United States Department of State

Washington, D.C. 20520

John Currunings
Deputy Director
O f f i c e of International A f f a i r s
United States Department of Justice
Immigration & N a t u r a l i z a t i o n Service
111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Third Floor
Washington, DC 20536

Dear Mr./Cum:

are aware, National Security Decision Directive

(NSDD) 38 is the mechanism by which, in consultation with the
Department of State, USG Executive Branch Agencies agencies
seek Chief of Mission (COM) approval to change the size,
composition, or mandate of positions overseas. State's Office
of Management Policy and Planning (M/P) is the coordinator for
all NSDD 38 proposals and other COM authority issues.

In the interest of increasing customer satisfaction,

streamlining and reducing paperwork, M/P has worked tc improve
the NSDD 38 process. We met with representatives from *rcs.n
other agencies (as well as internal State customers in regional
and functional bureaus) to hear concerns and solicit idea?.
The two major problems cited universally were that (1) the
NSDD 3<°' process in Washington is cumbersome, and (2) some O .'Ms
do not respond in a timely manner. With the agencies' active
cooperation and encouragement, we are happy to announce a new
procedure which we believe will reduce steps and eliminate m<->st_-
concerns voiced.

II- quickly became clear to us that NSDD 38 cases become

onerous, both in Washington and at post, predominately because
of incomplete information. To assist and prompt agencies in
providing full justification and other relevant information
necessary for a complete request, we developed the attached
checklist. When proposals include all of the information
suggested on the checklist, all of us involved in the process
(requesting agencies, M/P, other State offices, and posts') will
be able to act upon proposals more effectively and efficiently
because we will no longer need to seek repeated clarifications
or additional information.

The resolution of administrative support issues prior t'.

the approval of position increases has become mandatory ir
today's budgetary climate. The International Cooperative
Administrative Support Services (ICASS) system, whose
implementation began April 1, 1996, will overcome many of the
support concerns which have delayed NSDD 38 cases. IC'ASS will
remove most cost issues from the table, allowing COMs to base
their decisions primarily on substantive policy considerations.
 Finally, we have also set a new goal of completing formal
NSDD 38 position change proposals within 45 days of receipt
within M/P.

These changes have the full endorsement of State's

Under Secretary for Management Richard M. Moose. However, we
need your active support as well. Please pass copies of this
letter and its attachments to concerned parties in your office,
bureau, agency, and Department.
M/P's objective has always been to assist in accomplishing
USG missions overseas and to guide concerned parties through
the formal NSDD 38 process. We plan to continue improving the
process wherever possible and look forward to any comments you
may have. Should you have any concerns or questions, please do
not hesitate to contact me or your agency representative as
shown at Tab 2.

Sincerely,

QiMfa'
/Carolypi S. Lowengart
Deputy Director
Office of Management Policy
and Planning (M/P)

Attachments:

1. NSDD 38 Checklist.
2. List of M/P Agency Representatives.
3. ICASS Implementation Strategy.
4. NSDD 38 and COM Authority Background Package,
 NSDD-38 CHECKLIST

This NSDD 38 position change checklist is intended to guide

drafters as they prepare position change proposals affecting
the size, composition, and mandate of full-time positions. It
is provided to expedite the processing of your requests. For
further assistance, please call your agency representative in
the Department of State, M/P, Room 5214, (202) 647-0093.

DATE: Date signed by requesting official

(sponsoring agency).
USG Department: Name of parent agency: e.g.,
Agriculture, Defense, Commerce,
Justice, etc.

3. ACTIVITY: Name or acronym of sub-unit within

your Department: e.g., Foreign
Agricultural Service (FAS), Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), etc
4. LOCATION: City and country (e.g., London, U.K.)
where position will be located.
5. ACTIVITY'S CURRENT How many positions do you currently
POSITION TOTAL: have in city/country under this
activity?
6. TYPES OF POSITIONS:

U.S. Direct-Hire: Full-time (FT), permanent, USG

(USDH) direct-hire position filled by an
American citizen (hired either from
the U.S. or locally). Note:
"Permanent" means any position in
place for more than one year.
Foreign Service National Direct-Hire: Full-time,
(FSNDH) permanent, direct-hire USG position
filled by a Foreign Service National
(FSN) or third country national (TCN).
OTHER: Participating Agency Service Agreement
(PASA), International Development
Intern (IDI), Junior Officer Trainee
(JOT), etc.
NOTE: NSDD 38 requests should also identify any necessary
position changes involving non-NSDD 38 positions, e.g.,
contractors, PITs (part-time, intermittent, or temporary
employees). NSDD 38 does not apply to PSCs, contractors,
etc. but Chief of Mission authority does.
 - 2 -

7. TITT.F. AND GRADE: Title and grade of position (s), grade

level, and position number. For
position increases, to who.m the
incumbent(s) will report.

8. JUSTIFICATION: a) For Increases: Detailed

description of duties, with clear,
complete, and specific relationship to
e.g., Department/Activity and USG
mission goals and objectives which
will be met by establishing this
position; reasons for selecting this
particular post; and why this function
cannot be performed from the U.S., etc.
b) For Decreases: How will the work
done by this position be handled in
the future? Who will be responsible?

9- SUPPORT IMPLICATIONS: For position increases, specific

and detailed information regarding the
support needed/desired from post,
reimbursement or direct-charge plan,
and whether other support/resources to
the post will be provided. (E.g. does
the position need classified
equipment? what level? additional
office space? pouching services?)

10. REQUESTING Agency should determine appropriate

OFFICIAL: person.
11- TIMING: Please specify the fiscal year in
which staffing change is planned to
take place.

For expeditious processing, the following paragraph should be

included in each position change proposal that is sent by an
agency directly to post:

"The following provides a formal NSDD 38 proposal to change the

size, composition, or mandate of full-time, permanent USG
positions in (name/post). A copy has been forwarded to the
Department of State, M/P, Room 5214. In accordance with
NSDD-38, M/P will gather from concerned State offices comments
on the merits and implications of this proposal and forward
them to you for your consideration in making your final
decision. No post action is required at this time. However,
if you have not received comments within two weeks of receipt
of this proposal, please notify M/P."

3215MMPNSDD3
 M/P PORTFOLIOS - BY AGENCY
August 1996

AGENCY ANALYST BACKUP

Agency for International Development (AID) Ponce, Toni Edmunds, Chris

Agriculture (USDA)/FAS, APHIS, etc. Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMQ Ponce, Toni Duffy, Bill
Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (A CD A) Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Commerce (DOQ/US&FCS, etc. Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
Defense, Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Defense, Defense Mapping Agency Ponce, Toni Edmunds, Chris
Defense, Intelligence Agency (DLA) Ponce, Toni Edmunds, Chris
Defense, Marines and Seabees Ponce, Toni Edmunds, Chris
Defense, Miscellaneous Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Defense, Security Assistance Agency (DSAA) Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
Defense, Security Assistance Associated/DLA, DRMS, Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
DCMCI, etc.
Energy Duffy, BUI Berry, Ruby
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Ponce, Toni Duffy, Bill
General Services Administration (GSA) Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Health and Human Services (HHS)/PHS, CDC, NTH, etc. Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
Intelligence Community Ponce, Toni Duffy, Bill

y Interior (DOI)
Justice (DOJ)/DEA, FBI, INS, ICITAP, etc.
Labor
Duffy, Bill
Berry, Ruby
Duffy, Bill
Berry, Ruby
Duffy, Bill
Berry, Ruby
National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
National Science Foundation (NSF) Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Non-Executive Branch (e.g., GAO, Library of Congress) Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Peace Corps Berry, Ruby Duffy, Bill
Smithsonian Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Social Security Administration (SSA) Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
Special Embassy Program (SEP) Ponce, Toni Duffy, Bill
Transportation (DOT)/Coast Guard, FAA, etc. Edmunds, Chris Ponce, Toni
Treasury/ATF, Customs, IRS, USSS Berry, Ruby Duffy, Bill
U. S. Trade Representative (USTR) Berry, Ruby Duffy, Bill
U. S. Information Agency (USIA) Duffy, Bill Berry, Ruby
Veterans Administration (VA) Berry, Ruby Duffy, Bill

PORTFOL4.DOC, WORD, G:MPGEN

Ruby A. Berry, (202) 647-3797

Bill Duffy, (202) 647-1368
Christine (Chris) J. Edmunds, (202) 647-1684
Antoinette (Toni) M. Ponce, (202) 647-2328

Office of Management Policy and Planning (M/P)

Room 5214
Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520-5214
Fax (202)647-2524