**GOVERNMENT ETHICS**

**ACKNOWLEDGEMENT**

**I acknowledge that I have viewed "Ethics Most Wanted": Residents
Version, which is available at http:/www.va.gov/oaa/videos.asp, or that
I have read the attached "Ethics: Ethics Most Wanted" handout.**

***Print Full Name:***

***Signature:***

***Date:
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**Ethics: Ethics Most Wanted Handout**

**Jane Walsh (Narrator):** THESE ARE THE FACES OF ETHICS MOST WANTED
TONIGHT. THESE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES HAVE CROSSED THE LINE, THE LINE
BETWEEN ETHICAL BEHAVIOR AND A LAND OF DECEPTION AND GUILT. AND WHEN YOU
CROSS THAT LINE ONCE, YOU BEGIN THAT TRIP DOWN A SLIPPERY SLOPE, TO A
PLACE WHERE NO VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEE SHOULD EVER BE FOUND.

I'M JANE WALSH. WELCOME TO ETHICS MOST WANTED. SOME VIOLATIONS ARE
COMMITTED OUT OF LOVE, HATE, OR PASSION. BUT OTHERS ARE COMMITTED OUT OF
GREED \-- AND IGNORANCE. MISTER JIM MILES HAD PLENTY OF BOTH.

**Company Rep:** I knew Jim from his work at Veterans Affairs. He was
just the kind of person we wanted at our conference in Trouble,
Oklahoma.

**Mr. Miles:** Thank you very much. I'm glad you guys brought me down
here. I've got a brother who lives just on the edge of Trouble and he
happened to have an extra ticket to tomorrow's game.

**Company Rep:** Great. Why don't you take him out to dinner on the way
to the game? And use these gift certificates.

**Narrator:** JIM MILES WAS ALSO GIVEN A FREE BRIEFCASE. BUT TAKING
THESE THINGS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING OF HIS MISTAKES.

**The scene: Jim Miles and a company representative are having dinner in
a nice restaurant.**

**Mr. Miles:** You guys have done so much for me already.

**Company Rep:** C'mon, what're you talking about? It's nothing.

**Mr. Miles:** Flying me in, paying for my hotel room. You didn't have
to do that. But while I'm here, I'll get a chance to look at that new
high-speed server you're selling.

**Company Rep:** He knew what it was. It was the annual customer
training conference for my company. We do it all the time. Dinner for
two is part of the standard package. So is the free briefcase. It's a
great way to thank our best customers and get future business.

**Narrator:** BUT MR. MILES WOULDN'T BE DOING BUSINESS WITH ANYONE FOR
LONG.

**The scene changes to Jim Miles back in his office speaking with his
clueless supervisor.**

**Supervisor:** Hey, Jim, how was that conference last week?

**Mr. Miles:** Oh, um, good, very good.

**Supervisor:** I wouldn't say he lied to me, but the thing is, I had no
idea it was a vendor promotional training conference. He just never told
me that.

**Narrator:** MR. MILES SHOULD'VE TOLD HIS SUPERVISOR THIS
[BEFORE]{.underline} HE SOUGHT APPROVAL \-- BUT IN THAT CASE HE KNEW HIS
PLAN WOULD HAVE BEEN SHOT DOWN -- EVEN THOUGH THE GOVERNMENT WASN'T
FOOTING THE BILL.

**Supervisor:** I hear they've got some great steak houses down in
Trouble.

**Mr. Miles:** Yeah I heard that too. But I didn't really eat out much.
I mostly stayed at the hotel.

**Narrator:** AGAIN, MR. MILES DIDN'T SAY A WORD ABOUT HIS NEW
BRIEFCASE, OR HIS BROTHER'S FREE MEAL. BIG MISTAKE.

**SUPERVISOR VOICEOVER:** Jim Miles knew that there are rules about
accepting personal gifts from vendors. If I'd known the whole story on
this trip I never would have approved it.

**The scene: Jim Miles is now speaking with his supervisor again in her
office.**

**Mr. Miles:** You know, boss, you should fly out to Trouble sometime. I
think you'd enjoy it.

**Supervisor:** Ah, maybe some day. But traveling for hours crammed into
one of those tiny airline seats? Not much fun.

**Mr. Miles:** Well, I enjoyed it.

**SUPERVISOR VOICEOVER:** He never mentioned that the vendor had
upgraded him to first class.

**Narrator:** THAT WAS MR. MILES' FINAL MISTAKE. HIS LIES HAD CAUGHT UP
WITH HIM.

**SUPERVISOR VOICEOVER:** The truth finally came out and Jim lost his
job.

**Narrator:** MR. MILES HAD HAD A CHANCE TO DO ALL OF THIS LEGALLY. FULL
DISCLOSURE OF ALL OF THESE DETAILS TO HIS SUPERVISOR OR THE ETHICS
ATTORNEYS WOULD HAVE SAVED HIM.

**Legal Expert Interview:** We could have steered him in the right
direction and made sure he followed the statute and didn't get into
trouble. We also could have found a use for that briefcase too.

**Narrator:** THE LAST ANYONE HEARD FROM MR. MILES, HE'D PACKED HIS BAGS
AND BOUGHT A ONE-WAY TICKET BACK TO TROUBLE. BUT THIS TIME IT WAS ON HIS
OWN DIME.

OUR NEXT CASE TONIGHT INVOLVES A VA PHARMACIST... DRUGS... AND A
VIOLATION OF THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT.

**In this scene, a drug representative visits a Veterans Affairs
pharmacist at his home.**

**Drug Rep voiceover:** I was doing my regular rounds and stopped by the
pharmacist's house, to offer him some samples.

**Drug Rep:** Hey, how's everything going this week? How's your wife?

**Mr. Drug:** Oh, a little better, thanks. Hopefully I'll be back to the
office soon.

**Drug Rep**: That's good to hear.

**Drug Rep:** There was nothing new about this. His wife had been sick
for a while, and he'd give me updates when I dropped off samples at the
VAMC from time to time. He used the samples at work.

**Narrator:** BUT THIS DAY WAS DIFFERENT. MR. FREE DRUGS WAS AT THE END
OF HIS ROPE. HIS WIFE STILL HADN'T IMPROVED, AND NOW HER DOCTOR HAD
PRESCRIBED A NEW -- AND VERY EXPENSIVE -- WONDER DRUG NAMED CURE-ALL.

**Drug Rep:** Well, I've got some Acutane samples today.

**Mr. Drug:** Well, you know, we don't get many adolescents that have
acne problems at our medical center. But your company manufactures
"Cure-all" doesn't it?

**Drug Rep**: Yeah, sure.

**Narrator:** IN THIS SEEMINGLY HARMLESS MOMENT OF TRUTH, MR. DRUG IS IN
DANGER OF VIOLATING THE STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT.

**Mr. Drug:** Got any samples?

**Drug Rep:** I think so.

**Mr. Drug:** You know on second thought I probably shouldn't take
these. I want to give them to my wife, but according to government
ethics rules and VHA

policy, I'm not supposed to take gifts of more than twnety bucks, and
these are worth a lot more.

**Drug Rep:** Well, they might cost \$100 retail, but they only cost us
\$15 to make.

**Mr. Drug:** Oh. Well, that's probably okay, then.

**Narrator:** BUT IT'S ACTUALLY NOT OK. IN ONE MOMENT, MR. DRUG
UNKNOWINGLY CROSSED THE LINE BY ASKING THE REP FOR A DRUG FOR PERSONAL
USE! HE HAS GONE FROM "LAW ABIDING GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE"...TO ETHICS
VIOLATOR"!

**Mr. Drug (on the phone):** Hi Hon. Have you left yet? Don't bother to
stop at the

pharmacy. I've got some samples for you.

**Narrator:** SHORTLY AFTER HE WAS CAUGHT, "ETHICS MOST WANTED"
INTERVIEWED THE DISGRACED PHARMACIST AND ASKED, "WHAT WERE YOU
THINKING?"

**Mr. Drug:** I didn't think it would be such a big deal at the time.
Doctors and Pharmacists receive samples from the pharmaceutical
companies all the time. So this time the rep includes a sample of a drug
my wife needed. It was under 20 dollars in value, so I ask for some. I
mean, what's the harm?

**Narrator, legal expert:** The 'harm' is a violation of the Standards
of Conduct, which prohibit employees from soliciting gifts from those
seeking or doing business with VA. Hence VA doctors and pharmacists are
prohibited from requesting drug samples for their own personal use. If
Free Drugs had not asked for the drug "Cure All" and instead the drug
had just been offered to him, then an exception could have applied. In
that case he could accept an individual gift for personal use with a
value of \$20 or below and a total of \$50 worth of gifts from any one
company combined in one year. BUT...that value is the FAIR MARKET VALUE,
not wholesale. In addition to this, VHA Directive prohibits employees
from using any drugs donated directly to the VHA for their own personal
use. So even acting for the best reasons like Mr. Free Drug, you still
can get in trouble.

**Mr. Drug:** It was a lapse in judgment. And its cost me a lot. It's
been an embarrassment to me, and my family. It's threatened my
livelihood, ruined my reputation. And for what? A few lousy samples? I
was stupid. It wasn't worth it.

**Narrator:** IF YOU'RE EVER FACE-TO-FACE WITH A DILEMMA LIKE THIS,
CONSULT YOUR ETHICS PROFESSIONALS FOR ADVICE ON WHAT YOU SHOULD DO.
DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE FREE DRUGS DID.

I'm Jane Walsh for Ethics Most wanted, tune in next time and remember we
need your help to put an end to all ethics violations.

**The Honorable R. James Nicholson, Secretary, Department of Veterans
Affairs:** We work in a large and complex service organization, and our
missions are many. But there is one common thread running through it
all: how we deal with veterans, how well we follow President Lincoln's
charge to care for the people who have worn our country's uniform, and
their families. Keeping faith with veterans is what VA has been about
for its entire 75-year history. But even before President Hoover
established what we know as VA in 1930, our nation recognized the
special accountability that binds us to those who have defended her.
That special accountability calls not only for efficiency, but also for
high ethical standards on the part of each of us.

As this video will show, a big part of keeping high ethical standards is
a matter of obeying the rules. Therefore our duty as employees is to
have a basic familiarity with the rules. But the rules and their
applications are sometimes complex. From time to time, employees need
someone to interpret the rules for them before they act. So it's also
important to know where we can get advice.

In VA, the place to go for ethics advice is the General Counsel's
Office. I urge you, as I've urged my own front office staff, to avoid
problems by getting in touch with an ethics attorney in that Office if
you have any question\--or any doubt\--about how the rules apply to a
particular situation. Check with the ethics attorneys either in
Washington or in the local Regional Counsel Offices, but do so before
taking action. Employees who check with an ethics attorney before they
act and follow that advice are protected from discipline.

But our accountability to veterans calls for more than just staying on
the right side of the rules. In that regard, I believe the culture in
the Department of Veterans Affairs is dominated by people of good will,
people who strive for more than simple compliance with the written
standards. These folks live out the very best ethical values at work as
well as in their personal contacts. I think veterans know that. I think
that knowledge contributes to the praise that we hear from veterans and
their families so often. They recognize the ethical sprit our employees
manifest every day in our health care units, in our regional offices,
and in our cemeteries, and all of our other contacts.

Now a special word to each supervisor and manager: It's important that
you make sure the employees in your units are fully aware of rules.
Ethics attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel are available to
provide training at meetings and conferences. This video and other
training materials are also available.

Many units in the Department have enhanced their employees' awareness of
ethics by requiring more ethics training for their employees than is
required. Some have added ethics topics for discussion at routine
meetings. I commend the leaders of those units for emphasizing ethics
matters. Their example is worth following. Thank you all for
participating in this ethics session, and thank you for keeping faith
with our nation's veterans