Title 5, Government Organization and EmployeesRelease 119-110

§13121 Establishment; Appointment of Director

Title 5 › PART IV — ETHICS REQUIREMENTS › CHAPTER 131 — ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT › SUBCHAPTER II — OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS › § 13121

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates the Office of Government Ethics as an executive agency. The President picks the Director, and the Senate must approve. Any Director appointed or reappointed on or after October 1, 1983, serves a 5-year term. The Director can hire staff, including lawyers, under federal hiring rules. The Director can also contract with the General Services Administration or another federal agency for money, budget, accounting, personnel, and buying services. The Office pays those agencies up front or by reimbursement, and contracts only work when funds are available.

Full Legal Text

Title 5, §13121

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment.—

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

(b)Director.— (c) Authority of Director.—

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 5 years.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 131215 U.S.C. App. (EGA § 401)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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

5 U.S.C. § 13121

Title 5, Government Organization and Employees

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110