1. OGE Releases Eight Advisory Opinions for 2006.

   The Office of Government Ethics released the first group of advisory opinions for 2006. They may be found at: http://www.usoge.gov/pages/advisory_opinions/2006opinions.html (link inactive)

2. OGE Updates its Compilation of Federal Ethics Laws.

   OGE updated its compilation of Federal ethics laws and posted it here. OGE included not only the laws within the jurisdiction of the ethics program, but also related statutes on which ethics officials are often called upon to provide advice to agency employees. The compilation includes all provisions signed into law through December 31, 2006.

3. DoD Contractor List for FY 06 Posted on DoD SOCO Website.

   We posted the list of all contractors who have contracts exceeding $25,000 with DoD during FY 06 on the DoD SOCO website here.

4. OGE Resolves Long-Standing Conundrum on Valuation of Admission to Skybox or Private Suites at Sporting Events.

   In DAEOGRAM DO-07-003, OGE published its guidance on establishing the value for a gift of admission to a skybox or private suite at a sporting event. The value is determined by adding the market value of the most expensive publicly available ticket to the event to the market value of the food, parking, and other tangible benefits provided in connection with the gift of attendance.

5. DoD Updates DoDD 1000.26E, "Support to Non-Federal Entities Authorized to Operate on DoD Installations".

   The new directive was updated on February 2, 2007, and establishes broad policy for the operation of non-Federal entities that are authorized to operate on DoD installations.

6. OGE Provides Guidance on Waivers Under 18 U.S.C. 208.

   In DAEOGRAM DO-07-006, OGE consolidated guidance on granting waivers of conflicts of interest in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 208. Be sure and add this to your waiver or conflicts of interest file.

7. IEC Journal Now Offers Automatic Notification.

   The IEC Journal is a blog run by the Interagency Ethics Council, an informal and unofficial group of ethics counselors in Federal agencies in Washington, D.C. The IEC Journal is used to notify its members (and others) of new guidance and developments in Federal ethics and standards of conduct. Many Federal ethics counselors check the blog daily to keep current. Now the Journal offers an automatic notification service (free) that sends subscribers an email whenever the Journal is updated. To subscribe, follow the instructions at "Receive new posts by email" here.

8. Two Former Government Employees At Fort Monmouth Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding the Government.

   Two former Government employees at Fort Monmouth were sentenced to Federal Prison in January after pleading guilty to making false claims against the Government. One former employee was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $862,710 in restitution. The former employee used his position to award contracts for computer-related services and approved invoices for work that was not performed. (See news release of U.S. Attorney, District of New Jersey, January 18, 2007).

DISCLAIMER: The purpose of this advisory is to disseminate relevant information and sources of general guidance, policy and law on Government Ethics issues to the Department of Defense ethics community. Advisories are not intended to be and should not be cited as authoritative guidance, DoD policy, or law.