[IEC Journal] 12 New Entries: OGE Quick Reference Chart

OGE Quick Reference Chart

Thanks to Wayne Johnson for alterting us to the new U.S. Office of Government Ethics Ethics Official Quick Reference Chart. It's available in PDF and MS Word formats. The chart lists the primary source ethics materials and provides active web links that take you to the source documents.  The chart can also be used as an index or table of contents to what the OGE web site has to offer.

Employee removal for in part misuse of Gov credit card upheld.

Among other charges, this Federal employee was removed for misusing the Government credit card which was provide for her to charge her move to Washington DC.  See non-precedential FedCir case at http://www.fedsmith.com/articles/records/file/Stribling08-3336.pdf 

GSA Final Rule (FMR): Appraisal of Foreign Gifts

General Services Administration amended the Federal Management Regulation (FMR) to revise its policy on appraisals of foreign gifts and  decorations, and to encourage agencies to use various methods in obtaining appraisals, including reliable retail Web sites.  See http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-562.pdf.

IEC Meeting Thursday, Feb. 5 - Presentation

Attached please find the slide presentation from the February 5, 2009, IEC meeting. Download Fraud Brief (02-05-09).

Interesting article on Ethics interaction with Human Resources

The Ethics Resource Center recently published an interesting article entitled Are ethics officers and HR professionals kindred spirits? See full article at http://www.ethics.org/ethics-today/0109/HRMarticle.pdf

IEC 2009 Survey

IEC would like to gauge how well it is responding to the Government Ethics community in terms of providing timely and relevant presentations as well as useful resources.  To accomplish this goal, we would appreciate your help.  Please complete the attached survey and returning it to iec.jobs@yahoo.com.  The survey will be available for approximately a month.  We appreciate your participation.

Download 2009 Survey (Word) or Download 2009 Survey (PDF)

(If you completed a survey at the February IEC meeting please disregard this message)

Army Ethics Officer Deskbook

The Army Ethics Officer Deskbook is often a good source of information for agencies outside DOD. This discussion of ethics waivers was helpful:

9. Waivers

a. Individual Waiver (18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1) and 5 C.F.R. 2640.301). An agency may determine in an individual case that a disqualifying financial interest in a particular matter or matters is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the employee's services to the Government.

(1) Requirements for issuing 18 U.S.C. 208(b)(1) waivers:

(a) The disqualifying financial interest, and the nature and circumstances of the particular matter or matters, must be fully disclosed to the appointing official.

(b) The waiver must be issued in writing by the Government official responsible for appointing the employee to his position.

(c) The waiver should describe the disqualifying financial interest, the particular matter or matters to which it applies, the employee's role in the matter or matters, and any limitations on the employee's ability to act in such matters.

(d) The waiver shall be based on a determination that the disqualifying financial interest is not so substantial as to be deemed likely to affect the integrity of the employee's services to the Government. (Evidence of good character is NOT relevant).

(e) The waiver must be issued prior to the employee taking any action in the matter or matters.

(f) The waiver may apply to both present and future financial interests.

(2) Factors to Consider:

(a) The type of interest that is creating the disqualification (stock, bonds, real estate, other securities, cash payment, job offer, or enhancement of spouse's employment).

(b) The identity of the person whose financial interest is involved and if that interest is not the employee's, the relationship of that person to the employee.

(c) The dollar value of the disqualifying financial interest, if it is known or can be estimated (e.g. the amount of cash payment which may be gained or lost, the salary of the job which will be gained or lost, the predictable change in either the market value of the stock or the actual or potential profit or loss or cost of the matter to the company issuing the stock, the change in the value of real estate or other securities).

(d) The value of the financial instrument or holding from which the disqualifying financial interest arises (e.g. face value of the stock, bond, other security, or real estate) and its value in relationship to the individual's investments.

(e) The nature and importance of the employee's role in the matter, including the extent to which the employee is called upon to exercise discretion in the matter.

(f) Other factors: The sensitivity of the matter; the need for the employee's services in the particular matter; and adjustments that may be made in the employee's duties that would reduce or eliminate the likelihood that the integrity of the employee's services would be questioned by a reasonable person.

(3) When practicable, a Government official is required to consult formally or informally with OGE prior to granting a waiver. A copy of each such waiver is to be forwarded to OGE. A copy of the waiver is publicly available. Note: DoD recommends that you use two memoranda. One is the actual waiver signed by the cognizant official containing the statutory determination language and sufficient supporting facts, which is releasable, and the other is a legal memorandum discussing the facts in more detail for the official, which is not releasable.

(4) In a program review, OGE will review all waivers, so be careful.

Reminder: IEC Meeting Thursday, Feb. 5

This month's featured speaker is Mark Wilkoff the Navy's Assistant General Counsel (Acquisition Integrity) and Director of the Acquisition Integrity Office, who will present a program on acquisition and procurement fraud. There will also be a 2009 planning session. For details, see Pat Carney's previous post.

Fifth Birthday for the IEC Journal

February 1 is the fifth anniversary of the first IEC Journal posts. Thanks for the opportunity to provide this service to the federal ethics community.

Washington Post's New High-Tech Who's Who In Government

Does your job ever require you to find out information about government officials? Help may be on the way.

WhoRunsGov.com is a new Washington Post foray into Internet publishing that could help ethics officers perform factual research. The site intends to provide in-depth biographical information about key government officials. It includes a blog, and in the future will operate as a moderated Wiki:

This initial beta version of the site allows users to discuss officials' policy profiles. A range of additional interactive and collaborative capabilities will be added when the site expands to become a moderated wiki later this year. 

At this later date, users will be invited to submit suggested additions and revisions to the text of specific profiles based on reputable published sources or authoritative information. To ensure accuracy and reliability of the site's information, the editorial team will review each submission before it is published.

If they are successful in attracting the right kind of public contributor, the moderated Wiki feature could give this web site a level of detail and accuracy no paper publication can match.

Misuse of computer is more than just ethics problem.

A report says that agency employees at the National Science Foundation were watching, downloading and e-mailing porn, sometimes for significant portions of their workdays, and over periods of months or even years. The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee wants to put an end to the waste of time and money.  See full article at http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0109/18070.html

More Abramoff Fallout

An AP story indicates:

The government says Todd Boulanger gave government aides "a stream of things of value," including all-expense-paid travel, tickets to professional sports and concerts and nights out at expensive restaurants, to reward and influence actions that would benefit his clients. He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Talking Points Memo has an archive of posts about the newest person being charged, Todd Boulanger.

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