United States Office of Government Ethics

The United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is a separate agency within the executive branch of the U.S. Federal Government which is responsible for directing executive branch policies relating to the prevention of conflicts of interest on the part of Federal executive branch officers and employees. Primary duties include establishing the executive branch standards of conduct; issuing rules and regulations interpreting the criminal conflict of interest restrictions; establishing the framework for the public and confidential financial disclosure systems for executive branch employees; developing training and education programs for use by executive branch ethics officials and employees; and setting the requirements for, supporting, and reviewing individual agency ethics programs to ensure they are functioning properly.

The Director of OGE is appointed by the President after confirmation by the U.S. Senate. The Director of OGE serves a five-year term, thereby overlapping presidential terms, and is subject to no term limit. The rest of the OGE employees are career civil servants. Created by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, OGE separated from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in 1989 pursuant to reform legislation.

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