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By: FEDweek StaffIn an unusual letter, the Office of Government Ethics has told House leaders on defense issues that a planned public-private sector exchange program for the career development of DoD acquisition employees would create an “enhanced risk of conflicts of interest that are adverse to the public interest.”
The program envisioned in the House version of the annual defense authorization bill (HR-2500) would among other things have private sector companies continue to pay their employees who rotate into the government.
The OGE letter though said that those workers would have a “heightened risk of financial conflicts of interest arising from continued outside employment and divided loyalties from the continued payment of their salary by the private sector. Such risks are particularly troublesome in relation to the acquisition workforce, given the history of high-level and high-value procurement related scandals.”
The OGE said that the controls built into the measure “are not enough to secure public integrity.” Beyond conflict of interest issues, it adds, the arrangement raises concerns about violations of ethical policies against the use of nonpublic information and the receipt of gifts.
It recommended that any DoD entities interested in participating in such a program consult first with the OGE; that outside employees be explicitly prohibited from involvement in matters in which their employer has a financial interest; and that the status of federal employees who are rotated out be better defined, among other changes.
