This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

35460 

Vol. 87, No. 112 

Friday, June 10, 2022 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Office of the Secretary 

5 CFR Part 3601 

[Docket ID: DoD–2021–OS–0032] 

RIN 0790–AL21 

Supplemental Standards of Ethical 

Conduct for Employees of the 

Department of Defense 

AGENCY: Department of Defense (DoD). 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The DoD, with the 

concurrence of the U.S. Office of 

Government Ethics (OGE), proposes to 

amend the Supplemental Standards of 

Ethical Conduct for Employees of the 

Department of Defense (DoD 

Supplemental Regulation). The 

amendments revise and update the DoD 

Supplemental Regulation originally 

written in 1993, to supplement the OGE 

Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Employees of the Executive Branch 

(OGE Standards). Amendments include 

changes in the following areas: 

designation of separate agency 

components for the purposes of gifts 

and teaching, speaking, and writing; 

additional exceptions for gifts from 

outside sources; additional limitations 

on gifts between DoD employees; and 

authority to waive any of the provisions 

of the DoD Supplemental Regulation. 

DATES: Comments will be accepted on or 

before July 11, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

identified by docket number and/or 

regulatory identifier number (RIN) and 

title by any of the following methods: 

• Federal Rulemaking Portal: https:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Mail: Department of Defense, Office 

of the Assistant to the Secretary of 

Defense for Privacy, Civil Liberties, and 

Transparency, Regulatory Directorate, 

4800 Mark Center Drive, Attn: Mailbox 

24, Suite 08D09, Alexandria, VA 22350– 

1700. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the agency name and 

docket number or RIN for this Federal 

Register document. The general policy 

for comments and other submissions 

from members of the public is to make 

them available for public viewing on the 

internet at https://www.regulations.gov, 

as they are received without change, 

including any personal identifiers or 

contact information. All submitted 

comments and attachments are part of 

the public record and subject to 

disclosure. So, do not enclose any 

material in your comments that you 

consider to be confidential. All 

comments will be available for public 

viewing at https://www.regulations.gov, 

as they are received without change, 

including any personal identifiers or 

contact information. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Dalheim, Standards of Conduct 

Office, Office of the Secretary of 

Defense, Office of the General Counsel; 

telephone: 703–695–3422. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

Executive Order 12674, as amended 

by Executive Order 12731, authorized 

OGE to establish a single, 

comprehensive, and clear set of 

Executive Branch standards of conduct. 

On August 7, 1992, OGE published the 

Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Employees of the Executive Branch 

(OGE Standards), as codified at 5 CFR 

part 2635. (See 57 FR 35006, as 

corrected at 57 FR 48557 and 57 FR 

52583.) The OGE Standards, effective 

February 3, 1993, established uniform 

ethical conduct rules applicable to all 

officers and employees. 

With the concurrence of OGE, 5 CFR 

2635.105 authorizes executive branch 

agencies to publish agency-specific 

supplemental regulations necessary and 

appropriate to implement their 

respective ethics programs. Pursuant to 

this authority, DoD, with OGE’s 

concurrence and co-signature, 

published on September 10, 1993, a 

final rule to establish its supplemental 

standards of ethical conduct for DoD 

personnel (58 FR 47619, 58 FR 47622). 

DoD, with OGE’s concurrence and joint 

issuance, now proposes to amend the 

DoD Supplemental Regulation. An 

update to the DoD Supplemental 

Regulation is necessary to effectively 

administer DoD’s ethics program and 

address changes to DoD’s programs and 

operations which have ensued in the 29 

years since the publication of the 

Supplemental Regulation in 1993 for the 

reasons explained below. 

II. Explanation of Changes With This 

Rule 

The provision at 5 CFR 3601.102 

currently designates components as 

separate agencies for the purposes of 

accepting gifts from non-Federal 

sources, and for outside teaching, 

speaking, and writing activities, two 

components have been added to the list, 

the National Reconnaissance Office 

(NRO), and DoD (Office of the Secretary 

of Defense (OSD) remainder agency.) 

Although the concept of the OSD 

remainder agency is not novel, listing 

the OSD remainder agency and 

explaining that officers and employees 

of other DoD components not 

designated as separate agencies will be 

treated as officers and employees of the 

OSD remainder agency will clarify the 

application of the gift and teaching, 

speaking, and writing rules for these 

components. 

The other amended sections relate to 

additional gift exceptions from outside 

sources and additional limitations on 

gifts between DoD employees. Finally, 

the addition of examples in the DoD 

Supplemental Regulation serves to 

illustrate the application of the rules. 

DoD removes two sections from the 

1993 DoD Supplemental Regulation, 5 

CFR 3601.105, ‘‘Standards for 

accomplishing disqualifications’’; and 5 

CFR 3601.106, ‘‘Limitation on solicited 

sales.’’ Regarding the ‘‘[s]tandards for 

accomplishing disqualification,’’ DoD 

believes that following the OGE 

government-wide standard at 5 CFR part 

2635, subpart D; and §§ 2635.502, 

2635.604, and 2635.606, which requires 

oral notification of disqualification, 

sufficiently protects DoD interests 

without concurrently creating an 

administrative burden. Irrespective of 

whether a written disqualification is 

required, employees remain obligated to 

disqualify themselves from participating 

in matters affecting their financial 

interests, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 208 and 

OGE’s implementing regulations at 5 

CFR part 2635, subpart D. The 

elimination of the written 

disqualification requirement does not 

preclude employees from choosing to 

provide a written disqualification to a 


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supervisor. The written disqualification 

will remain a best practice in internal 

guidance. 

Regarding the ‘‘[l]imitation on 

solicited sales,’’ this section is not a 

supplementation of the OGE Standards, 

5 CFR part 2635, and is, therefore, being 

removed consistent with the guidance 

in OGE Legal Advisory, LA–11–07 

(2011), https://www2.oge.gov/web/ 

oge.nsf/Resources/LA-11- 

07:+The+OGE+Supplemental+Agency+

Regulation+Process. The subject matter 

of this section falls outside of OGE’s 

authority and, therefore, cannot be 

included in the DoD Supplemental 

Regulation. The requirement, however, 

remains in effect in internal DoD 

issuances. 

Updates to 5 CFR 3601.106 (formerly 

§ 3601.107) take into consideration 

advances in technology related to 

financial disclosure reporting and 

remove the requirement that the prior 

approval be written. The original DoD 

Supplemental Regulation, requiring 

written prior approval of business 

activities or compensated outside 

employment with a prohibited source, 

was deemed necessary in an era when 

paper documentation was the norm. 

Beginning in 2016, DoD mandated the 

electronic filing of all financial 

disclosure reports, with a built-in 

mandatory supervisory review function. 

Financial disclosure forms are filed 

annually and supervisors are required, 

as a part of their review, to determine 

if an employee’s business activity or 

outside employment conflicts with the 

employee’s official duties. Prior to 

certifying a filer’s report, the supervisor 

will be required by departmental 

guidance to annotate their approval of 

the filer’s business activity or outside 

employment on the report. 

This electronic filing system is easily 

accessible and follows employees in 

DoD’s mobile workforce. Using the 

electronic filing system ensures 

supervisors will have access to an 

employee’s prior financial disclosure 

reports and consequently, information 

on their business activity and outside 

employment. 

Finally, DoD adds one new section 

entitled ‘‘[w]aiver’’ that allows the DoD 

General Counsel to waive any provision 

of the DoD Supplemental Regulation 

upon finding that doing so would not be 

inconsistent with 5 CFR part 2635 and 

is not otherwise prohibited by law. This 

provision also allows the DoD General 

Counsel to withdraw a waiver when it 

is no longer necessary. 

The amendments also incorporate a 

number of changes that are technical in 

nature, (e.g., updating agency names 

and addressing typographical errors that 

do not affect the substance of the DoD 

Supplemental Regulation). 

III. Section by Section Discussion 

The following is a section-by-section 

overview of the amendments in this 

rulemaking. 

Section 3601.102—Designation of 

DoD components as separate agencies 

for purposes of gifts, and teaching, 

speaking and writing. Proposed 

§ 3601.102 is amended to update the list 

of components, designated as separate 

agencies for the purpose of accepting 

gifts from non-Federal sources and 

outside teaching, speaking, and writing 

activities. DoD previously designated 16 

DoD components as separate agencies 

and the remainder of the DoD 

components as a separate single agency, 

the OSD remainder agency. The 

amendment designates two additional 

separate agencies, the NRO, consistent 

with NRO’s designation as a separate 

component in appendix B to 5 CFR part 

2641 and DoD OSD. For these purposes, 

use of the term ‘‘agency’’ does not carry 

the responsibilities of a ‘‘defense 

agency’’ as set forth in 10 U.S.C. 191– 

197(2019). The amendment also updates 

the name of the Defense Security 

Service, which was renamed the 

Defense Counterintelligence and 

Security Agency in 2019. To further 

illustrate the components concept, 

examples were added. DoD also 

included clarifying discussion about the 

OSD remainder agency for postgovernment employment restrictions. 

Section 3601.103—Additional 

exceptions for gifts from outside 

sources. Proposed § 3601.103 clarifies 

and amends the current DoD 

Supplemental Regulation that provides 

an additional exception to the gift 

prohibition in 5 CFR 2635.202(a). 

Specifically, § 3601.103(a) highlights 

that officers and employees may accept 

an unsolicited gift of free attendance at 

certain events sponsored by a State or 

local government or by certain civic 

organizations when their personal 

attendance has been determined to serve 

a community relations interest of their 

agency. The proposed § 3601.103(a) 

exception amendment is intended to 

clarify and emphasize the continuing 

community relations interest DoD has in 

the communities where DoD activities 

operate. The addition of examples 

further illustrates these concepts. The 

amendment also requires that the 

community relations interest outweigh 

any concern that acceptance would 

cause a reasonable person with 

knowledge of the relevant facts to 

question the employee’s integrity or 

impartiality. This new step in the gift 

acceptance analysis models OGE’s 

framework for considering otherwise 

permissible gifts in 5 CFR 2635.201(b). 

Finally, the proposed § 3601.103(a) 

exception amendment permits 

attendance by an employee’s guest, not 

just his or her spouse. This change 

creates consistency between DoD’s 

Supplemental Regulation and OGE’s 

2016 revision of 5 CFR part 2635, 

subpart B, which uses the phrase 

‘‘spouse or other guest’’ in the context 

of gifts. Proposed § 3601.103(b) 

reassigns approval authority for 

acceptance of educational scholarships 

or grants from the Secretary of Defense, 

or Secretary of the Military Department 

concerned, to the Designated Agency 

Ethics Official (DAEO) or the DAEO’s 

designee. Experience indicates that the 

DAEO, as opposed to the Secretary of 

Defense or the Secretary of a Military 

Department, is in a better position to 

evaluate and review the acceptance of 

educational scholarships or gifts by 

employees or dependents of employees. 

The amendment also more closely 

tracks the standard for an ‘‘established 

program of recognition’’ in 5 CFR 

2635.204(d)(2) and requires the DAEO 

or the DAEO’s designee to make the 

determination in writing. The updates 

are consistent with the process for 

reviewing awards accepted using 5 CFR 

2635.204(d), which requires an agency 

ethics official to review the acceptance 

of certain gifts. Establishing the 

approval authority at the DAEO or 

designee level fully protects DoD 

interests and ensures that the reviews 

are done in a timely manner. 

Section 3601.104—Additional 

limitations on gifts between employees. 

Proposed § 3601.104(a) modifies the 

current $300 limit on gifts from a group 

that includes an employee’s 

subordinate. This limit has not been 

increased since the implementation of 

the DoD Supplemental Regulation in 

September 1993. The new rulemaking 

uses the ‘‘minimal value’’ threshold 

established in the Foreign Gifts and 

Decorations Act, 5 U.S.C. 7342(a)(5) 

(2019), which is adjusted every three 

years by the General Services 

Administration. 

Section 3601.105—Disclaimer for 

teaching, speaking and writing in a 

personal capacity related to official 

duties. Proposed § 3601.105 is 

renumbered from the existing regulation 

because of the deletion of § 3601.105 

(Standards of accomplishing 

disqualification), § 3601.106 (Limitation 

on solicited sales), and § 3601.107 (Prior 

approval for outside employment and 

business activities). Additionally, 

§ 3601.105 makes minor nonsubstantive changes and includes 


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examples to further illustrate 

application of the regulation. 

Section 3601.106—Prior Approval for 

Outside Employment and Business 

Activities. Proposed § 3601.106 is 

renumbered from the existing regulation 

because of the deletion of previous 

chapters as described above. Section 

3601.106 removes the requirement for 

written prior approval that certain 

employees must receive to engage in 

outside employment or business 

activities. The requirement for prior 

approval is retained and will be 

documented annually in the applicable 

electronic financial disclosure filing 

system. Additionally, two nonsubstantive changes were made to 

correctly identify OGE documents. 

Section 3601.107—Waiver. Proposed 

§ 3601.107 authorizes the DoD General 

Counsel (DoD Designated Agency Ethics 

Official) to waive any provision of this 

part, provided that a waiver is not 

inconsistent with 5 CFR part 2635 or 

otherwise prohibited by law, and 

issuance of the waiver will not 

undermine public confidence. This 

section also contains guidance 

pertaining to the contents of the waiver. 

The DoD General Counsel may 

withdraw the waiver if he or she 

determines that it is no longer 

necessary. 

IV. Matters of Regulatory Procedure 

Administrative Procedure Act 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2), DoD is 

not required to provide a general notice 

of proposed rulemaking, opportunity for 

advance comment, and a 30-day delay 

in effectiveness because this proposed 

rule is a matter relating to Federal 

personnel. This rulemaking contains 

statements of policy, interpretive rules, 

and conduct regulations related to DoD 

personnel. However, because this 

rulemaking may be improved, 

comments may be submitted on or 

before July 11, 2022. All comments will 

be analyzed and any appropriate 

changes to the proposed rule will be 

incorporated in the subsequent 

publication of the final rule. 

Congressional Review 

This rulemaking relates to agency 

personnel and does not substantially 

affect the rights or obligations of nonagency parties. Therefore, it does not 

meet the definition of a ‘‘rule’’ at 5 

U.S.C 804 and is not subject to the 

procedures of the Congressional Review 

Act. 

Executive Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory 

Planning and Review’’ and Executive 

Order 13563, ‘‘Improving Regulation 

and Regulatory Review’’ 

These Executive orders direct 

agencies to assess all costs, benefits and 

available regulatory alternatives and, if 

regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health, 

safety effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). These Executive orders 

emphasize the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This 

rulemaking is a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and 

Review,’’ as supplemented by Executive 

Order 13563, ‘‘Improving Regulation 

and Regulatory Review.’’ Accordingly, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

has reviewed this rulemaking. 

Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil Justice 

Reform’’ 

This regulation meets the applicable 

standards set forth in sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988, ‘‘Civil 

Justice Reform.’’ 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The amended regulations contain no 

additional information-collection or 

record-keeping requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3501, et seq. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

As required by the RFA, DoD certifies 

this regulation will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 3601 

Conflict of interests, Executive branch 

standards of conduct, Government 

employees. 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, DoD proposes to revise 5 CFR 

part 3601 to read as follows: 

PART 3601—SUPPLEMENTAL 

STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT 

FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

Sec. 

3601.101 Purpose. 

3601.102 Designation of DoD components 

as separate agencies for purposes of gifts 

from outside sources, and teaching, 

speaking, and writing. 

3601.103 Additional exceptions for gifts 

from outside sources. 

3601.104 Additional limitations on gifts 

between employees. 

3601.105 Disclaimer for teaching, speaking, 

and writing in a personal capacity 

related to official duties. 

3601.106 Prior approval for outside 

employment and outside activities. 

3601.107 Waiver. 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 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; 5 CFR 

2635.105, 2635.203(a), 2635.204(k), 

2635.803, 2635.807. 

§ 3601.101 Purpose. 

In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, 

the regulations in this part apply to 

employees of the Department of Defense 

(DoD) and supplement the Standards of 

Ethical Conduct for Employees of the 

Executive Branch contained in 5 CFR 

part 2635. DoD employees are required 

to comply with part 2635, this part, and 

implementing guidance and procedures. 

§ 3601.102 Designation of DoD 

components as separate agencies for 

purposes of gifts from outside sources, and 

teaching, speaking, and writing. 

(a) Pursuant to 5 CFR 2635.203(a), 

each of the following DoD components 

is designated as a separate agency for 

purposes of the regulations in subpart B 

of 5 CFR part 2635 governing gifts from 

outside sources and 5 CFR 2635.807 

governing teaching, speaking, and 

writing: 

(1) Armed Services Board of Contract 

Appeals; 

(2) Department of the Army; 

(3) Department of the Navy; 

(4) Department of the Air Force; 

(5) Defense Commissary Agency; 

(6) Defense Contract Audit Agency; 

(7) Defense Finance and Accounting 

Service; 

(8) Defense Information Systems 

Agency; 

(9) Defense Intelligence Agency; 

(10) Defense Logistics Agency; 

(11) Defense Counterintelligence and 

Security Agency; 

(12) Defense Threat Reduction 

Agency; 

(13) National Geospatial-Intelligence 

Agency; 

(14) National Security Agency; 

(15) Office of Inspector General; 

(16) Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences; 

(17) National Reconnaissance Office; 

and 

(18) Office of the Secretary of Defense 

remainder agency. 

Example 1 to paragraph (a): For 

paragraph (a)(1): [Teaching, Speaking, or 

Writing] An Armed Services Board of 

Contract Appeals (ASBCA) employee is 

asked to give a compensated speech on 

prisoners of war, a topic on which he 


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has a personal interest. While the 

Department of Defense has ongoing 

policies, programs or operations related 

to this topic, the ASBCA does not. The 

employee may give the speech in a 

personal capacity and receive 

compensation because the ASBCA is a 

designated separate agency, the speech 

is not related to an ongoing program or 

operation of the ASBCA, and the speech 

is not otherwise related to the 

employee’s official duties. 

Example 2 to paragraph (a): For 

paragraphs (a)(2) and (18) of this 

section: [Separate component—gift] An 

employee of the Department of the 

Army (Army) and an employee of the 

Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) 

are each offered a ticket to a football 

game by a company that contracts with 

OSD. As long as the contractor is not a 

prohibited source for the Army and the 

gift is not offered because of the 

employee’s official position, the Army 

employee may accept the ticket because 

the Army is designated as a separate 

agency under paragraph (a)(2). The JCS 

employee may not accept the ticket 

because JCS is not designated as a 

separate agency and, therefore, is part of 

the ‘‘OSD remainder agency.’’ The OSD 

contractor is therefore a prohibited 

source for the JCS employee or for any 

employee of any of the other 

organizations that are part of the OSD 

remainder agency. 

Example 3 to paragraph (a): For 

paragraph (a)(11): [Agency designation] 

An employee of the Department of the 

Air Force is offered a gift by a company 

that only does business with the 

Defense Counterintelligence and 

Security Agency, which is designated as 

a separate agency. The company would 

be a prohibited source of gifts for 

employees of the Defense 

Counterintelligence and Security 

Agency but not for employees of the 

Department of the Air Force or for any 

other component which has been 

designated as a separate agency. 

(b) Employees of DoD components not 

designated as separate agencies, 

including employees of the Office of the 

Secretary of Defense, will be treated as 

employees of the ‘‘Office of the 

Secretary of Defense (OSD) remainder 

agency.’’ The OSD remainder agency 

shall itself be treated as a separate DoD 

agency for purposes of determining 

whether the donor of a gift is a 

prohibited source under 5 CFR 

2635.203(d) and for identifying the 

employee’s agency under 5 CFR 

2635.807 governing teaching, speaking, 

and writing. 

(1) The use of the term ‘‘agency’’ in 

this part does not carry with it the 

designation and responsibilities of a 

‘‘defense agency’’ as set forth in 10 

U.S.C. 191–197(2019). 

(2) For purposes of this part, 

‘‘prohibited source’’ is defined at 5 CFR 

2635.203(d), except that ‘‘agency’’ shall 

mean the employee’s component. 

Note 1 to paragraph (b): All DoD 

organizations not individually listed in 

paragraph (a) of this section are part of the 

OSD remainder agency. 

Note 2 to paragraph (b): Prohibited sources 

for each component for purposes of gifts and 

teaching, speaking, and writing are exclusive 

to that component and are not imputed to 

OSD. 

Note 3 to paragraph (b): An employee who 

is detailed to another component will use the 

prohibited source list of the component to 

which they are detailed for purposes of gifts, 

teaching, speaking, and writing. 

(c) The designations in this section 

shall only apply for purposes of gifts 

under 5 CFR 2635.203(a) and teaching, 

speaking and writing under 5 CFR 

2635.807, and are distinct from the 

designations approved by the Office of 

Government Ethics for purposes of the 

post-Government employment 

restrictions in 18 U.S.C. 207(c). See 5 

CFR 2641.302 and appendix B to part 

2641. 

§ 3601.103 Additional exceptions for gifts 

from outside sources. 

In addition to the gift exceptions in 5 

CFR 2635.204, which authorize 

acceptance of certain gifts from outside 

sources, and subject to all provisions of 

5 CFR part 2635, subpart B, an 

employee may accept unsolicited gifts 

from outside sources otherwise 

prohibited by 5 CFR 2635.202 as 

detailed in this section. For purposes of 

this section, the term ‘‘agency’’ is 

defined in § 3601.102, and the term 

‘‘free attendance’’ is defined in 5 CFR 

2635.203(g). 

(a) Community relations events. (1) 

An employee may accept an unsolicited 

gift of free attendance for himself or 

herself and a guest at a community 

relations event sponsored by a State or 

local government, or by a civic 

organization exempt from taxation 

under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(4), when: 

(i) The cost of free attendance is 

provided by the sponsor of the event; 

and 

(ii) The employee’s agency designee 

determines that the community 

relations interests of the agency will be 

served by the employee’s attendance in 

his or her personal capacity, and the 

employee’s attendance outweighs any 

concern that acceptance would cause a 

reasonable person with knowledge of 

the relevant facts to question the 

employee’s integrity or impartiality. 

(2) Refer to 5 CFR 2635.204(g)(5) in 

determining whether the cost of 

attendance may be considered to be 

provided by the sponsor of the event. 

Example 1 to paragraph (a): 

[Community relations interest] The City 

of Jacksonville, Florida, hosts a Military 

Appreciation Day event. Members of the 

general public are charged an admission 

fee to attend. Department of the Navy 

employees who have recently returned 

from deployment are invited and offered 

free admission for themselves and a 

guest. These Navy employees may 

personally accept the gift of free 

attendance for themselves and a guest, 

if their agency designee determines that 

their attendance at the event will serve 

a community relations interest and that 

employees’ attendance outweighs 

concerns that acceptance would call 

into question their integrity or 

impartiality. 

Example 2 to paragraph (a): [No 

community relations interest] A 

foundation that provides grants to nonprofit organizations focusing on 

environmental initiatives is sponsoring 

a fundraising golf tournament. The 

foundation is offering to waive the entry 

fee for military personnel at the local 

installation. Military personnel may not 

accept the offer by the sponsor to waive 

the entry fee under paragraph (a) of this 

section, because participation in this 

event does not further local community 

relations interests for the DoD 

installation. While the community 

relations exception may not be used to 

accept the gift, nothing in this section 

precludes an employee from accepting 

the gift if another gift exclusion, 

exception, or authority would apply. 

(b) Scholarships and grants. An 

employee and his or her dependents 

may accept an educational scholarship 

or grant from an entity that does not 

have interests that may be substantially 

affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee’s official 

duties, or from an association or similar 

entity that does not have a majority of 

members with such interests, if the 

Designated Agency Ethics Official 

(DAEO) or the DAEO’s designee makes 

a written determination that the 

scholarship or grant is made pursuant to 

an established program of recognition, 

including those established for the 

benefit of employees, or the dependents 

of employees. A scholarship or grant is 

made pursuant to an established 

program of recognition if: 

(1) Scholarships or grants have been 

made on a regular basis or, if the 

program is new, there is a reasonable 

basis for concluding that scholarships or 

grants will be made on a regular basis 


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based on funding or funding 

commitments; and 

(2) Selection of recipients is made 

pursuant to written standards. 

§ 3601.104 Additional limitations on gifts 

between employees. 

The following limitations apply to 

gifts from groups of employees that 

include a subordinate and to voluntary 

contributions to gifts for superiors 

permitted under 5 CFR 2635.304(c)(1): 

(a) Gifts from a group that includes a 

subordinate. Regardless of the number 

of employees contributing to a gift on a 

special, infrequent occasion as 

permitted by 5 CFR 2635.304(c)(1), an 

employee may not accept a gift or gifts, 

including indirectly within the meaning 

of 5 CFR 2635.203(f), from a donating 

group if the aggregate market value 

exceeds the minimal value, as 

established by 5 U.S.C. 7342(a)(5), and 

if the employee knows or has reason to 

know that any member of the donating 

group is a subordinate. 

(1) The cost of items excluded from 

the definition of a gift by 5 CFR 

2635.203(b) and the cost of food, 

refreshments, and entertainment 

provided to mark the occasion for which 

the gift is given shall not be included in 

determining whether the value of a gift 

or gifts exceeds the aggregate minimal 

value limit. 

(2) The value of a gift or gifts from two 

or more donating groups will be 

aggregated and will be considered to be 

from a single donating group if the 

employee who is offered the gift knows 

or has reason to know that an individual 

who is his or her subordinate is a 

member of more than one of the 

donating groups. 

(b) Voluntary contribution. For 

purposes of 5 CFR 2635.304(c)(1), the 

nominal amount of a voluntary 

contribution that an employee may 

solicit from another employee for a 

group gift to the contributory 

employee’s superior for any special, 

infrequent occasion will not exceed $10. 

A voluntary contribution of a nominal 

amount for food, refreshments, and 

entertainment at an event to mark the 

occasion for which a group gift is given 

may be solicited as a separate, voluntary 

contribution not subject to the $10 limit. 

§ 3601.105 Disclaimer for teaching, 

speaking, and writing in a personal capacity 

related to official duties. 

An employee who uses or permits the 

use of his or her military rank or who 

includes or permits the inclusion of his 

or her title or position as one of several 

biographical details given to identify 

himself or herself in connection with 

teaching, speaking, or writing, in 

accordance with 5 CFR 2635.807(b), 

must make a disclaimer if the subject of 

the teaching, speaking, or writing deals 

in significant part with any ongoing or 

announced policy, program, or 

operation of the employee’s agency, as 

defined in § 3601.102, and the employee 

has not been authorized by appropriate 

agency authority to present that material 

as the agency’s position. The disclaimer 

must be made as follows: 

(a) The required disclaimer must 

expressly state that the views presented 

are those of the speaker or author and 

do not necessarily represent the views 

of DoD or its components. 

(b) When a disclaimer is required for 

an article, book, or other writing, the 

disclaimer will be printed in a 

reasonably prominent position in the 

writing itself. 

(c) When a disclaimer is required for 

a speech or other oral presentation, the 

disclaimer may be given orally provided 

it is given at the beginning of the oral 

presentation. 

Example 1 to § 3601.105: [Disclaimer 

Required] An employee is asked to 

provide unpaid personal remarks at a 

local university on a DoD matter she 

handled in the past year. As part of her 

introduction, the university facilitator 

identifies the employee by her official 

title. Since the subject matter of her 

speech is related to her official duties, 

and her official title is used, she must 

provide a reasonably prominent 

disclaimer at the beginning of her 

remarks. 

Example 2 to § 3601.105: [Disclaimer 

Not Required] An employee is invited in 

his personal capacity to speak at his 

alma mater on Career Day about his 

personal experiences as a Government 

employee, but will not discuss the 

ongoing or announced policy, program, 

or operation of his agency. The 

introduction to his talk only mentions 

that he is a graduate of the school and 

currently a ‘‘DoD employee,’’ but does 

not use his official title, rank, or 

position. No disclaimer would be 

necessary because the introduction to 

the employee’s speech did not include 

his official title or position and the 

subject of the speech does not deal in 

significant part with any ongoing or 

announced policy, program or operation 

of the relevant DoD agency. 

Note 1 to § 3601.105: Ethics review of 

whether a disclaimer is necessary or prudent 

is not a substitute for compliance with other 

DoD requirements such as obtaining a 

security review of the content of the teaching, 

speaking or writing. 

§ 3601.106 Prior approval for outside 

employment and business activities. 

(a) A DoD employee, other than a 

special Government employee who is 

required to file a financial disclosure 

report (OGE Forms 450 or 278e), shall 

obtain approval from the agency 

designee before engaging in a business 

activity or compensated outside 

employment with a prohibited source, 

unless general approval has been given 

in accordance with paragraph (b) of this 

section. Approval shall be granted 

unless a determination is made that the 

business activity or compensated 

outside employment is expected to 

involve conduct prohibited by statute or 

regulation. Approval of the DoD 

employee’s business activity or 

compensated outside employment with 

a prohibited source will be annotated on 

the employee’s annual financial 

disclosure report. Nothing in this part 

precludes a supervisor from providing 

the employee with written approval. For 

purposes of this section, the following 

definitions apply: 

(1) Business activity. Any business, 

contractual, or other financial 

relationship not involving the provision 

of personal services by the DoD 

employee. It does not include a routine 

commercial transaction or the purchase 

of an asset or interest, such as common 

stock, that is available to the general 

public. 

(2) Employment. Any form of nonFederal employment or business 

relationship involving the provision of 

personal services by the DoD employee. 

It includes, but is not limited to, 

personal services as an officer, director, 

employee, agent, attorney, consultant, 

contractor, general partner, or trustee. 

(3) Prohibited source. See 5 CFR 

2635.203(d) (modified by the separate 

DoD component agency designations in 

§ 3601.102). 

(b) The DoD component DAEO or 

designee may, by a written notice, 

exempt categories of business activities 

or employment from the requirement of 

paragraph (a) of this section based on a 

determination that business activities or 

employment within those categories 

would generally be approved and are 

not likely to involve conduct prohibited 

by statute or regulation. 

§ 3601.107 Waiver. 

(a) The DoD General Counsel may 

waive any provision of this part based 

upon a determination that the waiver is 

not inconsistent with 5 CFR part 2635 

or otherwise prohibited by law, and that 

waiver of the provision will not 

undermine public confidence in the 

integrity of Government programs or 

operations. The waiver must be: 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 112 / Friday, June 10, 2022 / Proposed Rules 35465 

(1) In writing; 

(2) Supported by a detailed statement 

of facts and findings; and 

(3) Narrow in scope and limited in 

duration. 

(b) The DoD General Counsel may 

withdraw the waiver, in writing, if it is 

determined to no longer be necessary. 

(c) The authority for granting and 

withdrawing a waiver cannot be 

delegated below the DoD Alternate 

DAEO. 

Caroline Krass, 

General Counsel, U.S. Department of Defense. 

Emory Rounds, 

Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12365 Filed 6–9–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 5001–06–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1150 

[Doc. No. AMS–DA–20–0060] 

National Dairy Promotion and 

Research Board Reapportionment; ReOpening of Comment Period 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of 

comment period. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) is providing an 

additional 45 days for public comments 

on the proposed rule that would amend 

the Dairy Promotion and Research Order 

(Dairy Order). The proposed rule would 

modify the number of National Dairy 

Promotion and Research Board (Dairy 

Board) members in 2 of the 12 regions. 

The total number of domestic Dairy 

Board members would remain the same 

at 36. This modification was requested 

by the Dairy Board, which administers 

the Dairy Order, to better reflect the 

geographic distribution of milk 

production in the United States. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

proposed rule originally published on 

September 21, 2021, at 86 FR 52420, is 

reopened. Comments must be submitted 

on or before July 25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this proposed rule. 

Comments may be submitted through 

the Federal e-rulemaking portal at 

https://www.regulations.gov or emailed 

to Whitney.Rick@usda.gov and should 

reference the document number AMS– 

DA–20–0060, the date of publication, 

and the page number of this issue of the 

Federal Register. All comments will be 

included in the official record and will 

be made available to the public. Please 

be advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting 

comments will be made public on the 

internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Whitney A. Rick, Director, Promotion, 

Research, and Planning Division, Dairy 

Program, AMS, USDA, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW, Room 2958–S, 

Stop 0233, Washington, DC 20250– 

0233. Phone: (202) 720–6909. Email: 

Whitney.Rick@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

1150.131(e) of the Dairy Order requires 

the Dairy Board to review the 

geographic distribution of milk 

production volume throughout the 

United States at least every five years 

and not more than every three years 

and, if warranted, shall recommend to 

the Secretary a reapportionment of the 

regions, in order to better reflect the 

geographic distribution of milk 

production volume in the United States. 

A proposed rule, published in the 

Federal Register on September 21, 2021 

(86 FR 52420), would increase Dairy 

Board Region 8 (Idaho) representation 

from 2 members to 3 members and 

would decrease Region 10 (Alabama, 

District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, 

Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North 

Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, and Virginia) representation 

from 2 members to 1 member. The total 

number of domestic Dairy Board 

members would remain the same at 36. 

USDA received a comment from the 

Dairy Board requesting an extension to 

the comment period, to allow additional 

time for the Dairy Board and other 

interested parties to fully analyze the 

proposed changes to the board 

membership. USDA also received 

comments from dairy farmers, a dairy 

industry organization, and the public 

expressing concern regarding the 

proposed decreased representation in 

Region 10. Therefore, AMS is reopening 

the comment period to encourage 

additional input on the proposed 

modifications to the number of National 

Dairy Promotion and Research Board 

(Dairy Board) members. 

Erin Morris, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2022–12460 Filed 6–9–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2022–0673; Project 

Identifier MCAI–2021–01282–T] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Airbus SAS 

Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking 

(NPRM). 

SUMMARY: The FAA proposes to 

supersede Airworthiness Directive (AD) 

2017–10–17, which applies to certain 

Airbus SAS Model A330–200; A330– 

200 Freighter; and A330–300 series 

airplanes. AD 2017–10–17 requires 

revising the existing maintenance or 

inspection program, as applicable, to 

incorporate new fuel airworthiness 

limitations. Since the FAA issued AD 

2017–10–17, the FAA has determined 

that new or more restrictive fuel 

airworthiness limitations and tasks are 

necessary. This proposed AD would 

continue to require the actions in AD 

2017–10–17 and require revising the 

existing maintenance or inspection 

program, as applicable, to incorporate 

additional new or more restrictive fuel 

airworthiness limitations and tasks, as 

specified in a European Union Aviation 

Safety Agency (EASA) AD, which is 

proposed for incorporation by reference. 

This proposed AD would also expand 

the applicability to include additional 

airplane models. The FAA is proposing 

this AD to address the unsafe condition 

on these products. 

DATES: The FAA must receive comments 

on this proposed AD by July 25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

using the procedures found in 14 CFR 

11.43 and 11.45, by any of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Fax: 202–493–2251. 

• Mail: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590. 

• Hand Delivery: U.S. Department of 

Transportation, Docket Operations, M– 

30, West Building Ground Floor, Room 

W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, 

Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. 

and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except Federal holidays. 

For EASA material that will be 

incorporated by reference (IBR) in this 


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