TO:       Designated Agency Ethics Officials, General Counsels,
          and Inspectors General

FROM:     Jack Covaleski
          Deputy Director for Agency Programs

SUBJECT:  Program Plan of Agency Reviews for the Second Half of
          Calendar Year 2002

     Attached for your information is the program plan of agency ethics reviews scheduled by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) for the second six months of calendar year 2002. We will attempt as much as possible to follow the schedule set forth in the attachment. Some of the agencies were listed in the previous program plan, but were not reviewed due to other priorities.

     We will contact the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) or designee by telephone approximately one month prior to our entrance into the agency, followed by a letter of confirmation. Should there be reason why you cannot receive us as scheduled, please call Ed Pratt, Associate Director for Program Reviews, at 202-208-8000, ext. 1115, or Jerry Chaffinch, his assistant,at ext. 1157.

     Our usual practice, once a review has been completed, is to send a report to the DAEO with recommendations for improving the program. We ask that the DAEO respond to our recommendations within 60 days as to the actions he/she has taken or plans to take. We do not send our reports to the Congress, but occasionally a Congressional committee will request a report of an agency under its jurisdiction. These requests are granted and the agency DAEO is informed that we have received such a request. Moreover, we do not send copies of our reports to the news media, nor issue press releases concerning the reports. Periodically, we do release reports to the news media in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.

     We are continuing to ask that you complete our Agency Program Review Evaluation form after you receive the report. Please take a few moments to provide us with feedback on the usefulness of our reviews and reports, and identify areas for improvement. Thank you for all the comments you have already given us; they have been extremely useful in modifying our review techniques.

     We hope that this answers some of your questions concerning our review process. Should you have any other questions, please call Ed Pratt, at 202-208-8000, ext. 1115.

Attachment