§ 401. Establishment; appointment of Director

(a) There is established an executive agency to be known as the Office of Government Ethics.

(b) There shall be at the head of the Office of Government Ethics a Director (hereinafter referred to as the “Director”), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Effective with respect to any individual appointed or reappointed by the President as Director on or after October 1, 1983, the term of service of the Director shall be five years.

(c) The Director may—

(1) appoint officers and employees, including attorneys, in accordance with chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code; and

(2) contract for financial and administrative services (including those related to budget and accounting, financial reporting, personnel, and procurement) with the General Services Administration, or such other Federal agency as the Director determines appropriate, for which payment shall be made in advance, or by reimbursement, from funds of the Office of Government Ethics in such amounts as may be agreed upon by the Director and the head of the agency providing such services.

Contract authority under paragraph (2) shall be effective for any fiscal year only to the extent that appropriations are available for that purpose.

(Pub. L. 95–521, title IV, § 401, Oct. 26, 1978, 92 Stat. 1862; Pub. L. 98–150, § 2, Nov. 11, 1983, 97 Stat. 959; Pub. L. 100–598, § 3, Nov. 3, 1988, 102 Stat. 3031; Pub. L. 104–179, § 4(b)(2)(A), Aug. 6, 1996, 110 Stat. 1567.)

Amendments

Amendments

1996—Pub. L. 104–179 substituted “Establishment; appointment of Director” for “Office of Government Ethics” in section catchline.

1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–598, § 3(a), substituted “an executive agency to be known as” for “in the Office of Personnel Management an office to be known as”.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–598, § 3(b), added subsec. (c).

1983—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 98–150 inserted provision that, effective with respect to any individual appointed or reappointed by the President as Director on or after Oct. 1, 1983, the term of service of the Director shall be five years.

Effective Date Of Amendment

Effective Date of 1988 Amendment

Pub. L. 100–598, § 10, Nov. 3, 1988, 102 Stat. 3035, provided that:

“(a) In General.—Except as provided in subsection (b), the amendments made by this Act [enacting section 408 of Pub. L. 95–521, set out in this Appendix, and amending sections 401 to 403, 405, and 407 of Pub. L. 95–521, set out in this Appendix, and sections 5314 and 5316 of this title] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 3, 1988].

“(b) Exception.—The amendments made by section 3 [amending section 401 of Pub. L. 95–521, set out in this Appendix] shall take effect on October 1, 1989.”

Effective Date of 1983 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 98–150 effective Oct. 1, 1983, see section 13 of Pub. L. 98–150 set out as a note under section 102 of this Appendix.