IEC Journal

More Ethics Reforms at Interior

Government Executive reports on a new ethics initiative at the Department of the Interior:

Secretary Ken Salazar has ordered the department's bureau chiefs to designate full-time ethics officers and provide them with the needed staff and resources to develop plans to ensure all employees have access to ethics guidelines and training.

Salazar's order requires each bureau to employ a deputy ethics counselor at the GS-14 level or higher who will report directly to the bureau chief or another "appropriate senior executive." To deter violations, bureau heads must actively seek employee feedback on personal and program ethics.

The article referenced above has more information.

Contractor Code of Ethics Rule Implementation

A new GAO report indicates that many government contractors have instituted internal ethics systems as directed by recent FAR changes. Thanks to Government Executive magazine for the heads-up.

Problems Accessing IEC Journal Website

Since the founding of the IEC Journal website in 2004, a few members have occasionally encountered trouble accessing it through their office accounts. The most common cause has been unsophisticated IT staff at a few agencies who have set their firewalls to block all "blogs." These problems have typically been solved easily. It's been simply a matter of educating the IT staff so they understand that while many blogs are dubious sources of information, others are essential professional tools. 

More recently, the IT staff at one large agency has intermittently blocked access to IEC Journal as a perceived security risk. They say that the server hosting IEC Journal sometimes engages in what they ominously refer to as "malicious activity."  On questioning, they explain that by this they mean "port scanning." Port scanning is an ambiguous activity that can be benign, but is sometimes used by hackers to identify potential targets.  

Due to the nature of the software used, it's impossible for contributors to IEC Journal or the administrator to conduct port scanning. They don't have the necessary rights. Only someone with control of the web server could use it to conduct port scanning.

The web server is hosted by a reputable contractor, Six Apart, (though its subsidiary Typepad). This company has no motive to conduct port scanning. Nevertheless, we coordinated with them and verified that they do not conduct port scanning. While it is remotely conceivable that hackers could have gained root access to a Six Apart/Typepad server and are using it as a base of operations without the owners' knowledge, it is much more likely that the agency IT staff is simply confused. This conclusion is reinforced by the fact that other agency IT staffs, of equal or greater sophistication, have not had any similar concerns. 

We have deliberately avoided identifying the agency involved, because we have no desire to embarrass them.  We sympathize with the ethics lawyers at the affected agency, and wish you success in resolving this issue with your agency's IT bureaucracy. 

In the meantime, the access blockage should not affect e-mails coming from the various third parties that echo postings to the web site.  They come from different IP addresses.  One option for setting up or modifying an account with one of those services is to use a home PC to set it up, but using your office address as the e-mail destination.

The Typepad support desk suggested users at the affected agency consider using a proxy service like Proxify or Unipeak. Note: we have not tested these, and make no representation that they will work at any particular agency. Some agencies may not allow any proxy server use.

Alleged Affairs Create Problems for FBI Agent

Conflicts of interest come in many forms.  Court filings available through Talking Points Memo discuss problems caused by allegations of an FBI agent's affairs, including one with a key witness in the corruption probe of Congressman William Jefferson.

NASA Scientist Charged in Spousal Conflict of Interest

Here's the first paragraph of a Washington Post story:

A prominent NASA scientist from Silver Spring has been charged in federal court in Maryland with using his position for the financial benefit of his wife, who owns a company that develops science exhibits and educational tools.

Thanks to Cary Williams for the tip. We strongly encourage reader contributions. Send leads to the Contact Us address in the left column.

Air Force to Resolve Tanker Procurement

A Government Executive article alludes to the current status of the long-troubled Air Force tanker procurement. Here's the first paragraph:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates won over an audience of Air Force personnel and supporters, many of whom were angry about his painful budget cuts, by announcing Wednesday that management of the troubled KC-X tanker procurement was being returned to Air Force leaders and that he was committed to buying a next-generation long-range strike aircraft.

Former Interior Secretary Under Investigation?

A New York Times story reports that the Department of Justice is investigating allegations that a former Secretary of the Interior transferred valuable shale oil leases to Royal Dutch Shell around the time she was considering employment with that company on leaving government service.

October 1st Meeting

Our October 1 program speaker will be Mr. Matt Cross, the Office of Government Ethics Director of Education, who will discuss what the Office of Government Ethics is doing in the way of training.  Specifically, he will be discussing OGE's training strategies including future plans, and will provide a review of the last year's training plans.  He will also describe for us some future products that will assist ethics officials in training their employees.

 

After his presentation, there will be a brief meeting of those volunteers that would like to assist in putting together the IEC programs for 2010.  If you cannot attend but would like to comment, suggest future meeting topics or presenters, or  volunteer to present or organize a presentation at a future IEC meeting, feel free to contact Jeff Green directly with your ideas at jeffrey.green@osd.mil. 

 

As usual, we will meet from 12:15-1:30 in the OTS auditorium and, as always, individuals who are on the IEC roster need not pre-register for this meeting.  Agency ethics officials who are not on our roster but who wish to attend can pre-register by contacting Patrick.Carney@fcc.gov not later than Monday, September 28th.  Those who are neither on the IEC roster nor pre-registered can still be admitted by showing a Government ID to OTS Security personnel.

OGE request for OMB extension on Model Trusts documents

The Federal Register today includes the OGE model certificates and model documents for qualified trusts for OMB approval.  See http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-22266.htm.  The current paperwork approval, last granted by OMB in 2007, for the model certificates and model trust documents is scheduled to expire at the end of October 2009. OGE is proposing no changes to the twelve qualified trust certificates and model documents at this time.

Former Employer of U.S. Attorney’s Office (Philadelphia) pleads to use of defendants’ IDs to Commit Fraud

The fraud was committed using a Government-issued computer.  See full article at http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/press/2009_09_11.pdf

Tool for Researching Federal Officials Moves to Wiki Format

The Washington Post's Who Runs Government project is moving to a "moderated wiki" format. From the September 9 press release:

The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO) announced today the launch of WhoRunsGov.com as a “moderated wiki,” opening the site for readers to contribute to the 700-plus in-depth profiles of the most influential people in Washington. The site, which was launched in beta form in January, currently includes profiles of Obama administration officials, members of Congress, Capitol Hill staffers, Pentagon officials and heads of think tanks and interest groups that play a critical role in shaping public policy. 

The “moderated wiki” platform created by MindTouch Inc. allows users to both write new profiles and edit existing content. Before any user-generated content is published, it will be reviewed and may be revised by an in-house editorial team for factors including accuracy, relevancy to the profile subject, and appropriateness.  WhoRunsGov.com’s profiles are meticulously sourced through footnotes and the site’s reporting is thoroughly transparent.

Through the public’s contributions and partnerships, WhoRunsGov.com seeks to offer a uniquely valuable resource on the people who run the government. Each profile provides biographical details on  information, its subject, resume information,an At-a-Glance box of key facts and contact examinations of the official’s stances on the key issues relevant to his or her job, and who is in their professional networks.

White house report on Ethics Pledge Waivers

The White House, through the Office of Government Ethics, released information on ten Ethics Pledge waivers granted by various Executive Branch Designated Agency Ethics Officials.  See full article at http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=43553&dcn=e_gvet and OGE website page with waivers http://www.usoge.gov/directors_corner/pledge_waivers.aspx

Controversy Over Failure To Disclose Lobbying Tie

The Washington Times reports on a controversy involving a Department of Homeland Security nominee.  Here's an excerpt:

Dr. Tara O'Toole, whose confirmation as undersecretary of science and technology is pending, never reported her involvement with the lobbying group called the Alliance for Biosecurity in a recent government ethics filing.

The alliance has spent more than $500,000 lobbying Congress and federal agencies -- including Homeland Security -- since 2005, congressional records show.

However, Homeland Security officials said Dr. O'Toole need not disclose her ties to the group on her government ethics form because the alliance is not incorporated: "There's no legal existence so she wouldn't have to disclose it," said Robert Coyle, an ethics official for the Department of Homeland Security.

Analysts say the lack of disclosure reflects a potential loophole in the policies for the Obama administration, which has boasted about its efforts to make government more transparent. They also question lobbying laws that allow such a group to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars without the public knowing exactly how much money each of the companies that belongs to the group contributes, though such arrangements are permitted under the law.

"You're not allowing the public to know the full background of this nominee," said Judy Nadler, a senior fellow at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University in California. "It shouldn't matter whether it's incorporated or not."

Craig Holman, legislative director of the nonpartisan watchdog group Public Citizen, said the lack of disclosure "definitely and clearly runs counter to the intent of the law."

Ethics rules require nominees to report any paid or unpaid positions held outside of government, including but not limited to those of "officer, trustee, general partner, representative, employee or any consultant of any corporation, firm, partnership or other business enterprise ...." Dr. O'Toole signed a letter on behalf of the group sent to the White House as recently as March.