In this Issue: Presidents and the Ethics Rules
When the Chief Executive Gets Involved…
We
celebrate President's Day this month, which got us wondering—how
have the occupants of the Oval Office factored into the ethics
rules we follow?
Presidents do not typically get involved in the
daily workings of ethics offices. Federal ethics programs operate
mostly at the agency level and receive oversight or support from
the Office of Government Ethics. Other offices are linked to them
by law or process, such as the Office of Special Counsel, which
handles political activity among federal workers under the Hatch
Act, or the Department of Justice, which considers legal action
against violators of the various criminal and regulatory ethics
rules. And yet, there are times when the President directly
influences federal ethics rules.
2009 A
significant change to federal employee ethics took place in
recent history under President Barack Obama. He promised his
administration would have the highest ethical standards in
history. When he took office, he issued Executive Order 13490,
which required political employees—those hired by his
administration—to sign an Ethics Pledge. This pledge tightened
ethics rules for members of his administration beyond those
followed by career officials and focused especially on lobbying.
Since 2009, each successive Presidential administration has
issued an ethics pledge to its employees.
1989-1992 A President known for his clean-cut appearance, prudent
attitudes, and a love for family values brought new ethical
standards to the Executive Branch. When George H. W. Bush signed
Executive Order 12674, and later 12731, he created a set of 14
principles of ethical conduct for federal employees—an
illustration of employee behavior suitable for public service. He
later directed OGE to create the Standards of Conduct for
Employees of the Executive Branch. This is the bulwark of ethics
regulation we follow today.
1970s The ethics program as we know it today traces its foundation to
the presidency of Richard Nixon. His contributions were not of a
direct lawmaking or policy-setting nature. It was his connection
to the Watergate scandal that gave rise to a wave of interest in
government accountability. As a result, Congress passed the
Ethics in Government Act in 1978. President Jimmy Carter signed
this bill into law, which led to a new financial disclosure
program and began to unify the patchwork of ethics programs
around government.
1921 Watergate may have raised a tide of ethical concerns, but fifty
years prior to those misdeeds was another troubling high-level
crime in Washington called the Teapot Dome Scandal. A member of
the Warren Harding administration took bribes in exchange for
granting land leases to friends without competing bids. He was
the first presidential cabinet member convicted of a crime.
Harding was not involved, but this case is a plain example of the
potential criminal consequences to unethical behavior. It refers
to the set of conflict-of-interest statutes from 18 USC §§
201-209 that covers topics like bribery, financial conflicts of
interest, and post-government employment.
ASK ETHICS
Does the
President have any influence over what OGE does?
The Office of Government Ethics is an independent
agency of the federal government. It has rulemaking authority and
typically has been given leeway to set its own priorities, manage
its relationships with other agencies and interpret ethics law.
However, it is still part of the Executive Branch and the
President appoints the director to a five-year term.
Are any updates to the ethics rules coming soon,
from the President, or otherwise?
Mr. Biden issued an ethics pledge for his
administration on January 20, 2021, replacing the previous
pledge. The House passed the For the People Act in March 2021,
which includes numerous updates to the ethics regulations and
strengthens OGE's authority. It has been received by the Senate.
Upcoming Dates & Deadlines
In
February 2022 -
- Confidential
financial disclosure (OGE 450) forms are due February 15
unless an extension was granted.
- A KNOW EXIM
session on this month's newsletter topic will be held on
February 24.
|
About
the
Office
of Ethics
The
Office of Ethics was established by the 2015 EXIM Charter. The
Office of Ethics staff is available at any time to provide advice
and counsel to employees and managers on any ethics questions,
including: personal and financial conflicts of interest; gifts;
seeking and negotiating other employment; engaging in outside
activities; financial disclosure reporting; political activity;
and, post-employment restrictions.
In accordance
with the Charter, the Senior Vice President and Chief Ethics
Officer, Lisa Terry, serves as the Designated Agency Ethics Official
(DAEO). She oversees EXIM's federal ethics program and
administration of EXIM's ethics program.
The DAEO, along
with the Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official (ADAEO) Lance Mathews, coordinates with the Office of Government Ethics
and manages the day-to-day activities of the Office of Ethics.
Both the DAEO
and ADAEO, as well as ethics counsel, Stephen Grimes and Debra Zusin, are available at any time to provide advice and
counsel to employees and managers on any ethics questions.
The Office of
Ethic's program specialist Gabrielle Guy, provides Ethics' program specialist, provides
administrative support, including serving as system administrator
for the Integrity and Financial Disclosure (FD) online systems.
When
contemplating any action that may be covered by the ethics rules,
always seek the advice of the Office of Ethics at EthicsAdvice@exim.gov.
Lisa V. Terry
Senior Vice President &
Chief Ethics Officer
When in doubt,
contact
us!
Lisa V. Terry
Senior Vice President &
Chief Ethics Officer (DAEO)
Lance Mathews
Deputy Chief Ethics Officer (ADAEO)
Stephen
Grimes
Attorney-Advisor, Ethics
Debra Zusin
Attorney-Advisor, Ethics
Gabrielle Guy
Program Specialist |
