48746 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 180 / Wednesday, September 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

§ 870.1009 Responsibilities of the U.S.

Department of State.

(a) The U.S. Department of State

functions as the ‘‘employing office’’ for

individuals insured under this subpart.

(b) The U.S. Department of State must

determine the eligibility of individuals

under Pub. L. 101–513 (104 Stat. 2035)

for insurance under this subpart. This

includes determining whether an

individual is barred from insurance

under chapter 87 of title 5 U.S.C.

because of other life insurance as

provided in section 599C of Pub. L.

101–513 (104 Stat. 2035).

Subpart K—Living Benefits

§ 870.1101 Eligibility for a Living Benefit.

(a) Effective July 25, 1995, an insured

individual who is certified by his/her

doctor as terminally ill, as defined in

§ 870.101, may elect to receive a lumpsum payment of Basic insurance.

(b) Optional insurance is not available

for payment as a Living Benefit.

(c)(1) The effective date of a Living

Benefit election is the date on which the

Living Benefit payment is cashed or

deposited. Once an election becomes

effective, it can’t be revoked. No further

election of Living Benefits can be made.

(2) If the insured individual dies

before cashing or depositing the Living

Benefit payment, the payment must be

returned to OFEGLI.

(d) If the insured individual has

assigned his/her insurance, he/she

cannot elect a Living Benefit; nor can an

assignee elect a Living Benefit on behalf

of an insured individual.

(e) If an individual has elected a

Living Benefit, he/she may assign his/

her remaining insurance.

§ 870.1102 Amount of a Living Benefit.

(a)(1) An employee may elect to

receive either:

(i) A full Living Benefit, which is all

of his/her Basic insurance, or

(ii) A partial Living Benefit, which is

a portion of his/her Basic insurance, in

a multiple of $1,000.

(2) An annuitant or compensationer

may only elect to receive a full Living

Benefit.

(b) The amount of Basic insurance

elected as a Living Benefit will be

reduced by an actuarial amount

representing the amount of interest lost

to the Fund because of the early

payment of benefits.

(c)(1) If an individual elects a full

Living Benefit, the post-election BIA

will be 0. If an employee elects a partial

Living Benefit, the post-election BIA

will be the BIA reduced in proportion

to the amount of Basic insurance elected

as a Living Benefit, as prescribed by

Pub. L. 103–409 (108 Stat. 4231).

(2) The post-election BIA cannot

change after the effective date of a

Living Benefit election.

(d)(1) If an employee elects a full

Living Benefit, Basic accidental death

and dismemberment coverage

terminates as of the effective date of the

election.

(2) If an employee elects a partial

Living Benefit, Basic accidental death

and dismemberment coverage is

reduced to equal the post-election BIA.

§ 870.1103 Election procedures.

(a) The insured individual must

request information on Living Benefits

and an application form directly from

OFEGLI.

(b)(1) Only the insured individual can

apply for a Living Benefit; no one can

apply on his/her behalf.

(2) The insured individual must

complete the first part of the application

and have his/her physician complete

the second part. The completed

application must be submitted directly

to OFEGLI.

(c)(1) OFEGLI reviews the application,

obtains certification from the insured’s

employing office regarding the amount

of insurance and the absence of an

assignment, and determines whether the

individual meets the requirements to

elect a Living Benefit.

(2) If OFEGLI needs additional

information, it will contact the insured

or the insured’s physician.

(3) Under certain circumstances,

OFEGLI may require a medical

examination before making a decision.

In these cases, OFEGLI is financially

responsible for the cost of the medical

examination.

(d)(1) If the application is approved,

OFEGLI sends the insured a check for

the Living Benefit payment and an

explanation of benefits.

(i) Until the check has been cashed or

deposited, the individual may change

his/her mind about electing a Living

Benefit; if this happens, the individual

must mark the check ‘‘void’’ and return

it to OFEGLI.

(ii) Once the insured individual has

chased or deposited the payment, the

Living Benefit election becomes

effective and cannot be revoked;

OFEGLI then sends explanations of

benefits to the insured’s employing

office, so it can make the necessary

changes in withholdings and

deductions.

(2) If the application is not approved,

OFEGLI will notify the insured

individual and the employing office.

The decision is not subject to

administrative review; however, the

individual can submit additional

medical information or reapply at a later

date if future circumstances warrant.

PART 871—[REMOVED]

2. Part 871 is removed.

PART 872—[REMOVED]

3. Part 872 is removed.

PART 873—[REMOVED]

4. Part 873 is removed.

PART 874—[REMOVED]

5. Part 874 is removed.

[FR Doc. 97–24585 Filed 9–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–M

OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS

5 CFR Parts 2634 and 2635

RINs 3209–AA00 and 3209–AA04

Removal of Superseded References to

the Former Honorarium Ban, Revisions

to Conform With Procurement Integrity

Changes and Conflict-of-Interest

Exemptions, and Other Updates

AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics

(OGE).

ACTION: Final rule; technical

amendments.

SUMMARY: The Office of Government

Ethics is removing superseded

references to the former statutory

honorarium bar from the executive

branch regulations on standards of

ethical conduct and financial

disclosure. In addition, revisions to the

standards of conduct regulation are

being made to reflect statutory changes

on procurement integrity and a new

regulation on conflict-of-interest

exemptions. Finally, OGE is removing

outdated references in the standards of

conduct regulation to certain

grandfathered agency regulations, and

making other minor updates to

references and text.

EFFECTIVE DATE: September 17, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Office of Government

Ethics, Suite 500, 1201 New York

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20005–

3917, Attn.: Mr. G. Sid Smith. A copy

of the OGE Memorandum noted in the

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section

below may be obtained from OGE’s

World Wide Web Site on the Internet at

http://www.usoge.gov, from OGE’s

ethics bulletin board TEBBS (‘‘The

Ethics Bulletin Board System’’) at 202–

208–8030, or by contacting Mr. Smith at

OGE.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: G.

Sid Smith, Associate General Counsel,
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 180 / Wednesday, September 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 48747

Office of Government Ethics, telephone:

202–208–8000; TDD: 202–208–8025;

FAX: 202–208–8037.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In

National Treasury Employees Union v.

United States, 513 U.S. 454 (1995), the

U.S. Supreme Court overturned, as to

most executive branch employees, the

honorarium bar at 5 U.S.C. app., section

501(b) which had been enacted as part

of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989.

Subsequently, the Department of Justice

determined that because of the scope of

the Supreme Court decision, the ban on

honoraria was inoperative as to all

Government employees. See OGE

Memorandum of February 28, 1996, to

Designated Agency Ethics Officials,

General Counsels and Inspectors

General (#DO–96–012). This rulemaking

removes the regulatory provisions

which refer to the now-overturned

honorarium bar in OGE’s executive

branchwide financial disclosure and

standards of ethical conduct regulations

as codified at 5 CFR parts 2634 and

2635. In a separate rulemaking

document to be issued later, OGE will

remove the primary (and now

inoperative) executive branchwide

regulatory provisions which

implemented the old honorarium bar,

along with various related provisions, in

subpart B of 5 CFR part 2636.

The Office of Government Ethics is, in

this current rulemaking document, also

updating or eliminating superseded

citations and related text in the OGE

executive branchwide standards of

ethical conduct regulation which refer

to procurement integrity provisions

revised by the National Defense

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996

(Pub. L. 104–106), and to the old Code

of Ethics for Government Service (Pub.

L. 96–303) which was repealed by Pub.

L. 104–179. Additionally, OGE is adding

to the authority citation for the

standards of conduct regulation a

reference to 5 U.S.C. 7301, which

provides that the President may

prescribe regulations for the conduct of

employees in the executive branch.

This rulemaking updates or adds

certain other references in the standards

of ethical conduct regulation, reflecting

revisions to regulations of the Office of

Personnel Management and the General

Services Administration. Additionally,

it includes several citations and related

text changes to account for the new OGE

final regulation at 5 CFR part 2640,

which implemented 18 U.S.C. 208

(official actions affecting a personal

financial interest) by providing general

interpretation, executive branchwide

exemptions which have replaced any

agency regulatory exemptions, and

assistance for agencies in granting

individual waivers. Finally, OGE is

removing outdated notes and related

appendixes which refer to certain

agency regulations that were

temporarily ‘‘grandfathered’’ when OGE

first issued the executive branchwide

standards of conduct in 1992 (with

subsequent grandfathering extensions

through November 1, 1996).

Matters of Regulatory Procedure

Administrative Procedure Act

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b) and (d), as

Director of the Office of Government

Ethics, I find good cause exists for

waiving the general notice of proposed

rulemaking and 30-day delay in

effectiveness as to these revisions. The

notice and delayed effective date are

being waived because these technical

amendments to certain OGE regulations

concern matters of agency organization,

practice and procedure. Furthermore, it

is in the public interest that the obsolete

provisions be removed, the other out-ofdate citations be updated, and the few

other passages be clarified as soon as

possible.

Executive Order 12866

In promulgating these technical

amendments to its regulations, OGE has

adhered to the regulatory philosophy

and the applicable principles of

regulation set forth in section 1 of

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory

Planning and Review. These

amendments have also been reviewed

by the Office of Management and

Budget under that Executive order.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

As Director of the Office of

Government Ethics, I certify under the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

chapter 6) that this rulemaking will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities

because it primarily affects Federal

executive branch agencies and their

employees.

Paperwork Reduction Act

The Paperwork Reduction Act (44

U.S.C. chapter 35) does not apply

because this technical amendments

rulemaking does not contain any

information collection requirements that

require the approval of the Office of

Management and Budget.

List of Subjects

5 CFR Part 2634

Administrative practice and

procedure, Certificates of divestiture,

Conflict of interests, Financial

disclosure, Government employees,

Penalties, Privacy, Reporting and record

keeping requirements, Trusts and

trustees.

5 CFR Part 2635

Conflict of interests, Executive branch

standards of ethical conduct,

Government employees.

Approved: July 18, 1997.

Stephen D. Potts,

Director, Office of Government Ethics.

For the reasons set forth in the

preamble, the Office of Government

Ethics is amending parts 2634 and 2635

of chapter XVI of 5 CFR as follows:

PART 2634—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for part 2634

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in

Government Act of 1978); 26 U.S.C. 1043;

E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp.,

p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55 FR

42547, 3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 306.

§ 2634.105 [Amended]

2. Section 2634.105 is amended by

removing the last sentence of paragraph

(i).

PART 2635—[AMENDED]

3. The authority citation for part 2635

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 7301, 7351, 7353; 5

U.S.C. App. (Ethics in Government Act of

1978); E.O. 12674, 54 FR 15159, 3 CFR, 1989

Comp., p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 55

FR 42547, 3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 306.

§ 2635.202 [Amended]

4. Section 2635.202 is amended by

adding the word ‘‘and’’ following the

closing semicolon in paragraph (c)(4)(i),

by removing the word ‘‘and’’ at the end

of paragraph (c)(4)(ii) and adding in its

place the word ‘‘or’’, and by removing

paragraph (c)(4)(iii).

§ 2635.204 [Amended]

5. Section 2635.204 is amended by

removing Example 5 following

paragraph (a), and by removing at the

end of paragraph (l)(1) the terms

‘‘§§ 410.701 through 410.706 of this

title’’ and adding in their place the

terms ‘‘part 410 of this title’’.

6. Section 2635.401 is amended by

adding a sentence at the end of the

section, to read as follows:

§ 2635.401 Overview.

* * * See also part 2640 of this

chapter, for additional guidance

amplifying § 2635.402.

7. Section 2635.402 is amended by

adding the words ‘‘or determine that an

exemption applies’’ before the comma

after the word ‘‘waiver’’ in the second
48748 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 180 / Wednesday, September 17, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

sentence of the note following

paragraph (a), by adding the words ‘‘or

exemption’’ following the word

‘‘waiver’’ in the first sentence of the

introductory text of paragraph (c), by

adding the words ‘‘or exemptions from’’

between the words ‘‘of’’ and

‘‘disqualification’’ in the heading of

paragraph (d), by adding the word

‘‘exemption’’ following the word

‘‘regulatory’’ in the introductory text of

paragraph (d), by adding the sentence

‘‘See also subpart C of part 2640 of this

chapter, for additional guidance.’’ at the

end of paragraph (d)(2)(ii), by adding

the sentence ‘‘See also subpart C of part

2640 of this chapter, for additional

guidance.’’ at the end of paragraph

(d)(3)(ii), and by revising paragraph

(d)(1) to read as follows:

§ 2635.402 Disqualifying financial

interests.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(1) Regulatory exemptions. Under 18

U.S.C. 208(b)(2), regulatory exemptions

of general applicability have been

issued by the Office of Government

Ethics, based on its determination that

particular interests are too remote or too

inconsequential to affect the integrity of

the services of employees to whom

those exemptions apply. See the

regulations in subpart B of part 2640 of

this chapter, which supersede any

preexisting agency regulatory

exemptions.

* * * * *

§ 2635.403 [Amended]

8. Section 2635.403 is amended by

adding the words ‘‘issued after February

3, 1993’’ before the comma after the

words ‘‘supplemental agency

regulation’’ in the first sentence of

paragraph (a), and by removing the note

following paragraph (a).

9. The note following paragraph (b) of

section 2635.501 is amended by adding

the words ‘‘or exemption’’ before the

comma after the word ‘‘waiver’’ in the

fourth sentence, by removing the word

‘‘respectively’’ in the fourth sentence,

and by adding a new sentence at the end

of that note, to read as follows:

§ 2635.501 Overview.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

Note: * * * Similarly, where the employee

meets all prerequisites for the application of

one of the exemptions set forth in subpart B

of part 2640 of this chapter, that also

constitutes a determination that the interest

of the Government in the employee’s

participation outweighs the concern that a

reasonable person may question the integrity

of agency programs and operations.

10. Section 2635.602 is amended by

revising the last sentence of the note

following the introductory text and the

last sentence of paragraph (a)(2) to read

as follows:

§ 2635.602 Applicability and related

considerations.

* * * * *

Note: * * * An employee may, however,

be subject to other statutes which impose

requirements on employment contacts or

discussions, such as 41 U.S.C. 423(c),

applicable to agency officials involved in

certain procurement matters.

(a) * * *

(2) * * * Employees are cautioned

that they may be subject to additional

statutory prohibitions on postemployment acceptance of

compensation from contractors, such as

41 U.S.C. 423(d).

* * * * *

11. Section 2635.605 is amended by

adding at the end of paragraph (a) two

sentences to read as follows:

§ 2635.605 Waiver or authorization

permitting participation while seeking

employment.

(a) * * * See also subpart C of part

2640 of this chapter. For certain

employees, a regulatory exemption

under the authority of 18 U.S.C.

208(b)(2) may also apply (see subpart B

of part 2640 of this chapter).

* * * * *

§ 2635.606 [Amended]

12. Section 2635.606 is amended by

adding the phrase ‘‘, or by a regulatory

exemption under the authority of 18

U.S.C. 208 (b)(2)’’ between the terms

‘‘(b)(3)’’ and the period at the end of the

first sentence of paragraph (a), by

adding the phrase ‘‘and exemptions’’

between the words ‘‘waivers’’ and ‘‘are’’

in the second sentence of paragraph (a),

and by adding a new sentence ‘‘See also

subparts B and C of part 2640 of this

chapter.’’ at the end of paragraph (a).

§ 2635.704 [Amended]

13. Section 2635.704 is amended by

removing the citation term ‘‘201–

21.601’’ in Example 1 following

paragraph (b)(2) and adding in place

thereof the citation term ‘‘101–35.201’’,

and by removing the terms ‘‘chapter 252

of the Federal Personnel Manual’’ in

Example 3 following paragraph (b)(2)

and adding in their place the terms

‘‘Office of Personnel Management

regulations at part 251 of this title’’.

§ 2635.801 [Amended]

14. Section 2635.801 is amended by

adding the word ‘‘and’’ after the closing

semicolon in paragraph (d)(7), by

removing paragraph (d)(8), and by

redesignating paragraph (d)(9) as

paragraph (d)(8).

§ 2635.803 [Amended]

15. Section 2635.803 is amended by

adding the words ‘‘issued after February

3, 1993’’ before the comma after the

word ‘‘regulation’’ in the first sentence,

and by removing the note at the end of

the section.

§ 2635.805 [Amended]

16. Section 2635.805 is amended by

removing the phrase ‘‘result in

compensation for an appearance in

violation of § 2636.201 of this chapter

or’’ in the introductory text of paragraph

(c).

§ 2635.807 [Amended]

17. Section 2635.807 is amended by

removing paragraph (a)(1)(i), by

redesignating paragraphs (a)(1)(ii) and

(a)(1)(iii) as paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and

(a)(1)(ii), respectively, by removing

Example 1 following newly designated

paragraph (a)(1)(ii), and by removing the

last sentence of Example 1 following

paragraph (a)(3)(ii).

18. Section 2635.902 is amended by

removing and reserving paragraphs (l)

and (n), and by revising paragraphs (f),

(h) and (bb) to read as follows:

§ 2635.902 Related statutes.

* * * * *

(f) The prohibition on certain former

agency officials’ acceptance of

compensation from a contractor (41

U.S.C. 423(d)).

* * * * *

(h) The actions required of certain

agency officials when they contact, or

are contacted by, offerors or bidders

regarding non-Federal employment (41

U.S.C. 423(c)).

* * * * *

(l) [Reserved]

* * * * *

(n) [Reserved]

* * * * *

(bb) The prohibitions on disclosing

and obtaining certain procurement

information (41 U.S.C. 423(a) and (b)).

* * * * *

Appendixes A, B, C, and D [Removed]

19. Appendixes A, B, C and D to part

2635 are removed.

[FR Doc. 97–24607 Filed 9–16–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6345–01–U