Department of Defense	March 3, 2000
Office of General Counsel	Number 00-01
Standards of Conduct Office

1.  Guidance for Special Government Employees.

      The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) published an exhaustive yet surprisingly readable summary of the ethical requirements applicable to special Government employees. See OGE memo DO-00-003 of February 15, 2000. The summary may be downloaded from the OGE website at http://www.usoge.gov/daeogram/2000/do00003a.pdf.

      The guidance is very valuable for organizations that have consultants, advisors, and other special Government employees. I recommend that you provide copies of it to all assigned special Government employees so they understand applicable restrictions and have a handy reference guide.

2.  DoD Contractor List

      The list of businesses that held contracts with DoD during FY 99 that exceeded $25,000 is now posted in the Ethics Resource Library on our website. It may be downloaded in WordPerfect or MSWord.

3.  Appellate Court Reviews 18 U.S.C. 205

      In a case decided February 8, 2000, by the U.S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Circuit), the court found that an EPA employee who made uncompensated communications on behalf of public interest groups in response to a request for public comment by another agency (in which he was not employed) did not constitute a communication to the government on a "particular matter" that is prohibited by 18 U.S.C. 205.

      The opinion, one of only a few which focuses on section 205, includes extensive analysis of the statute's purpose and legislative history. The opinion concludes that Congress focused on direct conflicts of interest, misuse of confidential government information, and abuse of position when fashioning conflicts of interest statutes such as 18 U.S.C. 205. (Van Ee v. EPA and OGE, No. 99-5147 (D.C. Cir.. Feb 8, 2000))

      EPA and OGE have not indicated if they intend to further contest this case. In the meantime, add this case to your files since it contains a treasure trove to legislative history and analysis.

4.  Materials for Annual Ethics Training

      Slides and script for 2000 Annual Ethics Training are now on our website on the "Ethics Training Materials" page. This year's topic is "Misuse of Government Office" and focuses on problems most commonly encountered by employees, such as endorsement of private organizations, off-duty activities and employment, fundraising in the workplace, improper use of official title, and misuse of Government equipment, time, and resources. The script is in MSWord and WordPerfect. The slides consist of 65 PowerPoint slides.

      This training is appropriate for SF 278 and Form 450 filers. The format, which poses hypothetical situations, encourages audience participation and follow-up discussions on actual issues arising in the local workplace. Instructors should review the training package and tailor it to meet local concerns. We will not be providing written materials for Form 450 filers, since DoD filers must attend annual briefings in 2000.

      In addition to the slides and script, we will offer several computer-assisted training programs shortly. These will be available for organizations that permit SF 278 filers and Form 450 filers to complete their annual training requirement through computer-assisted training.

5.  DoD Regulations on Use of Travel Charge Card

      On February 18, 2000, the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) issued regulations in the DoD Financial Management Regulation (DoD 7000.14-4) that implements the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998 (TTRA), which was implemented by the General Service Administration in Amendment 90 to the Federal Travel Regulation. The new regulation establishes the mandatory use of the travel charge card for all expenses arising from official government travel, except those exempted by the regulation. These regulations apply to travel payments for travel beginning after February 29, 2000. They can be found at http://www.dtic.mil/comptroller/travel.html.

6.  OGE Releases Training Regulation Amendments

      On February 14, 2000, OGE published amendments to the training regulations found in 5 C.F.R. 2638, Subpart G. The interim regulation becomes effective on March 15, 2000. The new regulation rewrites the previous regulation using plain English, and clarifies that a qualified instructor need not be physically present at the training site during annual ethics training for SF 278 filers, but must be immediately available by electronic means. Comments on the interim regulation are due to OGE by May 15, 2000. The regulation may be found at http://www.usoge.gov/fedreg/65fr7275.pdf.

7.  OGE Reissues Guidance on 18 U.S.C. 207 (Post-Employment Restrictions)

      On February 17, 2000, OGE reissued its interpretation of the restrictions of 18 U.S.C. 207 involving post-government service employment. The summary should be very useful for both departing employees and ethics officials who counsel departing employees. The guidance may be found at http://www.usoge.gov/daeogram/2000/do00006a.pdf.

8.  Top 100 Defense Contractors

      The names of the 100 biggest DoD contractors for FY 99 can be found at http://web1.whs.osd.mil/diorhome.htm. Click on "procurement," then "procurement statistics."