Executive Order 12731 of October 17, 1990
"PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL CONDUCT
FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES"
By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish
fair and exacting standards of ethical conduct for all executive branch
employess, it is hereby ordered that Executive Order 12674 of April 12,
1989, is henceforth modified to read as follows:
"EXECUTIVE ORDER
"
"principles of ethical conduct for government officers and employees
"By virtue of the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to establish
fair and exacting standards of ethical conduct for all executive branch
employees, it is hereby ordered as follows:
"Part 1 -- PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL CONDUCT
"Section 101. Principles of Ethical Conduct. To ensure that every
citizen can have complete confidence in the integrity of the Federal
Government, each Federal employee shall respect and adhere to the
fundamental principles of ethical service as implemented in regulations
promulgated under sections 201 and 301 of this order:
"(a) Public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place
loyalty to the Constitution, the laws, and ethical principles above
private gain.
"(b) Employees shall not hold financial interests that conflict
with the conscientious performance of duty.
"(c) Employees shall not engage in financial transactions using
nonpublic Government information or allow the improper use of such
information to further any private interest.
"(d) An employee shall not, except pursuant to such reasonable
exceptions as are provided by regulation, solicit or accept any gift
or other item of monetary value from any person or entity seeking
official action from, doing business with, or conducting activities
regulated by the employee's agency, or whose interests may be
substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the
employee's duties.
"(e) Employees shall put forth honest effort in the performance of
their duties.
"(f) Employees shall make no unauthorized commitments or promises of
any kind purporting to bind the Government.
"(g) Employees shall not use public office for private gain.
"(h) Employees shall act impartially and not give preferential
treatment to any private organization or individual.
"(i) Employees shall protect and conserve Federal property and shall
not use it for other than authorized activities.
"(j) Employees shall not engage in outside employment or activities,
including seeking or negotiating for employment, that conflict with
official Government duties and responsibilities.
"(k) Employees shall disclose waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption to
appropriate authorities.
"(l) Employees shall satisfy in good faith their obligations as
citizens, including all just financial obligations, especially those
-- such as Federal, State, or local taxes -- that are imposed by law.
"(m) Employees shall adhere to all laws and regulations that
provide equal opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap.
"(n) Employees shall endeavor to avoid any actions creating the
appearance that they are violating the law or the ethical standards
promulgated pursuant to this order.
"Sec. 102. Limitations on Outside Earned Income.
"(a) No employee who is appointed by the President to a full-time
noncareer position in the executive branch (including full-time noncareer
employees in the White House Office, the Office of Policy Development,
and the Office of Cabinet Affairs), shall receive any earned income for
any outside employment or activity performed during that Presidential
appointment.
"(b) The prohibition set forth in subsection (a) shall not apply to
any full-time noncareer employees employed pursuant to 3 U.S.C. 105 and
3 U.S.C. 107(a) at salaries below the minimum rate of basic pay then
paid for GS-9 of the General Schedule. Any outside employment must
comply with relevant agency standards of conduct, including any
requirements for approval of outside employment.
"PART II -- OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS AUTHORITY
"Sec. 201. The Office of Government Ethics. The Office of Government
Ethics shall be responsible for administering this order by:
"(a) Promulgating, in consultation with the Attorney General and the
Office of Personnel Management, regulations that establish a single,
comprehensive, and clear set of executive-branch standards of conduct
that shall be objective, reasonable, and enforceable.
"(b) Developing, disseminating, and periodically updating an ethics
manual for employees of the executive branch describing the applicable
statutes, rules, decisions, and policies.
"(c) Promulgating, with the concurrence of the Attorney General,
regulations interpreting the provisions of the post-employment statute,
section 207 of title 18, United States Code; the general
conflict-of-interest statute, section 208 of title 18, United States
Code; and the statute prohibiting supplementation of salaries, section 209
of title 18, United States Code.
"(d) Promulgating, in consultation with the Attorney General and the
Office of Personnel Management, regulations establishing a system of
nonpublic (confidential) financial disclosure by executive branch
employees to complement the system of public disclosure under the Ethics
in Government Act of 1978. Such regulations shall include criteria to
guide agencies in determining which employees shall submit these reports.
"(e) Ensuring that any implementing regulations issued by agencies
under this order are consistent with and promulgated in accordance with
this order.
"Sec. 202. Executive Office of the President. In that the agencies
within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) currently exercise
functions that are not distinct and separate from each other within the
meaning and for the purposes of section 207(e) of title 18, United States
Code, those agencies shall be treated as one agency under section 207(c)
of title 18, United States Code.
"PART III -- AGENCY RESPONSIBILITIES
"Sec. 301. Agency Responsibilities. Each agency head is directed to:
"(a) Supplement, as necessary and appropriate, the comprehensive
executive branch-wide regulations of the Office of Government Ethics,
with regulations of special applicability to the particular functions
and activities of that agency. Any supplementary agency regulations shall
be prepared as addenda to the branch-wide regulations and promulgated
jointly with the Office of Government Ethics, at the agency's expense,
for inclusion in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
"(b) Ensure the review by all employees of this order and regulations
promulgated pursuant to the order.
"(c) Coordinate with the Office of Government Ethics in developing
annual agency ethics training plans. Such training shall include
mandatory annual briefings on ethics and standards of conduct for all
employees appointed by the President, all employees in the Executive
Office of the President, all officials required to file public or
nonpublic financial disclosure reports, all employees who are contracting
officers and procurement officials, and any other employees designated by
the agency head.
"(d) Where practicable, consult formally or informally with the Office
of Government Ethics prior to granting any exemption under section 208 of
title 18, United States Code, and provide the Director of the Office of
Government Ethics a copy of any exemption granted.
"(e) Ensure that the rank, responsibilities, authority, staffing, and
resources of the Designated Agency Ethics Official are sufficient to
ensure the effectiveness of the agency ethics program. Support should
include the provision of a separate budget line item for ethics
activities, where practicable.
"PART IV -- DELEGATIONS OF AUTHORITY
"Sec. 401. Delegations to Agency Heads. Except in the case of the
head of an agency, the authority of the President under sections 203(d),
205(e), and 208(b) of title 18, United States Code, to grant exemptions
or approvals to individuals, is delegated to the head of the agency in
which an individual requiring an exemption or approval is employed or
to which the individual (or the committee, commission, board, or similar
group employing the individual) is attached for purposes of administration.
"Sec. 402. Delegations to the Counsel to the President.
"(a) Except as provided in section 401, the authority of the President
under sections 203(d), 205(e), and 208(b) of title 18, United States Code,
to grant exemptions or approvals for Presidential appointees to committees,
commissions, boards, or similar groups established by the President is
delegated to the Counsel to the President.
"(b) The authority of the President under sections 203(d), 205(e), and
208(b) of title 18, United States Code, to grant exemptions or approvals
for individuals appointed pursuant to 3 U.S.C. 105 and 3 U.S.C. 107(a),
is delegated to the Counsel to the President.
"Sec. 403. Delegation Regarding Civil Service. The Office of
Personnel Management and the Office of Government Ethics, as appropriate,
are delegated the authority vested in the President by 5 U.S.C. 7301
to establish general regulations for the implementation of this Executive
order.
"PART V -- GENERAL PROVISIONS
"Sec. 501. Revocations. The following Executive orders are hereby
revoked:
"(a) Executive Order No. 11222 of May 8, 1965.
"(b) Executive Order No. 12565 of September 25, 1986.
"Sec. 502. Savings Provisions.
"(a) All actions already taken by the President or by his delegates
concerning matters affected by this order and in force when this order is
issued, including any regulations issued under Executive Order 11222,
Executive Order 12565, or statutory authority, shall, except as they are
irreconcilable with the provisions of this order or terminate by operation
of law or by Presidential action, remain in effect until properly amended,
modified, or revoked pursuant to the authority conferred by this order or
any regulations promulgated under this order. Notwithstanding anything in
section 102 of this order, employees may carry out preexisting contractual
obligations entered into before April 12, 1989.
"(b) Financial reports filed in confidence (pursuant to the authority
of Executive Order No. 11222, 5 C.F.R. Part 735, and individual agency
regulations) shall continue to be held in confidence.
"Sec. 503. Definitions. For purposes of this order, the term:
"(a) 'Contracting officers and procurement officials' means all such
officers and officials as defined in the Office of Federal Procurement
Policy Act Amendments of 1988.
"(b) 'Employee' means any officer or employee of an agency, including
a special Government employee.
"(c) 'Agency' means any executive agency as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105,
including any executive department as defined in 5 U.S.C. 101, Government
corporation as defined in 5 U.S.C. 103, or an independent establishment
in the executive branch as defined in 5 U.S.C. 104 (other than the
General Accounting Office), and the United States Postal Service and
Postal Rate Commission.
"(d) 'Head of an agency' means, in the case of an agency headed by
more than one person, the chair or comparable member of such agency.
"(e) 'Special Government employee' means a special Government employee
as defined in 18 U.S.C. 202(a).
"Sec. 504. Judicial Review. This order is intended only to improve
the internal management of the executive branch and is not intended to
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at
law by a party against the United States, its agencies, its officers,
or any person.".
George Bush
The White House,
October 17, 1990.