completed or underway elsewhere. If duplication does seem to be a possibility the issue should be brought to Bob Levine or my attention. A memo for the files should be prepared detailing the investigation that was made to uncover potentially duplicative efforts. A copy of this memo should be provided to the Intergovernmental Relations Office. 4. We should reply to each request in writing stating when the product will be delivered and the nature of our understanding of what the scope of the product will be. The letter should also explain that the Budget Act requires us to make materials available to the public unless specifically told to do otherwise by the requester. We should make it clear that the CBO hopes that its material will be made public. It should also be made clear to the requester that the title of the project and the name of the requester will be included in our information system, in our monthly reports to the Budget Committees and in the CRS information system. The I tergovernmental Relations Office (Stan Greigg) will prepare some stock paragraphs dealing with these issues that can be inserted in the reply letters you prepare. 5. You should clear with the requester the list of reviewers who be asked to comment on the draft reports. This will allow the requester to suggest other reviewers or indicate that he fears a leak may come from someone on the list. He also may object to certain persons getting an advanced look at the report. 6. Stan Greigg will arrange with the requester whether CBO or the Committee will release the product and how this will be done. He will coordinate this back with you. 7. When a draft comes forward please include in your covering note a short description of the origin of the report and copies of the letters mentioned in #2 and #4. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE SALARY ADMINISTRATION 1. Purpose. This policy statement establishes a pay system for professional, secretarial, and support personnel for the Congressional Budget Office. 2. Background.-Title II of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344) provides that "for purposes of pay (other than pay of the Director and Deputy Director) and employment benefits, rights, and privileges, all personnel of the Office shall be treated as if they were employees of the House of Representatives." 3. Policy. The CBO pay system shall consist of salary ranges for specified levels within both professional and nonprofessional categories. The initial assignment of a new employee to a salary level will be made by the Deputy Assistant Director for Personnel and Administration in conjunction with the employing Assistant Director or equivalent official. Initial assignment of a new CBO employee to a salary level will be based on the following criteria: Professional qualifications. Other merit considerations. 4. Annual salary review.-During January of each year the Assistant Director for Management Programs will provide the Director and Deputy Director with an annual review of promotions and merit increases recommended by the Assistant Directors and equivalent officials. Recommendations for promotion of individual staff members from one position level to another will be based on an annual review conducted by the cognizant Assistant Director or equivalent official and the Deputy Assistant Director for Personnel and Administration. Merit increases within a single position level may be recommended by an Assistant Director or equivalent official based on considerations of merit and service and step increase guidelines issued by the Deputy Assistant Director for Personnel and Administration. 5. Salary ranges: Professional series: Position level Assistant Director.. Deputy Assistant Director.. Secretarial-support position series: Secretary to Director, Deputy Director... Secretary to Deputy Assistant Director. General clerical/support 1 Payment currently limited by statute to $36,000. Salary range! $36, 000 34, 000-36, 000 25, 000-36, 000 18, 500-28, 500 12, 800-20, 100 8, 500-13, 700 15, 400-24, 000 12, 800-18, 400 11, 600-16, 700 10, 500-15, 100 8, 500-12, 300 5, 300-8, 800 6. Adjustments to salary ranges.-Salary ranges will be reviewed on an annual basis and/or whenever adjustments are made to the maximum salaries for employees of the House of Representatives and/or the Classified Civil Service. ALICE M. RIVLIN, Director. CONGRESSIONAL Budget OFFICE LEAVE PROVISIONS FOR CBO EMPLOYEES 1. Purpose. This policy statement provides guidelines for the use of annual and sick leave and other types of leave by CBO employees. 2. Categories of Leave.-Employee entitlements to leave are as follows: Annual leave (vacation leave) at the rate of 20 work days per annum. Sick leave at the rate of 12 work days per annum. Military reserve duty leave at the rate of 15 calendar days per annum or as otherwise provided by statute. |