As we reported last week, GovExec acquired an e-mail from Robert Rangel, special assistant to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, requiring all Bush administration appointees at DoD to sign the President's ethics pledge by Friday or get out of DoDge. So far, it looks like DoD is the only agency that has implemented this ethics policy, which would establish significant post-employment restrictions in an effort to stop the revolving door between government service and private interests.
POGO is interested in tracking how other agencies are implementing the ethics pledge, and whether other Bush appointees have signed the pledge and promised not to go through the revolving door. Please contact us at msmithbergerATpogoDOTorg if you are aware of 1) anyone who is continuing to serve in the government without signing the pledge, 2) ideas as to how many people may be leaving DoD by April 30th because they find the post-government employment restrictions too confining, or 3) individuals from the past administration who have already signed off that they won't go through the revolving door.
-- Mandy Smithberger
Ken,
Obama appointees are already required to sign the ethics pledge by Obama's executive order, and presumably wouldn't have been appointed if they weren't willing to do it. By all means, if anyone has information about Obama appointees circumventing this, we definitely want to know about that, too.
Posted by: Mandy | Apr 14, 2009 at 09:50 AM
Sounds a little like a partisan effort to facilitate an Inquisition, Mandy.
Posted by: Ken Huffman | Apr 13, 2009 at 09:31 PM