|
DEPARTMENTAL
REGULATION |
NUMBER: 3060-001 |
|
SUBJECT: Correspondence Management |
DATE: November 10, 2010 |
|
OPI: Office of the Executive Secretariat |
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
APPENDIX A - Identification of Protected Information
This regulation
describes the processing, management, and response policy for all correspondence
received by the Department.
a.
Departmental
Regulation 3060-1, USDA Correspondence Management Regulation, dated January 26,
1989, is hereby superseded.
a.
Correspondence
shall be used to communicate within and outside the Department. It will not be used to establish, change, or
rescind policies, procedures, or instructions contained in Departmental or
agency directives.
b.
All
correspondence shall use clear, accessible, and concise language and
style. It shall be written in a manner
appropriate for the correspondent, accounting for level of expertise,
educational background, and any physical limitations to the extent possible.
c.
Received
correspondence shall be responded to in a timely and appropriate manner. It shall answer the concerns and inquiries of
the correspondent to the maximum extent possible.
d.
Each
agency and staff office shall establish and maintain a correspondence
management system in accordance with this directive. All Priority Correspondence shall be recorded
in a single Departmental system.
Other sources
which provide general guidance on correspondence management, style preferences,
information security, etc., are:
a.
DR
0100-1, Departmental Directives System;
b.
DR3080-001,
Records Management;
c.
DR3090-001,
Litigation Retention Policy for Documentary Materials including Electronically
Stored Information;
d.
DR-4070-735-001,
Employee Responsibilities and Conduct
e.
DR3440-002,
Control and Protection of Sensitive Security Information;
f.
DR3440-001,
Safeguarding Classified Information;
g.
DR
3050-1, Mail Management;
h.
DR3550-02,
Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) Information Protection;
i.
DR5160-001,
Official Seal of the Department;
j.
Federal
Plain Language Guidelines;
k.
Federal
Plain Language Guidelines: Writing Effective Letters supplement;
l.
The
Gregg Reference Manual;
m.
Official
Congressional Directory;
n.
USDA
Stationery Systems, Office of Communications (OC), USDA;
o.
p.
a.
Agency refers to a bureau, mission area, and
departmental staff office, as defined in DR1010-001, Organization.
b.
Campaign Correspondence is a subset of
correspondence. Campaign correspondence
refers to mass produced or organizationally instigated correspondence. Such correspondence is usually electronic
(email or fax), often generated from a Web site, and typically advocates for a
specific policy or action by the Department.
This class of correspondence does not include public comments made in
response to a proposed regulatory action.
c.
Clearance is the formal act of approving the
content within a document. It also
refers to the business process for ensuring the review and approval of
documents.
d.
Clearing Official refers to an official who has
been requested to clear draft correspondence by a Signing Official.
e.
Controlled Correspondence is
correspondence that is formally received, tracked, and managed using a correspondence
management system.
f.
Correspondence refers to official written
communications. Correspondence may be
internal or external in nature, and may be transmitted in person or through
mail, fax, or email.
g.
Immediate Office of the Secretary refers to the
office containing the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and their immediate staff.
h.
Office of the Secretary refers to the
office containing the Immediate Office of the Secretary, the offices of all
Under and Assistant Secretaries, and Departmental Staff Offices which report
directly to the Secretary.
i.
Priority Correspondence is a subset of
correspondence. All Priority
Correspondence shall be controlled correspondence. It includes:
(1)
All
correspondence received from elected or appointed Federal, State, local,
foreign, and Tribal officials, members of Congress, and Governors that is
received by the Office of the Secretary and senior agency officials.
(2)
At
the discretion of the addressee it may also be expanded to include other
categories of important correspondence, such as correspondence received from
major trade associations, academic institutions, or international organizations.
j.
Protected Information refers to all
information designated as classified, sensitive, or personally
identifiable. Distribution and
disclosure of protected information within correspondence is subject to
additional regulations. For additional
information see:
(1)
Appendix
A;
(2)
DR3440-001,
Safeguarding Classified Information;
(3)
DR3440-002,
Control and Protection of Sensitive Security Information;
(4)
DR3550-02,
Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) Information Protection;
(5)
Freedom
of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); and,
(6)
Privacy
Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552).
k.
Secretarial Correspondence is
correspondence addressed to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary. All Secretarial Correspondence is controlled
correspondence.
l.
Signing Official refers to the official who is
designated to sign an individual piece of correspondence.
a.
Under
Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, Agency Heads, and Staff Office Directors
shall:
(1)
Designate
a Controlled Correspondence Officer and a Correspondence Liaison to serve as
direct contact points with the Office of the Executive Secretariat (OES) for
Priority Secretarial Correspondence; and,
(2)
Ensure
agency personnel comply with deadlines for the preparation of responses to
received correspondence, as established by the Secretary.
b.
The
Agency Controlled Correspondence Officer (CCO) shall:
(1)
Report
to the Director of Public Affairs, or an equivalent position within the
organization, on matters related to Secretarial Correspondence;
(2)
Internally
track all controlled correspondence and ensure that a response to this
correspondence is provided within ten working days of receipt by the agency;
and,
(3)
Serve
as the primary point of contact to OES for all matters related to Secretarial
Correspondence.
c.
The
Correspondence Liaison shall:
(1) Report to the
Under Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Agency Head, or Staff Office Director on
matters related to Secretarial Correspondence;
(2) Periodically
review the quality and timeliness of all controlled correspondence managed or
prepared by the agency;
(3) Lead internal
efforts to improve the agency’s correspondence program.
d.
Departmental
Agencies and Staff Offices shall:
(1) Consistent with Departmental
standards, develop policies, standards, and procedures for internal
correspondence management;
(2) Establish
management controls to ensure appropriate levels of quality and timeliness,
including the management and preparation of correspondence;
(3) Ensure all
Priority Correspondence is entered into the Departmental correspondence
management system;
(4) Provide their
staff with training in correspondence practices; and,
(5) Prepare and
review all Secretarial Correspondence in a timely manner, including special
requests from the Immediate Office of the Secretary as requested by OES.
e.
The
Office of the Executive Secretariat (OES) shall:
(1)
Serve
as liaison between the Immediate Office of the Secretary and agencies regarding
Secretarial Correspondence matters;
(2)
Manage
the clearance process of Secretarial Correspondence and determine whether
changes or redrafting is necessary;
(3)
Review
draft Secretarial Correspondence for grammatical errors, format, and
consistency in the letters;
(4)
Process
and dispatch signed Secretarial Correspondence;
(5)
Maintain
a single Departmental correspondence management system and related IT systems for
controlling Secretarial and Priority Correspondence;
(6)
Provide
data to the Secretary and senior officials on agency performance with regards
to assigned Secretarial correspondence activities on a regular basis and as
requested;
(7)
Maintain
and publish an updated list of all Agency Correspondence Liaisons and
Correspondence Control Officers;
(8)
Develop
general policies, standards, reports, and procedures necessary for maintaining
an effective and efficient correspondence management program;
(9)
Provide
general assistance and advice on matters related to correspondence, as
requested by agencies; and,
(10)
Review
agency correspondence management programs and practices to evaluate compliance
with the provisions of this regulation.
f.
The
Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) shall:
(1) Serve as the official
liaison for correspondence between USDA agencies and the Department of State
and its missions abroad, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the
U.S. Trade Representative.
g.
The
Office of the General Counsel (OGC) shall:
(1) Review all
correspondence and associated reports and documents pertaining to outstanding
litigation by or against the Department, or which raise particular legal
questions;
(2) Review all
correspondence to the Comptroller General; and,
(3) Review other
priority correspondence upon the request of the Secretary.
h.
The
Office of Budget and Program Analysis (OBPA), Office of the Chief Financial
Officer shall:
(1)
Serve
as official liaison between the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and USDA
agencies;
(2)
Review
all correspondence between Members of Congress and USDA regarding proposed
legislation;
(3)
Review
all correspondence concerning the proposed and enacted budget of USDA and its
agencies, and associated budgetary and resource management issues;
(4)
Review
all correspondence concerning proposed regulatory and legislative issues; and,
(5)
Review
other priority correspondence upon the request of the Secretary.
i.
The
Office of Inspector General (OIG) shall:
(1) Serve as
official liaison for correspondence between the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) and USDA agencies;
(2) Review all
correspondence to the Comptroller General regarding audits and investigations;
(3) Review all
correspondence concerning OIG investigations and audits; and,
(4) Review all
correspondence concerning ongoing and completed investigations of employee
misconduct.
j.
The
Office of Congressional Relations (OCR) shall:
(1) Review all
Secretarial Correspondence to Members of Congress, Governors, and State,
county, and local officials.
k.
The
Office of Tribal Relations (OTR) shall:
(1) Review all
Secretarial Correspondence to Tribal officials.
a.
All
correspondence addressed to the Secretary is controlled correspondence unless
otherwise determined by the Director of OES.
All priority correspondence shall also be controlled
correspondence.
b.
Other
officers and officials of USDA may determine which of their correspondence is
to be considered controlled correspondence.
a.
All
statements of current or planned policy will be signed by the Secretary or the
appropriate Under Secretary, Assistant Secretary, or Agency Head.
b.
Unless
otherwise designated in this directive or agency policy, the addressee of
received correspondence shall be the Signing Official. That official shall reserve the right to
delegate the signature authority to appropriate employees. All relevant policy should be clearly
understood prior to the delegation of signature authority.
a.
Clearance
refers to the official process of submitting a draft document for review and
approval by a USDA official. With
regards to correspondence, clearance may include ensuring factual accuracy,
proper grammar and formatting, legal sufficiency, and alignment with relevant
existing policy and priorities.
b.
In
addition to the roles and responsibilities established in this Directive, the
Signing Official shall have sole discretion to establish the clearance process
for all correspondence they sign. The
process may include the names or titles of Clearing Officials, the type of
clearance (e.g. policy, legal, grammatical), and the timeframe for completing
the clearance.
c.
As
a courtesy, Clearing Officials will be afforded no less than two working days
to review all non-Priority correspondence.
d.
Clearing
Officials shall identify all clearances as approved, not approved, or approved
only with proposed changes. They may also
document and return any edits, comments, or additional information to the
Signing Official as part of their clearance.
a.
All
correspondence shall conform to the grammatical and stylistic guidelines set
forth in referenced directives, specifications, and style guides. Questions may be addressed to OES.
a.
All
correspondence shall be managed and preserved in accordance with the Federal
Records Act, Departmental and Agency regulations, applicable record schedules,
and all other applicable guidance.
b.
Secretarial
correspondence, and all associated records generated during the analysis,
drafting, and clearance of responses, are part of the Official Records of the
Office of the Secretary, and shall be stored, handled, and preserved in
accordance with guidance provided by OES.
a.
The
guidance provided in this paragraph must be implemented consistently with the
Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act and their implementing
regulations, Subparts A and G, Part 1 of Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations. In
addition, matters of policy and information of a policy nature shall be made
public only by officials with appropriate authority.
b.
The
following restrictions apply to the disclosure of information within
correspondence:
(1)
Secretarial
Correspondence. Correspondence prepared
for the Secretary's signature may not be made public before it is signed and
has been released through appropriate channels.
(2)
White
House Correspondence. Correspondence
referred from the White House to this Department shall not be made public in
whole or in part, nor shall employees quote from any of these letters, unless
required by law.
(3)
Pre-decisional
Information. Correspondence shall not
reveal sensitive pre-decisional information prior to the formal announcement of
the decision. For instance, preliminary
information regarding the President’s budget shall not be released prior to its
full release by OMB.
a.
From
time to time correspondence may contain protected information. Documents containing protected information
should be handled in accordance with all relevant regulations and laws. See DR3440-001, Safeguarding Classified
Information; DR3440-002, Control and Protection of Sensitive Security
Information; DR3550-02, Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) Information
Protection; and, Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552).
b.
Only
individuals with appropriate clearances may receive documents containing
protected information. It is the
responsibility of each agency to ensure correspondence containing protected
information is only distributed to individuals with appropriate clearances.
c.
Whenever
possible, redacted versions of the correspondence should be distributed in lieu
of the original to reduce the risk of unauthorized redistribution.
The
following table provides a summary of the definitions of the classes of
protected information; relevant regulations, directives, and acts of Congress;
and, a brief summary of restrictions on the distribution of information within
each class.
For
further information and complete guidelines on restrictions governing a
specific class of protected information, consult all appropriate Departmental
Directives.
|
Class |
Definition |
Controlling
regulations |
Allowable
distribution |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Classified |
A document and the information there within that
have been classified as Top Secret,
Secret or Confidential by a duly authorized Classifier. |
DM3440-001 7 CFR 10 48 FR 11404 |
On a need to know basis only to individuals who
have been subject to an appropriate level of security investigations by a
Department Security Officer. Documents
are subject to reproduction controls as described in DM3440-001 510(4). |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sensitive (a.k.a. Sensitive but Unclassified; Limited
Official Use; Official Use Only) |
Unclassified information of a sensitive nature,
that if publicly disclosed could be expected to have a harmful impact on the
security of Federal operations or assets, the public health or safety of the
citizens of the United States or its residents, or the nation's long-term
economic prosperity. |
DR3440-002 DR3550-002 |
On a need to know basis. Any reproductions or distributions shall be
appropriately marked to ensure the recipient recognizes the classification. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) |
Information about any US citizen or lawful
resident alien, including, but not limited to, their education, financial
transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that
contains their name, or an identifying number, symbol, or other particular
assigned to the individual. |
5 USC 552a OMB Memo M-99-05b OMB Memo M-06-15 |
On a need to know basis to duly authorized
individuals. Any physical or digital
reproduction must be secured. |