MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

 

   The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is a separate executive branch agency established under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended (5 U.S.C. app. 401).  The Director is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate for a five year term. 

 

   OGE is headquartered in Washington, DC.  Currently, OGE is authorized a staff of 80 full-time equivalents.  This discussion and analysis provides a brief overview of OGE operations.  For detailed information on OGE, visit our website as www.usoge.gov.

 

MISSION STATEMENT

   The Office of Government Ethics exercises leadership in the executive branch to prevent conflicts of interest on the part of Government employees and to resolve those conflicts of interest that do occur.  In partnership with executive branch agencies and departments, the Office fosters high ethical standards for employees and strengthens the public’s confidence that the Government’s business is conducted with impartiality and integrity.  The Office is the principal agency for administering the Ethics in Government Act for the executive branch.

 

   The chief responsibilities of OGE are:

  • Developing, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Office of Personnel Management, rules and regulations to be promulgated by the President or the Director of the Office of Government Ethics pertaining to standards of ethical conduct of executive branch officials, public and confidential financial disclosure of executive branch officials, executive agency ethics training programs, and the resolution of conflicts of interest;
  • Monitoring compliance with the executive branch financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1971, as amended;
  • Providing ethics program assistance and information to executive branch agencies through a desk officer system;
  • Conducting periodic reviews of the ethics programs of executive agencies;
  • Ordering corrective action on the part of agencies and employees that the Director of the Office deems necessary, including orders to establish or modify an agency’s ethics program;
  • Providing guidance on and promoting understanding of ethical standards in executive agencies through an extensive program of Government ethics advice, education and training;
  • Evaluating the effectiveness of the Ethics Act, the conflict of interest laws, and other related statutes; and
  • Recommending appropriate new legislation or amendments.

         

GOALS OF OGE’S STRATEGIC PLAN

  • OGE will provide overall policy direction to the executive branch ethics program.
      
  • OGE will support the President, executive branch agency heads and employees in administering effective, fair, and consistent ethics programs within the branch and individual agencies.
  • OGE will develop and make available to agencies innovative training and ethics education materials and promote and provide quality education and training experiences for agency ethics officials and employees.
  • OGE will administer an effective outreach program.

HIGHLIGHTS OF FY 2004

                         Accomplishments

 

   Office of General Counsel and Legal Policy

  • Reviewed and certified for the Senate, the public financial disclosure statements filed by Presidential nominees
  • Provided ethics training through OPM, and the White House if requested, to incoming Presidential appointees, new Schedule C’s and noncareer SES, and White House staff
  • Continued to review the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Executive Branch employees, to decide if changes are warranted
     
  • Issued a final regulation implementing OGE’s gift acceptance authority

 

  • Continued a review of the criminal conflict of interest statutes with a view toward their modernization

 

  • Issued proposed and final “plain English” regulations implementing Certificate of Divestiture and qualified trust requirements

 

  • Supported the Office of Government Relations and Special Projects Congressional relations by drafting testimony, responding to Congressional requests, and reviewing legislative proposals and testimony

 

  • Assisted a Congressional investigation of an agency ethics program, through testimony and other actions

 

  • Assisted the Office of Director preparing reports to Congress
  • Responded to requests for Certificates of Divestiture, and administered the blind trust program
  • Provided oral and written interpretive opinions on sections 202 through 209 of Title 18 U.S.C., and on other statutory provisions related to conflicts of interest and ethics
  • Provided legal services for OGE as an agency
  • Worked as liaison with the Department of Justice on litigation in which OGE is a party
  • Functioned as the liaison with the Office of Legal Counsel and the Criminal and Civil Divisions of the Department of Justice in coordinating advice, regulations and referrals 
  • Assisted the Office of Agency Programs in reviewing and developing ethics training materials, computer-based training, and pamphlets, and providing legal review of materials used in training
  • Developed and offered, with the assistance of the Office of Agency Programs, specialized single statute or issue seminars targeted for ethics officials who provide legal advice
  • Supported OGE speaking/training and outreach programs by providing speakers and presenters
  • Provided assistance to the General Services Administration regarding its Governmentwide management of Federal advisory committees
  • Provided support to the Program Services Division, including working with desk officers to address complex questions concerning conflicts of interest and ethics statutes and regulations
  • Provided support to the Program Review Division by developing appropriate areas of inquiry prior to an agency’s review, assisting with the review and the advice to be provided to that agency and advising on appropriate areas of inquiry for single issue audits
  • Supported OGE’s public information requirements including answering press inquiries
  • Supported the OGE Records Management System for maintaining the majority of OGE’s substantive program records
  • Handled administrative responsibilities, including reports and requests under FOIA and the Privacy Act, liaison with OMB, GSA and Federal Register
  • Conducted special analysis required by Congress or the Administration
  • Supported the Director’s activities in her role as a member of the President’s Council on Integrity and Efficiency
  • Analyzed allegations of Inspector Generals’ misconduct, in support of Director’s participation in the deliberation of the Integrity Committee
  • Continued to study ethics issues arising from contractors in the Federal work place
  • Addressed issues raised by the Government Accountability Office regarding the ethics programs of individual agencies
  • Addressed issues raised by the Government Accountability Office regarding the designation of Federal advisory committee members as special Government employees or representatives of outside entities
  • Is issuing final regulations designating Agency components under 18 U.S.C. section 207

 

Office of Government Relations and Special Projects

 

  • Pursued clearance and enactment of major legislative package
  • Provided OGE’s Congressional Relations requirements, including drafting testimony and responding to congressional requests
  • Coordinated and provided OGE’s response to requests from OMB for reviews of draft bills, legislation, bill reports and testimony
  • Coordinated and provided OGE’s technical assistance and special international program oversight in support of the U.S. efforts at encouraging anti-corruption measures throughout the world
  • Provided OGE’s assistance in responding to the Council of Europe’s (GRECO) evaluation of USG’s anti-corruption efforts arising from an international agreement entered into by USG
  • Provided OGE’s assistance to USG negotiators of international agreements that include anti-corruption provisions and to USG representatives in discussions of implementation measures for the agreements (i.e. UN Convention Against Corruption) 

 

Office of Agency Programs

  • Maintained an emailing list service to communicate with 2,000 ethics practitioners and enforcement personnel across the Executive Branch

 

  • Planned, organized and supported the Fourteenth Annual National Government Ethics Conference for approximately 500 ethics practitioners

 

  • Supported the Outreach Program to non-government organizations, private sector organizations, and state, local, and international governments

 

  • Continued surveys to assess customer satisfaction with OGE services and products

 

  • Monitored the ethics agreements of approximately 97 presidential appointees of the new administration concerning their financial interests and ensured that such agreements are completed within 90 days of confirmation

      

  • Tracked, collected, reviewed and certified approximately 1,000 annual and termination financial disclosure statements of presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate

 

  • Assisted the Office of General Counsel and Legal Policy in the review and certification of financial disclosure statements of presidential nominees prior to their Senate confirmation hearings

 

  • Released over 900 financial disclosure statements to the news media and the public

 

  • Tracked, collected, and made available to the public, the semiannual reports from departments and agencies of travel payments accepted under 31 U.S.C. ' 1353 from non-government sources

 

  • Responded to agency requests for administrative  exemptions from the public financial disclosure system for Schedule C positions

 

  • Maintained a desk officer system to monitor, assist and respond to telephone requests from all executive branch agency ethics staffs on a daily basis

 

  • Held periodic seminars with small groups of agency ethics officials to discuss current ethics issues

 

  • Determined the accuracy and quality of written agency ethics advice given to employees by ethics officials

 

  • Monitored newly-established executive branch boards and commissions to ensure ethics support is timely provided by the appropriate agency

 

  • Received, reviewed and analyzed the Annual Agency Ethics Program Questionnaire required by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, as amended

 

  • Conducted ethics program evaluations in 33 Federal agencies, regional offices, and military commands, focusing  OGE's legal, educational and program assistance resources in assisting the agencies in the development of better ethics systems and the resolution of outstanding ethics issues

 

  • Conducted six-month follow-up reviews in all agencies in which recommendations were made to improve the ethics program during the initial program review

 

  • Conducted pre-reviews of ethics programs including surveys of agency employees to determine the effectiveness of the agency ethics program and areas in need of a more in-depth review

 

  • Developed instructor and participant guides to be used by executive branch departments and agencies to deliver their annual ethics training.  This includes the Ethical Leadership and Initial Ethics Orientation courses

 

  • Developed training evaluation instruments to measure the extent to which employees acquired knowledge from various instructor-led and web-based training courses

 

  • Continued to modify, design and develop courses based on the results of the end of courses evaluations, observations and annual needs assessments

 

  • Developed and conducted needs analyses to identify the training needs of the ethics community

 

  • Developed and conducted instructor-led ethics training courses for ethics practitioners, trainers, counselors, financial disclosure reviewers, and enforcement officials in headquarters and the regions

  

  • Evaluated OGE ethics training courses to determine whether they are effective in meeting the needs of the ethics community

 

  • Assisted agencies in conducting annual ethics training when their good faith efforts to complete the requirement are unsuccessful, placing special emphasis on micro agencies

 

  • Planned, organized and supported Region Symposiums to be held three times a year for approximately 240 ethics practitioners

 

  • Developed and maintained a case tracking system for advice provided by Desk Officers to executive branch ethics officials

 

  • Developed and maintained a tracking system for public financial disclosure reports and ensure that such reports are filed by year end

 

  • Designed and produced reference materials for Designated Agency Ethics Officials

 

  • Responded to public requests for information that arrives via phone, mail, and internet

 

  • Summarized and consolidated agency information collected across OGE program areas

 

Office of Administration and Information Management

 

  • Continued to provide intra-agency support to all OGE program offices in the areas of payroll/personnel, finance and budget, small purchasing and contracting, personnel, security, printing, and mail services

 

  • Produced in-house desktop published ethics training and conference materials, brochures, flyers, pamphlets, posters, and ethics and administrative forms
  • Provided Records Management(RM)services, including forms clearance, developing policies and procedures, providing RM guidance and training, identifying, organizing and disposing of files, and developing and drafting records schedules

 

  • Developed enhancements and additional information services on OGE’s Internet World Wide Web Page, including the ability to provide on-line registration for OGE sponsored ethics training workshops and conferences
  • Provided software applications training to OGE staff members
  • Provided computer security awareness training to all OGE staff per the Computer Security Act of 1987 (PL 100-235)
  • In accordance with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), the ISSO updated  and implemented OGE's annual security awareness and training program designed to ensure that employees  are aware of their responsibilities for protecting the OGE resources entrusted to them
  • Provided Section 508 compliance advice and policy guidance on OGE purchases and projects
  • Drafted and submitted annual report to OMB regarding OGE’s information quality standards
  • Coordinated, completed and submitted DOJ Section 508 Survey
  • Continued the development of a new web-based Financial Disclosure Tracking System (FDTS) to be used by OGE staff to track the processing and review of SF 278 Public Financial Disclosure reports filed with OGE
  • Initiated the design of a new web-based Audit Tracking System, which will be available within OGE and remotely via a secure Internet connection
  • Modified OGE’s Correspondence Tracking System (COTS) to provide OGE telecommuters the ability to access the program remotely via a secure Internet connection
  • Managed a technical support contract that involved the installation and configuration of multiple routers, firewalls, and an intrusion detection system
  • Completed all requirements for the Certification and Accreditation of OGE's General Support System (GSS) and Major Application (MA)
  • Installed and configured a new SMTP (e-mail) Gateway filtering system to ensure optimum performance and enforcement of OGE IT security policy, and to enhance fault-tolerance and improve information assurance by configuring the devices for load-balancing and failover protection
  • Enrolled OGE for participation in the FedCIRC's Patch Authentication & Dissemination Capability (PADC), which will ensure that OGE receives all software patches and fixes necessary to protect its information systems