IEC Journal

Use of Appropriated Funds to Pay for Refreshments?

The issue of when agencies can use appropriated funds to pay for refreshments comes up frequently. The archives of GAO's 2005 Appropriations Law Forum contain guidance on the subject.

GAO Examines "Burrowing In"

A GAO report looks at something that isn't covered by the Standards of Conduct, but that most citizens consider to fall within the scope of "government ethics":

Conversions of Selected Employees from Political to Career Positions at Departments and Selected Agencies, GAO-10-356R

April 1 Meeting - Procurement Integrity

Our Thursday, April 1st meeting will feature Carolyn Perry, of the Defense Contract Management Agency, who will discuss the Procurement Integrity law.  This topic was requested the last time we surveyed our membership for suggested presentations, and Carolyn was specifically suggested as the presenter.  This will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about this highly technical area.

 

As usual, we will meet from 12:15-1:30 in the OTS auditorium at 1700 G Street, N.W. (the corner of 17th and G Streets, across from the Old Executive Office Building) and, as always, individuals who are on the IEC roster need not pre-register.  Agency ethics officials who are not on our roster but who wish to attend can pre-register by contacting Jeff Green, at jeffrey.green@osd.mil not later than Monday, March 29th.  Those who are neither on the IEC roster nor pre-registered can still be admitted by showing a Government ID to OTS Security personnel.

 

We’d also like to remind you that because of the Ethics Conference in Chicago in May, the IEC will not be meeting that month.

New DOD Policy on Social Networking

Thanks to Mark Stone for alerting us to a February 25 memo from the Deputy Secretary of Defense entitled "Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 09-026 –Responsible and Effective Use of Internet-based Capabilities." The memo defines "Internet-based capabilities" as including YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and Google Apps.

GAO Launches "Watchdog Report" Podcast Series

From a GAO press release:

As part of its ongoing efforts to utilize emerging technologies to help carry out its mission, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has launched an audio podcast series titled "GAO’s Watchdog Report." These five-minute audio files feature interviews with GAO officials on significant issues and new reports, and are easily downloadable for listening on computers or mobile music devices.

"GAO is always considering new ways to make its findings and products accessible to a wide range of audiences through various media," said Gene L. Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General of the United States and head of the GAO. "Podcasting enhances the service GAO provides to Congress and the public by offering an alternative means for people to learn about significant issues and new GAO reports and testimonies." ...

Users can listen to all episodes of GAO’s Watchdog Report podcast and subscribe to receive future episodes from a feed at GAO’s website

. The Watchdog Report is also available free through Apple’s iTunes store.

All episodes of the Watchdog report are recorded, hosted, and produced by GAO staff, and are accompanied by a transcript to ensure compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

GAO's move, like that of the FBI recently and others, confirms the value of this new way of distributing information.

FBI Podcasts

The FBI is aggressively using podcasts (audio recordings distributed via the Internet) to educate agents and publicize its successes. The podcasts are distributed via an RSS feed. Here are a sample podcast and the blurb summarizing it:

Ex-Army Major in Prison, Part I
He was a major in the Army stationed in Kuwait. And he was on the take. Special Agent Marc Diehl of the FBI’s Washington, D.C. field office says it was a case of bribes. The episode is part of our "Gotcha" series highlighting closed FBI cases.

As noted here previously, other federal agencies are using podcasts effectively. Since most government-issued computers can play podcasts, they appear to have significant potential as an ethics education/awareness tool.

Dept of Interior, Ethics Specialist vacancy (GS 13-14)

Ethics Specialist position in the Departmental Ethics Office, Office of the Solicitor, Department of the Interior, in Washington, DC.  Series and grade: GS-0301-13/14.  Opened March 12, 2010 and will close Thursday, April 1, 2010.  (The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is advertising the position because USGS performs human resources functions for the Office of the Solicitor)

See full announcement at http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?jobID=86837493

Ethics Rules to Cover Personal Services Contractors?

Section 328 of H.R.2410, the proposed Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011, contains some interesting provisions on personal service contractors:

(c) STATUS OF PERSONAL SERVICE CONTRACTORS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.

—An individual hired as a personal service contractor pursuant to this section shall not, by virtue of such hiring, be considered to be an employee of the United States Government for purposes of any law administered by the Office of Personnel Management.

(2) APPLICABLE LAWS.

—An individual hired as a personal service contractor pursuant to this section shall be covered, in the same manner as a similarly situated employee, by—

(A) the Ethics in Government Act of 1978;

...

United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines

Thanks to Mark Stone for pointed us to the ethics violations provisions of the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC)'s updated Guidelines Manual. The sentencing guidelines for giving or receiving a bribe or gratuity (18 USC 201) are at pages 128 – 134. The sentencing guidelines for other conflict-of-interest laws (18 USC 203, 205, 207, 208 & 209) are at pages 134 – 135.

GAO Appropriations Law Forum

GAO's Appropriations Law Forums, conducted annually since 2005, are a valuable source of guidance on tricky and topical issues. For example, the 2009 archives contain an explanation of f

actors to be considered in determining propriety of using appropriated funds to pay fees for airport "registered traveler" programs.

Trust In Government

Fedblog comments on surveys showing a high level of distrust in government: "trends in feelings about government show a cyclical rise and fall that, if it's linked to anything it's the economy, rather than a broad and consistent rise or slide."

OMB Director Peter Orzag addressed this issue recently at a Government Executive-sponsored event.

Disciplinary Action for OMB Budget Threat

A Government Executive story on NextGov highlights the significance of IG independence:

An Office of Management and Budget staffer crossed the line when he threatened to "make life miserable" for the Office of Personnel Management's inspector general if he complained to Congress about his fiscal 2011 budget, a recent investigation has found.

The internal review by OMB's general counsel concluded that the career program examiner made inappropriate remarks with the OPM IG's office in January and should be disciplined for his actions. ...

Gifts of Sporting Tickets

Mark Stone's excellent e-mail newsletter alerted us to an article concerning a government official accepting tickets to sporting events. Mark also notes a February 9, 2007 OGE opinion entitled Valuation of Gifts of Admission to an Event in a Skybox or Private Suite. The opinion provides in part: 

The Office of Government Ethics consistently has advised that [the market value of] a gift of attendance in a skybox or private suite is determined by adding the market value of the most expensive publicly available ticket to the event to the market value of the food, parking and other tangible benefits provided in connection with the gift of attendance. Assume, for example, that an employee is offered free admission for two to a private suite at an arena to view a music concert. The most expensive ticket available to the public at retail for that event is $150. However, in addition to the value of entrance to the event, attendance in the private suite comes with food and beverages provided during the concert valued at $50 per person and a parking pass with a market value of $25. Thus, the total value of the gift to the employee is $425: $300 for the admission for two, plus $100 for the food and beverages for two, plus $25 for the parking pass.

National Science Foundation Attorney-Advisor vacancy

Position Title:   Attorney-Advisor (Assistant General Counsel)

Series/Grade:  AD-905-03

Salary Range: $89,033.00 - 140,259.00 USD /year

Vacancy Announcement: E20100042

Vacancy Category (Type): Scientific and Professional

Location(s) (DIR/DIV): OD/OGC

Opening Date: 03/10/2010

Closing Date: 04/07/2010

USAJOBS Link: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?OPMControl=1821406

Investigations Into Alleged House Lapses

Legislative issues are outside the usual range of this website, but we'll pass along the following nice write-up from an IEC member concerning a matter that has been in the news lately:

The House of Representative’s Committee on Standards of Official Conduct released a statement related to the investigation of several Representative’s official travel to the Caribbean which was funded by the Carib News Foundation. The Investigative Committee found that most Members did not violate any House rule, reg, law or other standard of conduct: 

The Investigative Subcommittee found that these Members did not violate any House rule, regulation, law or other standard of conduct.  Only after the initiation of the Subcommittee’s investigation was it learned that payments were made for their travel that were impermissible.  Unfortunately, because false and misleading information was provided to the Committee, the Members inadvertently received impermissible gifts of travel that require repayment for the costs of their trips…Since the Members were provided false information by others, and relied upon that information in seeking approval to accept the trips, the Committee concludes that the Member committed no wrongdoing…

However, the report finds that that Charles Rangel did violate the House gift rule.   

Forbes has a related article.

Post Story Examines Revolving Door in Auto Industry

An article in today's Washington Post scrutinizes the revolving door between the auto industry and its regulators and a call for reforms. Here’s the article's introduction:

Dozens of former federal officials are playing leading roles in helping carmakers handle federal investigations of auto defects, including those for Toyota's runaway-acceleration problems. A Washington Post analysis shows that as many as 33 former National Highway Traffic Safety Administration employees and Transportation Department appointees left those jobs in recent years and now work for automakers as lawyers, consultants and lobbyists and in other jobs that deal with government safety probes, recalls and regulations.

Guidance on Bloggers

DoD's November revision of DoD Instruction 1325.06 (“Handling Dissident and Protest Activities Among Members of the Armed Forces”) contains guidance on military members participating in blogs on page 8. Thanks to Mark Stone's e-mail newsletter for the tip.

DOJ Updates Privacy Act Guidance

Since a knowledge of the Privacy Act can be useful in resolving some ethics issues, we note that the Department of Justice has published a revision of its Privacy Act Overview. So far as I know, this is the first update since 2004, when they stopped bundling the Privacy Act material with their Freedom of
Information Act Guide.

State Department Discovers Facebook Pitfall

An Atlantic magazine writer points out that the popular trend of Facebook pages for federal agencies can lead to technical violations of the Hatch Act:

When I brought this to the attention of the State Department today, a spokesperson acknowledged the concern and said that the links to Biden's and Obama's campaign sites would be removed.

"Those pages were added right after the new administration began and even before the new White House was represented online," an official said via e-mail. "The intention was to merely make certain that the U.S. President and Vice-President were recognized, not any political affiliation. Now that we 'favorite' the White House page, we'll remove the pages you mentioned."

Thanks to the Government Executive's Tech Insider blog for the tip.

Ethics in News (State, not Federal)

Paterson’s Ethics Breach Is Turned Over to Prosecutors

 

A state commission asked prosecutors to determine if criminal charges should be brought against Gov. David A. Paterson for what it called his false testimony during investgation related to his improper acceptance of gifts and misuse of position for private gain of his aide.  See full story at http://s.nyt.com/u/9BI

Proposal to Expand Whistleblower Protections for ARRA Workers

The legislation page of the IGNET web site reports on a proposed change to whistleblower protection laws:

S. 1745-Non-Federal Employee Whistleblower Protection Act of 2009 S.1745 expands the whistleblower provisions under Section 1553 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) (ARRA) that cover whistleblowing reprisal allegations by state, local, and contractor employees whose employers receive covered stimulus funds. S. 1745 would amend the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (41 U.S.C. 265) to expand protections to employees of private contractors or grantees who receive funds or property from the Federal Government.

OSC Brings Hatch Act Enforcement Action Against GSA Employee

Today's press release at the OSC website announces the decision to seek disciplinary action for an alleged Hatch Act violation:

An investigation conducted by OSC found evidence that the GSA employee engaged in prohibited political activity, including soliciting political contributions and e-mailing promotional material in association with the 2008 Presidential election. The e-mails were sent to other federal employees and federal contractors and, among other things, included information about volunteer opportunities for then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign. The GSA employee engaged in this activity while on duty and while in a government building.

Thus, OSC’s investigation found evidence that the GSA employee violated three Hatch Act prohibitions – the prohibition against soliciting, accepting or receiving political contributions from any person, the prohibition against engaging in political activity while on duty, and the prohibition against engaging in political activity while in a room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by an individual employed in the Government of the United States. Accordingly, OSC has filed a complaint with the MSPB, seeking disciplinary action with respect to the GSA employee for knowingly violating the Hatch Act.

More on Honest Services Fraud

The Fall/Winter 2008/09 issue of the Journal of Public Inquiry has an article by Earl Devaney and James P. O'Sullivan on honest services fraud. The question of whether the honest services fraud statute is
unconstitutionally broad is before the US Supreme Court in several cases (including that of former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling).

Preventing Office Gambling

Office gambling pools are undesirable, but perhaps not inevitable, even during March Madness. Our 2008 and 2009 posts addressed preventative measures.

 

USA Today Raps DOD Panel's Defense Ties

Here's the lead of a March 1 USA Today story:

 

More than half of the panel members appointed to review the Pentagon's latest four-year strategy blueprint have financial ties to defense contractors with a stake in the planning process, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

Congress created the 20-member panel in 2006 to analyze the Defense Department's four-year plan, known as the Quadrennial Defense Review. Lawmakers called for the committee to provide an independent "alternate view" of the Pentagon's plan, which shapes future military policy and spending on weapons and other needs.

Reminder: IEC Meeting Thursday, March 4

Thursday's IEC meeting will feature a distinguished panel discussing OGE program reviews. A previous post has details.