Congressional Code of Ethics for Government Service
Any person in government service should:
1. Put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to
persons, party, or government department.
2. Uphold the Constitution, laws, and legal regulations of the United States and
of all governments therein and never be a party to their evasion.
3. Give a full day's labor for a full day's pay; giving to the performance of
duties earnest effort and best thought.
4. Seek to find and employ more efficient and economical ways of getting tasks
accomplished.
5. Never discriminate unfairly by the dispensing of special favors or privileges
to anyone, whether for remuneration or not, and never accept, for self or
family, favors or benefits under circumstances which might be construed by
reasonable persons as influencing the performance of governmental duties.
6. Make no private promises of any kind binding upon the duties of office, since
a government employee has no private word which can be binding on public duty.
7. Engage in no business with the government, either directly or indirectly,
which is inconsistent with the conscientious performance of governmental duties.
8. Never use any information coming to employee confidentially in the
performance of governmental duties as a means for making private profit.
9. Expose corruption wherever discovered.
10. Uphold these principles, ever conscious that public office is a public
trust.
Standards of Conduct
Employees must avoid any action, whether or not specifically prohibited by this
Code, which might result in or create the appearance of:
a. Using Postal Service office for private gain.
b. Giving preferential treatment to any person.
c. Impeding Postal Service efficiency or economy.
d. Losing complete independence or impartiality.
e. Making a Postal Service decision outside official channels.
f. Affecting adversely the confidence of the public in the integrity of the
Postal Service.
Taken from USPS ELM
May 2000