COMDTINST 5730.3
6. STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT.
a. Reference (b) contains the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Standards of Official Conduct
that are directly applicable to all Executive Branch officers. Reference (c) sets forth the Coast
Guard standards of ethical conduct.
b. Typically, references (b) and (c) apply to all Coast Guard personnel at all times. However, 5
CFR 2635.104(c) sets forth applicability of the OGE rules for employees on detail to the
legislative branch as follows:
"(c) Details to the legislative or judicial branch. An employee on detail, including
a uniformed officer on assignment, from his employing agency to the legislative
or judicial branch for a period in excess of 30 calendar days shall be subject to the
ethical standards of the branch or entity to which detailed. For the duration of any
such detail or assignment, the employee shall not be subject to the provisions of
this part [5 CFR Part 2635], except this section, or, except as provided in
paragraph (d) of this section, to any supplemental agency regulations of his
employing agency, but shall remain subject to the conflict of interest prohibitions
in title 18 of the United States Code."
c. Thus, references (b) and (c) are not applicable to Coast Guard congressional detailees for
the duration of the detail. In lieu thereof, Coast Guard congressional detailees are subject
to the respective ethics rules for the legislative body to which they are assigned. In
particular, these rules govern the use of congressional detailees.
(1) Senate The Senate's governing ethics rules are the Senate Code of Official
Conduct contained in Senate Rules 34 through 43. The Senate Ethics Manual,
published by the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, provides a ``single source'' of
information about ethics-related provisions of the U. S. Constitution, Federal
statutes, and Senate Rules that regulate the operation of a Senate office and the
conduct of Senate Members, officers, and employees. The Senate Ethics Manual is
available at http://ethics.senate.gov/man/manual.html .
(2) House - The House's governing ethics rules are contained in the House Ethics
Manual published by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The
House Ethics Manual is available at http://www.house.gov/ethics/Ethicforward.html
(3) There are important differences between the OGE ethics rules and the rules for both
the House and the Senate on a broad range of regulated activities. Detailees shall
discuss applicable congressional rules, particularly those directly relating to details
and conflict of interest, and gift acceptance (including gifts of travel) rules, with
their supervising Member and/or staff prior to performing any duty as a
congressional detailee.
(4) Significant sanctions are available for violation of both the House and Senate ethic
rules.
3
Previous Page
