美禁止国家官员参加“冰桶挑战” 违反执业伦理

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge might be a viral phenomenon, but some of official Washington’s ethics police are throwing cold water on diplomats and House members taking part in the cause.

The Associated Press reports the State Department’s lawyers have banned US ambassadors and high-profile workers stationed overseas from participating in the challenge, which uses videos shared on Twitter, Facebook and other social media to raise awareness of the incurable disease.

A House committee sent a reminder about a rule against using official resources to promote a private charity. The Military Times reports the Pentagon has issued a warning that says service members and civilian defense employees can’t participate while in uniform.

An unclassified cable obtained by the AP on Thursday says the ice bucket challenge is against federal ethics rules.

“There are firmly established rules preventing the use of public office, such as our ambassadors, for private gain, no matter how worthy a cause,” reads the State Department cable, sent last week. “Thus, high-ranking State Department officials are unfortunately unable to participate in the ice bucket challenge.”

The State Department missive follows a House Administration Committee e-mail sent this week warning lawmakers of a rule in the ethics manual that prohibits using “official resources for the promotion or benefit of any private charitable cause.” The House e-mail was first reported by Politico.

For House members, that means it’s OK to use campaign funds and a campaign Twitter or Facebook account to share an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video — but not the official ones tied to the congressional office.

Some House lawmakers have been deleting their bucket challenge videos and tweets from their official accounts, according to the Quartz.com news site.

More than $41 million has been raised by the ALS Association since July 29 to help strike Atromyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

尽管“冰桶挑战赛”已经在全球掀起一股热潮，然而，美国政府道德委员会的官员却给参加挑战的美国外交官和议员们浇了“一头冰水”。

美联社报道称，美国国务院律师已经禁止美国驻外大使和知名度颇高的官员参加这一挑战。该活动的参与者会将自己的视频发布在推特（Twitter）、脸书（Facebook）和其他社交媒体上，旨在让更多人知道肌肉萎缩性侧索硬化症这一不治之症。

众议院一委员会曾表示，通过官员推动私人慈善活动有违法律规定。美国《军事时报》（The Military Times）报道称，国防部已下达警告禁止军人和民兵参加冰桶挑战。

美联社获取的一份非机密电文表示，冰桶挑战违反了联邦道德规则。

该份由美国国务院本周发送的电文显示：“有明确法律规定，不论出于何种目的，国家公职（如官员和驻外大使）不得成为谋取私利的手段。因此，国务院高层官员将无缘冰桶挑战。”

电文发布前，众议院一管理委员会给立法者发送了一封邮件，强调道德法有规定禁止“通过官员推广任何私人慈善事业或为其筹款”。

需要注意的是，众院议员可以动用竞选资金以及使用为竞选开设的推特或Facebook账号上传和分享参加冰桶挑战赛的视频。但已经与国会工作绑定的官方账号则不行。

据美国资讯网站Quartz报道，一些众议院立法者已经删除了他们官方账号上的冰桶挑战视频和推文。

自“冰桶挑战赛”于7月29日在美国兴起，ALS（肌肉萎缩性侧面硬化病）协会已经筹集了超过4100万美元（约2.52亿元人民币）的捐款。