link to page 2 
April 13, 2017
Office of Government Ethics: A Primer
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521, 92
Codified in Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations
Stat. 1862) created the Office of Government Ethics (OGE)
(C.F.R.), these regulations cover both internal OGE
to provide “overall direction of executive branch policies
administration and general executive branch ethics issues,
related to preventing conflicts of interests on the part of
including the code of conduct for the executive branch,
officers and employees of any executive [branch] agency”
interpretation of ethics-related civil and criminal law, the
(5 U.S.C. appendix 402(a)). Originally created within the
implementation of financial disclosure requirements, and
Office of Personnel Management (OPM), today OGE is an
the implementation of ethics programs in executive
independent agency in the executive branch that provides
agencies. These regulations are:
guidance, training, and administrative support to agency
and department ethics offices on the wide range of ethics,
OGE Internal Organization and Operation Regulations
financial disclosure, and conflict of interest provisions of
federal law and executive orders.
5 C.F.R. §2600 – Organization and Functions of the
Office of Government Ethics;
“A central office, such as the Office of Government
5 C.F.R. §2601 – Implementation of Office of
Ethics, would have the overall responsibility for
Government Ethics Statutory Gift Acceptance
informing employees of their obligations with regard
Authority;
to conflict of interest avoidance and coordinate the
enforcement of these laws, rules, and regulations
5 C.F.R. §2606 – Privacy Act Rules;
throughout the executive branch...” – Sen. Abraham
Ribicoff, Congressional Record, June 27, 1977, p. 20957.
5 C.F.R. §2608 – Testimony by OGE Employees
Organization
Relating to Official Information and Production of
Official Records in Legal Proceedings; and
OGE is run by its Director, who is appointed by the
President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to a
5 C.F.R. §2610 – Implementation of Equal Access to
five-year term. The current OGE Director, Walter M.
Justice Act.
Shaub, Jr., was appointed by President Barack Obama on
January 8 and was sworn in on January 9, 2013. His term
Executive Branch Ethics Program Regulations
will expire in 2018. In addition to the Director, OGE is
organized into four divisions that are designed to carry out
5 C.F.R. §2634 – Executive Branch Financial
the agency’s statutory functions. Figure 1 shows the
Disclosure, Qualified Trusts, and Certificates of
current organization chart as presented in OGE’s FY2014-
Investiture;
2018 Strategic Plan.
Functions
5 C.F.R. §2635 – Standards of Ethical Conduct for
Employees of the Executive Branch;
OGE provides oversight to more than 4,500 designated
agency ethics officials (DAEOs) in over 130 executive
5 C.F.R. §2636 – Limitations on Outside Earned
branch agencies. As part of this role, OGE works to ensure
Income, Employment and Affiliations for Certain
that conflicts of interest are mitigated and that the integrity
Noncareer Employees;
of the executive branch and its employees is maintained. To
conduct its mission, OGE’s functions can be divided into
5 C.F.R. §2638 – Executive Branch Ethics Program;
four broad categories: rules and regulations, advice,
education, and public financial disclosure filing.
5 C.F.R. §2640 – Interpretation, Exemptions, Waiver
Additionally, the OGE aids the President-elect, President,
Guidance Concerning 18 U.S.C. 208 (Acts Affecting a
and Senate in their work on confirming presidential
Personal Financial Interest); and
nominations.
Rules and Regulations
5 C.F.R. §2641 – Post-Employment Conflict of Interest
Restrictions.
To complete its statutory mission, the OGE periodically
issues rules and regulations to guide agency ethics officers.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
link to page 2 
Office of Government Ethics: A Primer
Figure 1. Office of Government Ethics Organization Chart
Source: Depicted in U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Strategic Plan Fiscal Year 2014 – Fiscal Year 2018, December 1, 2014.
Advice
personnel. Financial disclosure is designed to identify and
OGE provides advice to designated agency ethics officers
prevent potential conflicts of interest by reviewing finances
in at least three main categories: legal advisories, education
for both current and potential employees. Two financial
advisories, and program management advisories. Legal
disclosure forms exist: OGE Form 278, for public
advisories are guidance to DAEOs on substantive ethics
disclosure by presidential appointees and certain executive
issues. Education advisories contain guidance on training
branch employees as determined by salary; and OGE Form
and other education-related matters. Program management
450, for confidential disclosure by other executive branch
advisories provide information for DAEOs on managing
employees. The confidential filings are kept on file by each
ethics programs within executive branch agencies.
agency. More information about financial disclosure,
Advisories are available on the OGE website at
including copies of the forms, can be found on OGE’s
https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/All%20Advisories.
website at https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/
Figure 2 shows the general relationship between the OGE,
Financial+Disclosure/.
agency ethics officials, and executive branch employees.
Presidential Nominations
Figure 2. OGE and the Executive Branch Ethics
In addition to public and confidential financial disclosure
Community
forms, OGE also provides assistance to the President-elect,
the President, and the Senate during the nomination and
confirmation process for advice and consent positions. OGE
works with the President-elect’s transition team or the
White House to review nominee financial disclosure
statements, identify possible conflicts of interest, and
propose remedies to resolve those conflicts, when
appropriate. Ethics agreements and public financial
disclosure filing for certain individual positions listed in 5
U.S.C. §5312 (Level I of the Executive Schedule (ES)) and
5 U.S.C. §5313 (Level II of the ES) may be found on the
OGE website at https://www.oge.gov/Web/OGE.nsf/
Presidential+Appointee+&+Nominee+Records.
Source: U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Strategic Plan Fiscal Year
Funding
2014 – Fiscal Year 2018, December 1, 2014.
In FY2016, OGE received $16 million in appropriations in
the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG)
Education
appropriations bill, which was included in Division E of the
OGE provides training and education opportunities to
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113). For
DAEOs on an ongoing basis. These programs and
FY2017, OGE has requested $16 million in appropriations.
documents include job aids, quick reference guides, and
Oversight of OGE is conducted by the House Oversight and
posters for DAEOs to use within their agencies.
Government Reform Committee; the House Judiciary
Additionally, OGE has created training tools and templates
Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution; and the
for use by DAEOs (https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/
Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs
Resources/Ethics+Training+Tools+and+Templates) and
Committee.
holds periodic ethics training and conferences to provide
educational and networking opportunities to DAEOs.
Jacob R. Straus, Specialist on the Congress
Financial Disclosure
IF10634
OGE is responsible for implementing the public and
confidential financial disclosure forms for executive branch
https://crsreports.congress.gov
Office of Government Ethics: A Primer
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10634 · VERSION 2 · NEW