United States Office of Government Ethics
1201 New York Avenue, NW., 
Suite 500
Washington, DC  20005-3917


        				August 9, 2006
					DO-06-023

MEMORANDUM

TO:		Designated Agency Ethics Officials 

FROM:		Robert I. Cusick
		Director

SUBJECT:	Ethics and Working with Contractors—Questions and Answers

	Government contracting processes long have influenced Federal ethics 
law and policy.  Concerns about conflicts of interest in Federal procurement not 
only have shaped many of our ethics laws, but have been a particular focus in the 
enforcement of those laws.  In our latest annual Conflict of Interest Prosecution 
Survey, for example, 75% of the prosecutions involved contract-related 
misconduct.  Office of Government Ethics (OGE) DAEOgram DO-06-022, 
http://www.usoge.gov/pages/laws_fedregs_stats_lrfs_files-othr_gdnc/pros_srvy_o5.html.  
Moreover, in recent years, the increasing use of contractors, particularly in 
the Federal work space, has raised questions about whether the ethics rules 
adequately protect the integrity of Government operations. OGE, Report to the 
President and Congressional Committees on the Conflict of Interest Laws 
Relating to Executive Branch Employment  38-39 (January 2006) at www.usoge.gov.  
At a minimum, the increased use of contractors has reinforced the need for Government 
employees to understand the ethical rules for interaction with contractors and 
their personnel.

	This guidance is intended to provide agency ethics officials with basic 
information about some common issues that arise in the procurement context.  
We decided to present the information in a Question and Answer format, with 
illustrative examples.  We hope this format will aid in your understanding of the 
ethical principles being discussed.

	As will be apparent below, this guidance pertains not only to employees 
serving in formal "procurement" or "contracting" positions.  Important ethical 
requirements—particularly the criminal conflict of interest laws and the OGE 
standards of conduct regulations—apply also to a wide range of other employees 
who have input in contracting processes or work with contractors and their 
personnel.  For example, the criminal conflict of interest laws, such as 18 U.S.C. 
§§ 207 and 208, can cover the conduct of high level officials who give instructions 
or recommendations to procurement officials.  Similarly, these laws apply to 
program staff who do not have any formal contracting responsibilities but 
nevertheless provide significant input on programmatic or performance issues 
concerning a contract.  Moreover, some of the issues discussed below, such as the 
gift questions, can affect employees who simply work alongside contractor 
personnel in a "mixed workplace."

	Finally, some of the Q&As refer to provisions of law beyond the ethics 
statutes and regulations within OGE's primary area of responsibility.  For 
example, several of the items below pertain to the Procurement Integrity Act, 
41 U.S.C. § 423.  These provisions are discussed mainly because they overlap 
with other legal requirements that are within OGE's jurisdiction, such as the 
criminal conflict of interest statutes in chapter 11 of title 18 of the United States 
Code, or the OGE standards of ethical conduct in chapter 2635 of title 5 of the 
Code of Federal Regulations.  One purpose of this memorandum is to emphasize 
that compliance with provisions such as the Procurement Integrity Act does not 
necessarily equate to compliance with related, but different, provisions in the 
ethics laws and regulations.

Attachment
http://www.usoge.gov/daeograms/dgr_files/2006/do06023a.text