84/10:99-76 ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT: OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE NINETY-NINTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION SEPTEMBER 29 AND 30, 1986 Serial No. 99-76 Printed for the use of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE WILLIAM D. FORD, Michigan, Chairman WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY, Missouri GENE TAYLOR, Missouri BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York TOM DEYULIA, Staff Director PATRICIA F. RISSLER, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Clerk SUBCOMMITTEE ON INVESTIGATIONS GERRY SIKORSKI, Minnesota, Chairman GENE TAYLOR, Missouri BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York DENNIS MCGRANN, Subcommittee Staff Director (II) WILLIAM D. FORD, Michigan GUS YATRON, Pennsylvania CONTENTS David H. Martin, Director, Office of Government Ethics, accompanied by Donald Campbell, Chief Counsel, OGE, and Jack Covaleski, Chief, Mon- Memoranda from the American Law Division of the Congressional Re- search Service, dated September 26, 1986, and August 27, 1986, respec- ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT: OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1986 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON POST OFFICE AND CIVIL SERVICE, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:35 a.m., in room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Gerry Sikorski (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. SIKORSKI. Good morning. This is a hearing before the Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. Under Rule X of the House of Representatives, this subcommittee is responsible for "the investigation, review, and study, on a continuing basis, of the application, administration, and execution of those laws, the subject of which is within the jurisdiction of the committee. The Committee on Post Office and Civil Service has played a major role in defining and shaping the ethics laws and standards of the Federal Government. The efforts of the committee culminated in the enactment of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, landmark legislation which created the current Federal ethics system. In 1983, the committee worked to pass major amendments which clarified and strengthened the provisions of the Ethics Act. The Subcommittee on Investigations' initial involvement in the issue of government ethics grew out of our examination of the activities of Mary Ann Gilleece, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Management at the Department of Defense. While still employed by Defense, Ms. Gilleece solicited business from major defense contractors she was regulating, raising serious questions about the adequacy of the ethics advice given her, as well as the adequacy of DOD's entire ethics program. During the course of the subcommittee's investigation, it became clear that many inconsistencies in the conflict-of-interest statutes exist which hinder the implementation and enforcement of ethical standards throughout the Federal Government. As a result of the subcommittee's findings in the Gilleece case and the large and growing list of Federal officials alleged to have violated ethics laws, last year the subcommittee expanded its inquiry to focus on the entire Executive Branch ethics program. The long parade of government officials and high-level employees under indictment, forced to resign, dismissed or under siege, has shaken the public's confidence in our government. The apparent (1) |