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AAAS Resolution:
Concerning Proposed Federal Ethics Rules on Participation by Federal Employees in Professional Societies
Whereas the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific organization, founded in 1848, with over 132,000 individual members from all fields of science and engineering, as well as the world's largest federation of scientific and engineering societies, with 291 affiliated organizations;
Whereas AAAS supports the need for uniform ethical rules for federal employees as well as the need for avoiding potential and actual conflicts of interest and appearances of impropriety;
Whereas the proposed rules already prohibit any preferential treatment of private organizations, Section 2635.101 (b) (8); the proposed rules already prohibit use of an employee's public office for the private gain of "nonprofit organizations of which the employee is a officer of member," Section 2635.702; the proposed rules prohibit outside activities that conflict with an employee's official duties; and the proposed rules already prohibit an employee who is also an officer, director, or trustee of a professional association "from participating in his official capacity in an particular manner that has a direct and predictable effect on a financial interest of the organization," Section 2635.806 (c);
Whereas participation by federal employees in the internal and business affairs of professional associations is of significant value to federal employees in terms of personal and professional development and to the federal government in terms of education and training of staff;
Whereas the rules as currently drafted in Section 2635.806 are unclear and open to unnecessarily restrictive interpretation which could lead to denial of participation in activities which are legitimate;
Whereas the proposed rules would be counter to the spirit of volunteerism espoused in the President's "Points of Light" Program and would discourage federal employees from volunteering their time and talent in the service of their professions and the public interest, and run counter to the American democratic tradition and spirit by serving to erect walls between the Government and the people, and are also detrimental to the advancement of the Administration's pro-education goals;
Therefore be it resolved that the American Association for the Advancement of Science encourages the Office of Government Ethics to eliminate Section 2635.806 from the final regulations. [Adopted by the AAAS Board of Directors, October 4, 1991.]
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