Policy
Directive
Effective Date: September 01, 2020
Expiration Date: September 01, 2025
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NASA Policy Directive |
NPD 1900.9F Effective Date: September 01, 2020 Expiration Date: September 01, 2025 |
This directive establishes policy for the Agency's Ethics Program, which strives to ensure that Agency activities are conducted to the highest standards of integrity and that NASA employees comply with Federal and Agency ethics laws, regulations, Executive Orders, and directives.
a. This directive is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component Facilities, and Technical and Service Support Centers.
b. In this directive, all mandatory actions (i.e., requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term "shall." The terms "may" or "can" denote discretionary privilege or permission; "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended but not required; "will" denotes expected outcome; and "are/is" denotes descriptive material.
c. In this directive, all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.
a. Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. app. §§ 101-111, 401-408, 501-505, as amended, including the provisions under the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act), Pub. L. 112-105, 126 Stat. 291, (2012) that amended the Ethics in Government Act.
b. Crimes and Criminal Procedure, 18 U.S.C. §§ 201-209, 216.
c. National Aeronautics and Space Act, 51 U.S.C. § 20113.
d. Principles of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees, EO 12674, 3 CFR 215 (1989 Comp.), as amended by EO 12731, 3 CFR 306 (1990 Comp.).
e. Government Ethics, 5 CFR Subchapter B (includes pts. 2634-38, 2640, and 2641).
f. Supplemental standards of ethical conduct for employees of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 5 CFR pt. 6901.
a. Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, Qualified Trusts, and Certificates of Divestiture, 5 CFR pt. 2634.
b. Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 CFR pt. 2635.
c. NPR 1900.3, Ethics Program Management.
d. Request to Inspect or Receive Copies of OGE Form 278, SF 278s or Other Covered Records, Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Form 201.
e. Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 278e.
f. Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 450.
a. The NASA Administrator is responsible for:
(1) Providing leadership and sufficient resources to establish, maintain, and execute NASA's ethics program.
(2) Performing ethics-related duties not delegated to the General Counsel or other Agency officials.
b. The NASA General Counsel is responsible for:
(1) Serving as the Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO).
(2) Appointing an Agency Counsel for Ethics who will serve as the Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official (ADAEO).
(3) Coordinating and managing the ethics program, including, but not limited to, acting as a liaison to the Office of Government Ethics, reviewing public and confidential financial disclosure reports and granting extensions in accordance with Executive Branch Financial Disclosure, Qualified Trusts, and Certificates of Divestiture, 5 CFR pt. 2634, and NPR 1900.3, Ethics Program Management, initiating and maintaining ethics counseling and training programs, and monitoring administrative actions and sanctions. The General Counsel is also responsible for final action on requests for waiver of fees due to late filing of Public Financial Disclosure Reports.
4) Serving as an Agency designee for Headquarters employees or for matters affecting employees Agency-wide for purposes of Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, 5 CFR pt. 2635.
c. The ADAEO is responsible for:
(1) Serving as the Agency's lead subject matter expert in the substantive law of ethics.
2) Serving in an acting capacity in the absence of the DAEO and managing the ethics program on behalf of the DAEO.
(3) Serving as chair of a Standing Ethics Committee which reports to the DAEO and is composed of all Center Chief Counsels or their designated representatives.
(4) Appointing and leading ethics officials from the staff of the General Law Practice Group as necessary to carry out the ethics program.
(5) Serving as an Agency designee for Headquarters employees or for matters affecting employees Agency-wide for purposes of 5 CFR pt. 2635.
d. NASA Center Directors (including the Executive Director of the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) and the Director of the NASA Management Office (NMO)) are responsible for providing leadership and sufficient resources to establish, maintain, and execute Center ethics programs in compliance with the NASA ethics program.
e. Center Chief Counsel (including counsel to the NSSC, NMO, and Office of the Inspector General (OIG)) are responsible for:
(1) Coordinating and managing the Center ethics programs. Center Chief Counsel may appoint ethics officials as necessary to execute Center ethics programs in accordance with the NASA ethics program.
(2) Reviewing Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 278e, and Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE Form 450, and granting extensions for Center personnel, in accordance with 5 CFR pt. 2634 and NPR 1900.3.
(3) Ensuring post-Government employment counseling is available for Center personnel who request, or are required, to complete counseling.
(4) Acting as Agency designees for Center employees for purposes of 5 CFR pt. 2635.
(5) Ensuring Headquarters involvement in ethics actions in accordance with the appropriate level of Headquarters involvement, as specified in NPR 1900.3.
(6) Participating as members of the Standing Ethics Committee or designating representatives to do so.
(7) Preparing the foundational ethics training materials as set forth in NPR 1900.3.
f. The NSSC is responsible for:
(1) Maintaining the Ethics Program Tracking System (EPTS) and providing system support to both system users and ethics officials.
(2) Maintaining and updating master lists of personnel who are required to file an OGE Form 278e or OGE Form 450 and ensuring that the Federal Personnel Payroll System (FPPS) Financial Disclosure Statement field reflects the requirement to file.
(3) Notifying all personnel required to file financial disclosure reports of the requirement to file and upcoming filing deadlines (including initial, annual, termination, and transaction reports).
(4) Retaining all completed OGE Form 278es and OGE Form 450s.
(5) Providing copies of OGE Form 201 to individuals requesting access to or copies of OGE Form 278e records and providing a timely response to those individuals as directed by the ADAEO.
(6) Identifying and notifying personnel who have failed to file required financial disclosure reports in coordination with Center Chief Counsel and the ADAEO.
(7) Notifying personnel required to perform annual ethics training and tracking completion within EPTS.
g. Human Resources Directors are responsible for:
(1) Identifying employees required to file OGE Form 278e and OGE Form 450 and ensuring that the NSSC is notified.
(2) Managing the employee check-out process to ensure that:
(a) All OGE 278e filers are notified of the requirement to file a termination report.
(b) Employees receive post-Government employment guidance as required by paragraph 5.j.(7) of this directive.
h. Supervisors are responsible for:
(1) Identifying new personnel subject to filing financial disclosure forms (OGE 450 or OGE 278e) and ensuring employee position descriptions indicate the requirement to file.
(2) Updating the list of filers under their responsibility on an annual basis and providing the updates to the NSSC.
i. Advisory Committee Executive Directors and Secretaries are responsible for:
(1) performing an intermediate review of all financial disclosure reports for Special Government Employees (SGEs) assigned to their committees.
(2) Ensuring that all SGEs receive ethics training on an annual calendar year basis.
j. All NASA employees, including SGEs and assignees/detailees under Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) agreements, are responsible for:
(1) Complying with all applicable ethics laws, regulations, Executive Orders, and other guidance, and avoiding even the appearance of impropriety.
(2) If identified as an employee required to file a new entrant, annual, transaction, termination OGE Form 278e or OGE Form 450, complying with reporting instructions, and filing an accurate, complete, and timely report. All SGEs and IPAs are responsible for filing financial disclosure forms.
(3) Providing an accurate, complete, and timely response to requests for additional information from reviewers, normally within 15 days of the request.
(4) Promptly paying any assessed late filing fee for failure to timely file an OGE Form 278e.
(5) Completing annual and other periodic ethics training as required.
(6) Recusing themselves if there is a conflict of interest between their personal financial interests and their official work duties. In addition, pursuant to the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act), Pub. L. 112-105, 126 Stat. 291, (2012), OGE 278e filers will notify the ADAEO at Headquarters or the appropriate Center Chief Counsel of any negotiation for, or agreement of, future employment or compensation with a non-Federal entity within three business days after commencement of the negotiation or agreement.
(7) The following employees are required to complete post-Government employment counseling prior to leaving service with NASA:
(a) SES.
(b) GS-15.
(c) Schedule C.
(d) SL, ST, detailee under the IPA agreements, NEX, consultant, or other expert employees.
(e) Any other category of employee as directed by the DAEO, ADAEO, or Center Chief Counsel.
The Associate Administrator and Chief of Staff are delegated authority to be Agency designees for Agency-wide matters in accordance with section 1.8 of NPR 1900.3.
None.
NPD 1900.9E, Ethics Program Management, dated October 27, 2010.
This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.