CLC's @waltshaub met with Chair @TGowdySC and Ranking Member @RepCummings of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee today, laying out 13 actions that would strengthen government ethics in the U.S. bit.ly/2hoetZz
Action #1-- It's critical to insulate the Director of @OfficeGovEthics from potential political retaliation
Action #2-- OGE needs to be able to communicate directly with Congress so that it can raise concerns about the activities of the Executive Branch, offer solutions, and discuss its budget without needing permission from another agency.
Action #3-- To be effective, OGE needs a director. This change would help make sure the director position doesn’t stay vacant between appointments, as it has for 5 of the past 14 years.
Action #4-- The way laws are written regarding the White House can sometimes be tricky. This would clarify and confirm that OGE has the full authority it needs to oversee the ethics program in the White House and other agencies of the Executive Branch.
Action #5-- OGE needs more teeth to ensure that officials respond to its requests for ethics information.
Action #6-- OGE shouldn’t be an investigator agency, but there SHOULD be one. This would establish an office to investigate ethics violations.
Action #7-- This would make OGE more efficient by eliminating a burdensome reporting requirement for officials that doesn’t yield useful information about conflicts of interest.
Action #8-- Public scrutiny is essential to ethics work. This action would help shine light on ethics issues involving high level officials.
Action #9-- Taxpayers need reassurance that officials are not misusing public money for luxurious travel.
Action #10-- This action would reduce the chance that officials might try to hide their assets (and potential conflicts of interest) in a family trust without disclosing. The proposal also requires OGE to study the issue closely.
Action #11-- Presidential candidates need to be prepared for the fast-moving transition between administrations, so that gaps in leadership don't jeopardize national security. This also gives voters a chance to assess candidates' conflicts of interest.
Action #12-- This would prevent agencies from pretending that people who serve in government for significant amounts of time are "short-term" employees, which right now lets them take advantage of ethics rule loopholes.
Action #13-- This would prevent incoming officials from accepting large payouts from the companies they are quitting in order to enter government, and then turning around and regulating those same companies.
Each of these actions can be considered individually or as a whole by Congress. "Each recommendation represents a real opportunity to achieve bipartisan reform to strengthen government #ethics, which will reinforce the fact that public service is a public trust.” —@waltshaub
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