IEC Journal

Questions About NRC Commissioner

Nuclear regulator broke rules, says inspector general - washingtonpost.com:

A former member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission violated government ethics rules by directly contacting potential employers with business before the NRC before the end of his term in mid-2007, according to a report by the commission's inspector general.

Executive Order: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel

The White House web site has Obama's new Executive Order on revolving door, gift and Hatch Act issues. A Washington Post story contains this brief summary:

The lobbying rules announced yesterday aim to end what has become a way of life in Washington, where those serving in an administration collect chits that are quickly cashed in once they depart government. Under the new rules, presidential appointees who leave office will not be allowed to lobby any federal agency as long as Obama remains in office.

"It's not about advantaging yourself. It's not about advancing your friends or your corporate clients. It's not about advancing an ideological agenda or the special interests of any organization," Obama told Cabinet members and senior staff at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. "Public service is, simply and absolutely, about advancing the interests of Americans."

Revised Slides for January Presentation

Here is a link to the revised version of the slides for the recent presentation by Peggy Love and Steve Csontos on the topic "Seeking Employment and Post Employment Obligations for Government Attorneys Entering the Private Sector":

Download Seeking-Post Employment for Attorneys- IEC Meeting 109 (2)

Most of the changes are minor, but note that Slide #37 entitled "Resources" references an OGE Advisory Opinion which has been changed. The link above incorporates the correction.

Topic for Jan. 8 Meeting: Govt. Lawyer Transition to Private Sector

Peggy Love and Steve Csontos will speak on the topic "Seeking Employment and Post Employment Obligations for Government Attorneys Entering the Private Sector" at the Jan. 8 IEC meeting. Their MS PowerPoint slide show is available for pre-meeting downloads. If you want to save paper, remember that you can format the slide show to print three or six slides per page.

OGE: Document Ethics Advice, Work With IGs

OGE responds to a GAO report entitled Post-Government Employment Restrictions and Foreign Agent Registration: Additional Action Needed to Enhance Implementation of Requirements 12-16 (July 2008), by providing the following guidance:

OGE strongly encourages agency ethics officials to document ethics advice provided to current and former employees.  Additionally, ethics officials should establish close working relationships with their respective Inspector General offices.  This includes providing Inspector General personnel with information when needed about the ethics advice given to specific individuals.  This also may include providing training and other assistance to help Inspector General personnel understand better the criminal conflict of interest laws, standards of conduct, and pertinent supplemental agency regulations.

FBA Program on Revolving Door

The DC Chapter of the Federal Bar Association will sponsor a June 13 program entitled "Navigating the Revolving Door: A CLE Presentation on the Ethical Issues Facing Lawyers Transitioning Between Private and Government Employment."

The speakers will be Gene Shipp, bar counsel for the District of Columbia and Michael Stern, former senior counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives.

CLE: 2.0 Ethics hours for Virginia and Pennsylvania pending.

Time: 6–8 p.m.

Location: Georgetown Law Center, 600 New Jersey, NW, Washington, DC

Registration: $45 FBA members; $55 nonmembers.

Register online. Please mail your check to the D.C. Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, P.O. Box 75861, Washington, DC 20013-5861.

Higher Pay: Solution to Revolving Door?

Responding to an Inspector General report questioning high salaries for Smithsonian Institution executives, a Smithsonian spokesperson provided the Washington Post with a suggestion that will find favor with many federal employees:

The report also raised questions about the revolving door of some federal employees who left the Smithsonian and returned as private employees with hefty pay raises. Burke defended the practice by saying it was the only way to keep those people from leaving for more lucrative jobs: "Offering a higher-paying trust position to these retiring federal employees was necessary to prevent them from offering their experience and talent to a private or nonprofit sector employer capable of paying far more than the federal pay system would allow."

Revolving Door Spins Both Ways

A post on the POGO Blog makes the point that the revolving door issue is bipartisan.

Consultants Not Bound by Restrictions

A study by the Center for Public Integrity found a new twist on the "revolving door" issue:

[I]ncreasingly campaign consultants are turning to lobbying once elections are over. And unlike federal legislators and their staff members, who are required to wait a year before lobbying former colleagues, consultants are not bound by rules slowing down the so-called "revolving door" between doing campaign work and lobbying.

Former Boeing Manager Expected to Plead Guilty to Conspiracy

This morning's Wall Street Journal article reports that a former midlevel Boeing Co. manager, Kenneth Branch, agreed in principle to plead guilty to conspiring to obtain Lockheed Martin's proprietary documents.