Pres. Obama institutes executive branch "revolving door" reforms his first full day in office

Image by jmtimages via FlickrGovernment reform orgs. deliver news on major events within their areas of expertise.
From: Democracy 21

Democracy 21 Press Release
January 21, 2009
www.democracy21.org

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer Praising
“Ground Breaking” Ethics Executive Order
Issued Today by President Obama

Executive Order Contains Toughest and Most Far Reaching “Revolving Door” Provisions Ever Adopted

President Barack Obama issued a ground breaking Executive Order today that establishes unprecedented new rules to govern the role of lobbyists in the Obama Administration.

The ethics Executive Order issued by the Obama Administration goes further than any previous action taken by a President to restrict the ability of presidential appointees who serve in the Executive Branch from coming back to lobby the Administration, and also to limit the role of lobbyists coming in to serve in the Administration.

It also bans presidential appointees from accepting gifts from lobbyists and lays the groundwork for extending this gift ban to all Executive Branch employees.

The new Executive Order contains the toughest and most far reaching revolving door provisions ever adopted.

President Obama’s Executive Order on ethics constitutes a major step in setting a new tone and attitude for Washington that challenges the lobbyist, special interest culture that pervades the nation’s Capitol.

We strongly praise President Obama for issuing this landmark Executive Order on his first day in office and demonstrating by his actions that he takes very seriously the importance of protecting the integrity of the government he leads, and, in so doing, the interests of the American people.

The new Executive Order, for the first time, prohibits presidential appointees who leave the government from coming back to lobby high level executive branch officials throughout the entire government, not just in their own department or agency, and from doing so for the entire period that President Obama serves as president. This includes a second term if the President is reelected.

It requires presidential appointees entering the Obama Administration to make a clear choice: if they want to serve in important policy positions in the Administration they must be willing to give up their ability to capitalize on their government jobs after leaving by lobbying the Obama Administration.

Previous Executive Branch revolving door provisions have restricted covered executive branch officials from going back to lobby their departments and agencies, but never the whole Executive Branch, and never for the length of time involved here.

The new Executive Order is based on the assumption that there are more than enough talented and qualified citizens in the country to fill senior government positions, without having to continue Washington’s ingrained “revolving door” tradition of turning public service into a vehicle for personal gain.

The Executive Order also contains reverse “revolving door” provisions that will for the first time restrict the ability of lobbyists entering the Obama Administration from helping their former clients or influencing decisions on issues on which they have lobbied.

It prohibits any presidential appointee who served as a lobbyist during the two-year period prior to joining the Administration from working in any agency or department that they had lobbied, for a two-year period after they join the Administration.

It also provides that a person who served as a lobbyist during the two-year period prior to joining the Obama Administration cannot for the first two years after being appointed to the Obama Administration participate in any particular matter on which the person lobbied or in the specific issue area in which the particular matter falls.

These are unprecedented restrictions on what lobbyists can do when they join an Administration.

The Executive Order requires all presidential appointees to sign a binding agreement that they will comply with the Executive Order and sets up an important oversight and enforcement process, giving responsibilities to the Office of Government Ethics and the Justice Department to ensure compliance with the new Order.

President Obama’s Executive Order follows on the important leadership he provided on lobbying reform in the last Congress when, along with Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), then-Senator Obama led a hard fought, successful battle to enact key lobbying transparency provisions. The provisions require members of Congress and federal candidates, for the first time, to disclose the lobbyists who bundled contributions for them and the total amounts each raised.

The most important government integrity issue that still lies ahead is reform of the nation’s campaign finance laws – reform that is needed as part of achieving President Obama’s oft stated goal during the campaign to fix Washington.

Successful campaign finance reform can fundamentally alter Washington’s influence-money culture.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama stated that he was “firmly committed to reforming the [presidential public financing] system as president so that it’s viable in today’s campaign climate.”

We look forward to working with President Obama and his Administration to accomplish this essential reform goal and also on efforts to establish a similar system for congressional races.

# # #


>All Things Reform Mobile: allthingsreform.mofuse.mobi >Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 (not toll-free) >US House/Senate Mobile: bit.ly/members >Contact your reps tips: bit.ly/dear >Shortened All Things Reform URL: bit.ly/dw