GAO on Revolving Door at DoD

A Government Executive article examines a GAO report on the revolving door between the Department of Defense and defense contractors. One interesting fact is that about 65 percent of those former officials in positions that made them subject to post-employment restrictions were employed by one of seven contractors: Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC); Northrop Grumman Corp.; Lockheed Martin Corp.; Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.; L3 Communications Holding Inc.; General Dynamics and Raytheon Co.

The article notes:

According to GAO, Defense is not required to monitor former officials when they begin jobs with defense contractors. The department does provide guidance in the form of written ethics opinions to former officials who request them, but GAO concluded that the practice offered limited transparency.

Several new requirements were implemented recently to ensure contractors were aware of employment restrictions for former Defense officials. Requirements enacted in January 2008 through the fiscal 2008 Defense Authorization Act were designed to make the written ethics opinions given to former Defense officials more readily available to their contractor employers or potential employers. The department also was required to keep ethics opinions in a central database. But GAO said that database was not designed for Defense to monitor their former officials' post-government employment compliance.

GAO recommended that Defense consider what type of contractor disclosure and certification information on former officials was necessary to ensure compliance with post-government employment restrictions. Chaplain noted that existing laws not only protect against conflicts of interest, but also promote public trust in the integrity of the government's decision-making process.