TREASURY DIRECTIVE 00-05

Date: May 5, 1999

Sunset Review: May 5, 2003

SUBJECT: Department of the Treasury Orders and Directives System

1. PURPOSE. This Directive establishes policy and assigns responsibilities for issuing Treasury Orders, Treasury Directives, and Treasury Department Publications in the Treasury Orders and Directives System.

2. POLICY. The Treasury Orders and Directives System is comprised of written issuances which are published at the Departmental level and are used to convey the Department's policies, delegations, and procedures to managers and employees throughout the Department. The Department shall:

a. aim to minimize the number and length of Treasury Orders and Treasury Directives by limiting their contents to delegations of authority and/or responsibility, statements of Department policy, and brief descriptions of Essential Procedures. Treasury Orders may also define reporting relationships within the Department;

b. when an extensive statement of Essential Procedures is necessary, disseminate these Procedures through a Treasury Department Publication rather than a Treasury Order or Directive;

c. provide responsible officials in the bureaus the latitude to determine how a given policy is to be implemented at the local level; and

d. review all issuances in the Treasury Orders and Directives system on a regular schedule as set forth in this directive.

3. DEFINITIONS.

a. Policy. A statement of important, high-level direction that guides decisions and actions throughout the Department. Policy translates ideas, goals, or principles into programs and actions.

b. Secretarial Officers. The Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, Fiscal Assistant Secretary, Treasurer, Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and General Counsel.

c. Essential Procedures. Those procedures required: by external authority or public law; for health or safety reasons; or for standardization of practices or systems throughout the Department.

4. TREASURY ORDERS AND DIRECTIVES SYSTEM ISSUANCES. The following issuances comprise the Treasury Orders and Directives System.

a. Treasury Order (TO). A document issued by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary that establishes significant Departmental policy; delegates authority or responsibility residing in the Secretary to a Secretarial Officer, bureau head, or another Treasury official; or defines reporting relationships.

b. Treasury Directive (TD). A document signed by the appropriate Secretarial Officer (other than the Secretary or Deputy Secretary) to: (1) convey Treasury policy and/or reporting requirements; or (2) delegate authority below the Secretarial Officer level or among or between Secretarial Officers. The contents of a TD generally should be limited to statements of purpose, policy, key terms, responsibilities, references and authorities.

c. Treasury Department Publication (TD P). A more narrowly focused document which is authorized to be issued by a specific TD. A TD P is issued by the organization designated in the relevant TD, and may be issued by an official who is not a Secretarial Officer when so authorized in that TD. Treasury policy should be established in TOs and TDs; a TD P should implement policy, but not establish policy. Those Treasury Department manuals and handbooks which apply throughout the Department are included in the TD P category.

5. REGULATIONS. A regulation is a document of general applicability; the term regulation is further defined in TD 28-01, which governs the procedures for issuance of regulations throughout the Department and the bureaus. Generally, an issuance limited solely to the internal management of the Department is not a regulation subject to the procedures in TD 28-01, unless the issuance is intended to be codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. In the event that a proposed issuance in the Treasury Orders and Directives System appears to constitute a regulation which may be subject to TD 28-01, Secretarial Officers, bureaus and other managers should consult their legal counsel or the Associate General Counsel (Legislation, Litigation and Regulation) for guidance.

6. RESPONSIBILITIES.

a. The Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer is responsible for the overall administration of the Treasury Orders and Directives System. The Assistant Secretary also approves all TOs prepared for the Secretary's signature, and all other documents in the Treasury Orders and Directives System which are prepared for the signature of other Secretarial Officers.

b. The Office of Strategic Planning and Evaluation (OSPE) shall manage the Treasury Orders and Directives System to achieve the policy objectives set out in this directive.

 (1) OSPE shall notify the originating office for each TO, TD or TD P whenever a review of the issuance is necessary to adhere to the schedule for reviews contained in this directive;

(2) OSPE shall determine which bureaus and offices are affected by a proposed new TO, TD, or TD P, and by a revision or cancellation of an existing issuance. OSPE will circulate the issuance or cancellation to those bureaus and offices (and appropriate legal counsel) for coordination and approval (unless OSPE authorizes another office to circulate the issuance); and

(3) After OSPE determines that the coordination process is complete, OSPE shall make any necessary changes and forward the final document (or cancellation determination) to the appropriate official(s) for signature.

c. Secretarial Officers and Heads of Bureaus shall:

(1) ensure that TOs and TDs prepared by their staffs focus primarily on providing policy, fixing responsibility, and establishing appropriate mechanisms for oversight, as required;

(2) ensure that offices under their supervision promptly initiate necessary steps to revise, reissue or cancel a TO, TD or TD P when policy or other changes dictate a revision or when the issuance is scheduled for review;

(3) initiate action to cancel any TO, TD or TD P which does not comply with the criteria set forth in this Directive;

(4) ensure that each new or revised TO, TD, and TD P is submitted to OSPE for coordination and review prior to issuance; and

(5) provide all comments to OSPE on a proposed or revised TO, TD, and TD P by the due date assigned.

d. The Office of the General Counsel is responsible for reviewing each proposed new or revised TO or TD, and for reviewing TD Ps as appropriate, to assure their legal sufficiency and to determine if an issuance is required to be published in the Federal Register. In addition, the General Counsel will review the final version of each Treasury Order before it is submitted to the Secretary for signature.

7. SUNSET REVIEW. Originating offices shall review each TO five years after its date of issuance to determine whether it should be renewed, revised or canceled. A TD shall be reviewed four years after its date of issuance. A TD P shall be reviewed five years after the issuance date.

a. The coordination process described in paragraph 6.b. above shall be completed within one year after the date set for initiation of review by this schedule;

b. If the coordination process for a TD or TD P has not been completed within one year, OSPE shall then make a determination either to cancel the TD or TD P, or to extend the period in which the TD or TD P continues to be effective (in order to permit completion of the coordination process). OSPE will consult with the Office of General Counsel, and will cancel a TD or TD P for failure to timely complete the coordination process only after ascertaining that the Office of General Counsel does not object to the cancellation; and

c. OSPE will post a notice in the Orders and Directives System documenting its determination under paragraph 7.b. to extend or cancel a TD or TD P.

8. CANCELLATIONS. TD 00-05, "Department of the Treasury Directives System," dated June 20, 1994, is superseded.

9. OFFICE OF PRIMARY INTEREST. Office of Strategic Planning and Evaluation, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Strategy and Finance), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer.