The State of Government Ethics

The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) released the results from its annual agency ethics program questionnaire for 2020.

OGE is responsible for overseeing the standards for ethical conduct for 2.7 million employees in over 130 executive branch agencies and the White House and overseeing the government’s financial disclosure system that reaches more than 26,000 public and more than 380,000 confidential financial disclosure report filers.

137 of 140 agencies responded using Integrity, OGE’s executive branch-wide electronic filing system for at least some of their disclosures.  Three agencies did not complete the OGE questionnaire: the White House office (WHO), the National Security Council (NSC), and the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).

According to OGE, most (87%) Designated Agency Ethics Officials (DAEO) were career employees, but 79% of DAEOs spent less than 25% of their time on ethics.

A workforce of over 7,800 supports the ethics program across the country. For most of those employees (89%), ethics duties were only a component of their responsibilities, contributing anywhere from one to 30 hours per week.  Overall 2,358 full-time-equivalent positions supported the ethics program across the executive branch.

OGE’s survey asked agencies about challenges carrying out the ethics program. Of the 137 reporting agencies, 57 (42%) reported needing more resources to support the program, including in the areas of human resources and information technology.

The report found agencies doing a good job ensuring coordination between HR and ethics officials within required timelines. 95% of agencies reported that HR notified the DAEO of appointments to public financial disclosure positions, 91% of agencies reported that HR notified the DAEO of appointments to confidential financial disclosure positions, and 92% of agencies reported that HR notified the DAEO of terminations from public financial disclosure positions.

Almost all employees who are required to file public financial disclosures and confidential financial disclosures are doing so, with OGE reporting 99% or higher compliance in both categories.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented challenges for the ethics program, particularly for the agencies reliant on paper forms for their confidential financial disclosure system. Employees did not always have the needed printers and scanners at home. Documents mailed before the pandemic were sometimes inaccessible within closed offices, delaying review and certification in some cases.

OGE reported the top three areas of ethics guidance sought by employees: 1) financial disclosure reporting, 2) outside employment/activities, and 3) gift acceptance. Senior officials filed 2,050 notifications regarding negotiations for employment.

Thirty-four agencies reported making 752 disciplinary actions based wholly or in part upon violations of the Standards of Conduct. Over half (55%) of those disciplinary actions involved misuse of position. OGE reported twelve agencies taking 17 disciplinary actions based wholly or in part upon violations of criminal or civil statutes, including just over half (53%) for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 208, which prohibits taking official action that can affect a personal interest.  Overall, twenty-two agencies reported 44 total referrals to the Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning potential violations of the criminal conflict of interest statues.

OGE is soliciting public feedback on the agency’s FY 2022-2026 strategic plan. The request for comment period is open through July 22, 2021.