November 29, 1994
DO-94-043
MEMORANDUM
TO: Designated Agency Ethics Officials, General Counsels
and Inspectors General
FROM: Stephen D. Potts
Director
SUBJECT: Program Plan of Agency Reviews for Calendar Year 1995
Attached for your information is the program plan of agency
ethics reviews scheduled by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE)
for calendar year 1995. This is to alert you to our objectives for
this year, to the elements we will be reviewing, and to afford you
the opportunity to meet with OGE staff to discuss this review
before it occurs. It also allows you time to make revisions to
your program prior to our review. The program plan may be of some
assistance as you address budget issues within your agency.
Our focus this year will be on looking at how well new
components of the program are being administered, including the
standards of conduct, the confidential financial disclosure system,
the GSA travel reimbursement program and issues relating to agency
fund-raising practices. We will examine what problems, if any,
agencies are having in implementing their training plans. We will
also focus on separate gift-acceptance authorities given to
agencies by various statutes.
We will attempt as much as possible to follow the schedule set
forth in the attachment. However, as past experience has shown,
the schedule may slip due to complex issues that occur during
reviews, staffing problems, or higher priority work within OGE. If
reviews from the first quarter are cancelled, we will pull up
agencies from later quarters and review them earlier than
anticipated. Several agencies that we were not able to review in
1994 are again included in this plan for 1995.
_______________________________________________________________________
Designated Agency Ethics Officials,
General Counsels and Inspectors General
Page 2
OGE also will perform two single issue reviews in 1995. The
first review will examine the system by which agencies inform OGE
of referrals to the Department of Justice of violations of the
criminal conflict-of-interest statutes. As part of this review we
will look at agency systems for taking administrative action when
the Department of Justice declines prosecution on such cases. We
will also perform a single issue review of the ethics agreement
system for Presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate.
Our usual practice once a review has been completed is to send
a report to the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) with
recommendations for improving the program. We ask the DAEO to
respond to our recommendations within 60 days as to the actions he
or she has taken or plans to take. We also send a copy of the
report to the agency head with a transmittal letter. In this
letter we will highlight our major concerns about the program, if
any, especially if we believe more support or staffing is needed
for the program.
We do not routinely send our reports to Congress, although
about twice a year a Congressional committee will ask for a copy of
a report for an agency under its jurisdiction. These requests are
granted and the agency DAEO is informed that we have received such
a request. Past experience has shown that these requests normally
are made a year or more after the review has been finished.
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.
The agency DAEO will be contacted by phone approximately one
month prior to our entrance into the agency. Should there be a
serious reason as to why you cannot receive us at that time, please
call Ed Pratt, Chief, Program Review Division, at (202) 523-5757,
ext. 1115, to discuss rescheduling. Should you wish more
information about the review process, or wish to discuss your
agency's program prior to the review, please call the audit manager
listed in the attached program plan who is responsible for your
agency. Irvin Williams (ext. 1150) and Gerald Chaffinch
(ext. 1157) may also be reached at the number listed above. Should
you wish, they will schedule a time to meet with you to discuss our
review procedures, our expectations, and any concerns you may have.
_______________________________________________________________________
Designated Agency Ethics Officials,
General Counsels and Inspectors General
Page 3
In the past we have found the review process to operate very
smoothly. In many instances agencies use our report to get more
support, staffing and funding for the ethics program. Please alert
us to problems you may have in this regard, as such problems will
be brought to the attention of the agency head.
We hope that this answers some of your questions concerning
our program review process. Should you have any questions or need
assistance other than that listed above, please call
Jack Covaleski, Associate Director for Program Assistance and
Review, at 202-523-5757, ext. 1120.
Attachment
_______________________________________________________________________
OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS
1995 PROGRAM PLAN OF AGENCY REVIEWS
_______________________________________________________________________
PROGRAM REVIEW SCHEDULE
JANUARY - MARCH 1995
AUDIT MANAGER - IRVIN WILLIAMS
1. U.S Agency for International Development
2. Department of the Interior
--Office of the Secretary
--National Park Service
--National Biological Survey
3. Reviews in the Chicago Region
--Railroad Retirement Board
--Rock Island Arsenal (Rock Island, IL)
4. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board
5. Letterkenny Army Depot (Chambersburg, PA)
AUDIT MANAGER - GERALD CHAFFINCH
1. Department of State
2. Consumer Product Safety Commission
--include New York and Chicago Regional Offices
3. On-Site Inspection Agency (DOD)
4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
5. Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard (Honolulu, HI)
SINGLE ISSUE REVIEWS
1. Review to examine the system by which agencies inform OGE of
referrals to the Department of Justice of violations of the
criminal conflict-of-interest statutes. As part of this review we
will look at agency systems for taking administrative action when
the Department of Justice declines prosecution on such cases.
(Review to be performed by the Program Review Division)
2. Review of the ethics agreement system for Presidential
appointees confirmed by the Senate. (Review to be performed by the
Program Assistance Division.)
_______________________________________________________________________
PROGRAM REVIEW SCHEDULE
APRIL - JUNE 1995
AUDIT MANAGER - IRVIN WILLIAMS
1. Drug Enforcement Administration
--Include one regional office to be named
2. Immigration and Naturalization Service
--Include one regional office to be named
3. Navy Weapons Support Center (Crane, IN)
4. McClellan Air Force Base (Sacramento, CA)
5. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations
6. Appalachian Regional Commission
AUDIT MANAGER - GERALD CHAFFINCH
1. U.S. Enrichment Corporation
2. Federal Transit Administration (Transportation)
--Include Denver Regional Office
3. Naval Resale and Services Support Office (New York)
4. Fort Benning (Columbus, GA)
5. Federal Trade Commission
6. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Labor)
--Include Atlanta and Boston Regional Offices
_______________________________________________________________________
PROGRAM REVIEW SCHEDULE
JULY - SEPTEMBER 1995
AUDIT MANAGER - IRVIN WILLIAMS
1. Department of Commerce
--Office of Technology Policy
--National Institute of Standards and Technology
2. Trade and Development Agency
3. Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation (Flagstaff, AZ)
4. Joint Chiefs of Staff (including Joint Staff) (DOD)
5. National Security Agency
6. Naval Investigative Service
AUDIT MANAGER - GERALD CHAFFINCH
1. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
--Include Dallas Regional Office
2. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (Justice)
3. Naval Air Station (Pensacola, FL)
4. Food and Consumer Service (Agriculture)
5. Fort Bragg (Fayetteville, NC)
6. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
_______________________________________________________________________
PROGRAM REVIEW SCHEDULE
OCTOBER - DECEMBER 1995
AUDIT MANAGER - IRVIN WILLIAMS
1. St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
2. Defense Base Closure Commission
3. Delaware River Basin Commission
4. Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation
5. Food Safety and Inspection Service (Agriculture)
AUDIT MANAGER - GERALD CHAFFINCH
1. Social Security Administration
--include two regional offices to be named
2. Financial Management Service (Treasury)
3. Naval Weapons Center (China Lake, CA)
4. Board for International Broadcasting
5. Defense Legal Services Agency (DOD)