Peters, Grassley & Feinstein Call for Increased Transparency in Administration Ethics Disclosures
"Public disclosure of these records, including ethics pledge waivers, is essential to ensuring that ethical commitments are maintained so that the American people can be confident that government employees are working in their interest," wrote the Senators. "Please ensure that the practice of providing ethics pledge waivers and recusals to OGE contemporaneously upon their issuance is continued. We trust that you believe this standard is reasonable in that it allows the American people to better understand how those employed at the highest levels of our government are fully focused on the public interest and not a private interest."
On
The executive order also includes a provision allowing the President or his designee to issue a waiver to any individual appointee from any of the ethics pledge's requirements, though there is no specific requirement that the waiver be issued prior to an appointee's first day of employment. Waivers to the ethics pledge are maintained by the appointee's employing agency. As of
Text of the letter is copied below or available here https://www.peters.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2017-08-01%20Peters-Grassley-Feinstein%20Letter.pdf:
The Honorable
Director
Dear Director Mulvaney:
The business of government should be open, transparent, and accountable to the American people. We appreciate the commitments you have made in support of the executive branch ethics program, and we are writing to gain a better understanding of the future steps that will be taken to ensure that executive branch employees continue to adhere to the highest ethical standards.
Earlier this year, the
As of the date of this letter, 135 of 136 federal agencies have responded to OGE's data call, including your own.[4] Several of these agencies produced responsive records in compliance with OGE's statutory role in overseeing the integrity of the ethics program and addressing conflicts of interest, a role you acknowledged in your
Public disclosure of these records, including ethics pledge waivers, is essential to ensuring that ethical commitments are maintained so that the American people can be confident that government employees are working in their interest. As such, compliance with the
In response to previous congressional requests, OGE established a practice of publicly posting ethics pledge waivers on its website upon its receipt of these waivers from executive agencies. Please ensure that the practice of providing ethics pledge waivers and recusals to OGE contemporaneously upon their issuance is continued. We trust that you believe this standard is reasonable in that it allows the American people to better understand how those employed at the highest levels of our government are fully focused on the public interest and not a private interest.
We expect the Administration to continue to make these waivers publicly available as they are granted. Please confirm that any ethics pledge waivers granted in the future will be published on the
cc:
[1] 5 U.S.C. app. [Sec.] 109(18).
[2] 5 U.S.C. app. [Sec.] 402(b)(10).
[3]
[4]
[5] Letter from Director
[6] The
Read this original document at: https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/peters-grassley-and-feinstein-call-for-increased-transparency-in-administration-ethics-disclosures
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