Important Note : Before proceeding with either the spreadsheet or the Adobe formats for either the public or confidential report, you may wish to consider using the new, much easier, web-based option for entering and storing your financial disclosure report. If you want to give it a try, back up to the previous page and scroll down to "New Online Reporting."

A. For either the SF 278 or the OGE 450, print out the appropriate instructions pages. These are available in Microsoft Word™, Corel Word Perfect™, and Adobe Acrobat™.

B1. For those who prefer a spreadsheet and have either Microsoft Excel™ or Lotus 1-2-3™ on their PC, follow the instructions below — if you haven’t a spreadsheet program on your computer, go to item B2.

B1a) If you used a spreadsheet last year and want to update that form, simply call up that copy of your form already stored on your PC and disregard the following download instructions. If you are a first time spreadsheet user, continue on to b).

B1b) Select your form and click on the button corresponding to your spreadsheet program.

B1c) Save the blank form to disk. On most browsers, a grey dialog box appears with a pre-set "save this file to disk" default option -- do so. Other browsers may "launch" your spreadsheet on-line and call up the blank form before you can download it; on these, you must select "save as" from the file menu to direct the blank form to a folder on your PC. In either case, place the form in whatever folder you wish and assign it an appropriate name -- we recommend you name the file something like 2004-278 or 2004-450, as appropriate, to distinguish it from later years’ forms.

B1d) Exit the Internet and call up the blank form from the folder where you placed it. Fill in all the appropriate information.

B2. If you haven’t a spreadsheet program, and wish not to use the new web-based system, the best we can do for you is a PDF form which you can use with the Adobe Acrobat Reader™. It’s very simple; just click on the Acrobat version of the form, print it out, and fill in the blanks. Easy, but it will not ease your filing process for the following year.

If you wish to download the Adobe Acrobat version of the form, but do not have the program, please visit the Adobe web site to obtain a free copy of the Acrobat Reader™.

Get the Acrobat Reader

C. Printing Instructions (sorry, there’s no authority for FULL on-line filing - yet).

C1. Spreadsheet customers - simply clicking on print should do it, but if your report comes out of your printer incorrectly, you may need to set the printing for landscape orientation. Excel users may also need to set the print for "entire notebook" in the dialog box that appears when you click on "print". Lotus users must print out each page separately.

C2. Acrobat: Also use landscape orientation and be sure to specify printing from pages 12 to 17 so you print out only the form, not all the instructions.

D. Sign and send your hardcopy form to:

D1. Confidential (OGE Form-450) Filers -
your mission area ethics advisor - see the locator page;

D2. Public (SF-278) filers -
USDA Office of Ethics
Room 347W Whitten Building
1400 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-0122.

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