Below are the hyperlinks to the Ethics Pledge waivers issued by the USDA Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) to Biden Administration appointees serving in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These waivers are issued by the DAEO in accordance with Executive Order 13989, titled: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel, and OGE Legal Advisory LA-21-04 - PDF, titled: Waiver Authority and Making Waivers Public under Section 3 of Executive Order 13989, “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel.” Pursuant to Section 3 of Executive Order 13989, a limited waiver of the requirements of Section 1, Paragraph 2 of the Executive Order has been issued for the individual(s) listed below. The limited waiver is in the public interest to enable the individual(s) listed below to effectively carry out their respective official duties.
FD Online
Note: The Ethics Pledge does not apply to all Federal employees, but specifically to Biden Administration political appointees appointed on or after January 20, 2021. Also note that the restrictions the video discusses regarding matters involving, or of interest to, former employers, do not apply if your former employer was another Federal government agency.
Employees of: |
Contact: |
Farm Production and Conservation Mission Area (FSA, NRCS, RMA, and FPAC Business Center) |
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Food,Nutrition and ConsumerService Mission Area(FNS,CNPP) |
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Food Safety Mission Area (FSIS) |
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Marketing and Regulatory Programs Mission Area (AMS, APHIS & GIPSA) |
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Natural Resources and Environment Mission Area (USFS) |
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Research, Education and Economics Mission Area (ARS,NIFA,ERS,NASS) |
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Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Mission Area(FAS) |
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Rural Development(RBCS, RHS & RUS) |
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Departmental Management, Staff Offices, Filers of Public Financial Disclosure Reports and Political Appointees |
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Section 508 Requests |
As a new groundbreaking innovation in the Federal government, USDA's Annual Ethics training is now in an engaging game format that features space travel, agriculture, and you! USDA and NASA have teamed up to create this interactive simulation where your knowledge of the Ethics rules will help you succeed in the game as you help lead a diverse team working against the clock to save USDA's automated greenhouse on the Moon. The Ethics Game is randomized, so the challenges will be different each time you play the game. USDA employees can locate this game on AgLearn by searching "OGC-Ethics-2021" in the AgLearn search feature. For those who do not work at USDA, we have made the Ethics Game accessible to everyone by posting it publicly on USDA's webpage (see below). Even if you are not a Federal employee, we invite you to try this new innovative and fun way to learn about the Federal Ethics rules and the important work of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and NASA. [Disclaimer: While USDA does not yet have a greenhouse on the Moon, the issue of food sustainability will be an issue for astronauts and mission crews as humans travel to celestial bodies in the future.]
USDA-NASA Ethics Training GameOn April 2, 2021, The US Office of Government Ethics highlighted Secretary Vilsack's memorandum on ethical conduct as an example of "Leadership in action":
OGE asks senior executive branch officials to demonstrate ethical leadership by:
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) April 1, 2021
• Meeting their individual ethics commitments
• Using their leadership platform to promote ethics in government
• Creating and supporting a strong ethics program in their agencies
Read more here: https://t.co/XTZcTEdjXq
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) April 1, 2021
OGE highlights agency leaders who are working to build ethical cultures:
Leadership in action: https://t.co/GJpqUXlqeN pic.twitter.com/SmF3WsCWDV
— U.S. OGE (@OfficeGovEthics) April 1, 2021
New Memo from Secretary Vilsack: "Ethical Conduct: Our Commitment to Restoring and Maintaining the Public's Trust in Government"