TOPICS
TOPICS
Forget About Perks
A former federal ethics official recalls giving a lecture on the moral boundaries of working in government to a slate of young political appointees. They were fresh off the campaign trail for the newly sworn-in president, so the official went over all the limits on their activities. No political fund-raising. No gifts. No using your position to help family members. Finally, a hand shot up in the back of the room. "Where are all the perks?" one asked.
"I was glad they said that," recalls former Office of Government Ethics chief Stephen Potts, now chairman of the private Washington-based Ethics Resource Center. "I said, 'If you're here for the perks, get yourself back home.' "
Congress is embroiled in several ethics scandals, but history shows that executive branch officials are susceptible to severe breaches of conduct, too, often by top-ranking career executives or their political bosses. Former Air Force procurement executive Darleen Druyun was sentenced to nine months in jail after favoring Boeing for Air Force contracts and securing jobs at the company for family members and herself. Former General Services Administration official David Safavian has been accused of tipping off his friend Jack Abramoff that the agency was preparing to bar one of Abramoff's clients from government contracts. Those are only two of the more recent examples of ethical lapses, which are not rare enough.
After such cases come to light, there are always reviews of systems to determine why checks and balances failed to prevent the ethical breach. In Druyun's case, for example, a Defense Science Board task force review found that she was given too much power over too many aspects of the contracting process, and recommended that such power should be divided among several officials. The review also cited the Senior Executive Service evaluation process for failing to bring to light the many complaints from subordinates about Druyun's consolidation of power, recommending more input from employees in executive performance evaluations.
But the Druyun review and others are quick to point out that no systemic checks and balances will ensure that determined people cannot abuse their power for personal gain. And so a natural question emerges: Why do people abuse their power?
A common denominator that Potts has noticed is a sense of entitlement by the offending executives. Because they work so hard, are paid so little and get almost no recognition, federal executives sometimes feel entitled to bend or break the rules. "Partly it can result from hubris," Potts says. "People begin to think it's their birthright." It's particularly important that leaders avoid that kind of thinking, he says, because subordinates pick up on it and begin to think it's OK to use their own positions for personal gain as well.
How do leaders keep from bending - or breaking - the rules? There's a simple answer: A little humility goes a long way.
Potts, for one, likes to look for guidance not at the bad examples, such as Druyun, but at instances of strong ethical behavior. And perhaps the strongest model is the first federal executive, George Washington. Throughout his career, he eschewed material reward for his service and when given chances to accumulate power, he relinquished it. "That was an example of someone who did have control over his own psyche," Potts says. Washington also realized an important fact of life in the executive branch: There are no perks.
COMMENTS
- Simply stated, power corrupts! And it corrupts everyone. The only chance we have is to roll them over continually so they cannot establish a cheating program and rob us blind in the process. The corruption of power is a matter of degree and the degree is reduced when we roll over the political appointees as fast as possible, as well as rolling over congressional and elected officials elsewhere -- the call for term limits has meaning! "Potts, for one, likes to look for guidance not at the bad examples, such as Druyun, but at instances of strong ethical behavior. And perhaps the strongest model is the first federal executive, George Washington. Throughout his career, he eschewed material reward for his service and when given chances to accumulate power, he relinquished it. "That was an example of someone who did have control over his own psyche," Potts says. Washington also realized an important fact of life in the executive branch: There are no perks." Potts needs to read about Washington. Why did the federal government establish D.C. where it is and why did Washington personally do the survey of the area for D.C.? Could it be he owned the land in and around D.C.? How much booze did he distribute during his first elections to government positions? Potts needs to look at this realistically and not as he was taught in the first three grades of school. Right, George Washington could not tell a lie and he chopped down the cherry tree! Brother, get real because the political establishment is giving away the wealth of the country and nothing is being done to stop it! Taxpayer Posted March 15, 2006 7:37 AM
- If anyone wonders why ethics are at an all-time high, they must not have heard of the "ethics truce." Go to www.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/12/8/171912/291. To search for similar subject material type "political ethics agreement." Other interesting reading is: www. ethics.senate.gov where you can access the Senate ethics manual. As I've said many times the door is wide open for these individuals and there is little if any punishment. In the recent indictment of Cunningham, his lawyer pleaded for leniency stating his client is penniless and a war hero. My response is the hero part got Cunningham the job but isn't a get out of jail free ticket. I believe he was sentenced to six years. He will most likely serve his term in a hotel-like environment and will be out in less than four years to begin drawing his fat federal retirement check. If he dies his spouse will be drawing 80 percent of the big check. With what he's hidden and the retirement, we all would wish to be as penniless. The really sweat deal for most is the possibility of leaving government service with a fat 80-100 percent retirement and sliding into a cushy lobbyist job where one basically has a license to steal. The government position is usually only training for the real deal, that of lobbyist. With politicians having their existing supreme power, ethics and bad government will remain in a sorry state. GovExec.com reader Posted March 9, 2006 8:11 AM
- All well and good. The simple rule that one should not use one's office for financial gain makes perfect sense. What's makes no sense under draconian ethics rules is the broad-based attack on association activities in the federal sector, or OSC going after folks for Hatch Act violations like that D.C. teacher a few years ago, or firing IRS employees for being late in filing their own taxes. The list of ethics issues becoming big federal cases goes on and on. Very few federal employees are arrested for bribery -- many federal and D.C. employees get caught up in arcane OGE regulations that make very little sense in the real world. GovExec.com reader Posted March 8, 2006 7:39 AM
Brian Friel, who covered management and human resources at Government Executive for six years, is now a National Journal staff correspondent.
