Posted by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson

During a press briefing a few minutes ago, John Podesta, co-chair of the  Obama Transition Team, announced what he described as “the strictest and most far reaching ethics rules of any transition team in history.” The rules are:

·         Federal Lobbyists cannot contribute financially to the transition.

·         Federal lobbyists are prohibited from  any   lobbying during their work with the transition.

·         If someone has lobbied in the last 12 months, they are prohibited from working in the fields of policy on which they lobbied.

·         If someone becomes a lobbyist after working on the Transition, they are prohibited from lobbying the Administration  for 12 months  on  matters on which they worked.

·         A gift ban that is aggressive in reducing the influence of special interests.

Evidence that Podesta wasn’t merely hyping the significance of these rules comes from statements by leaders of two prominent think tanks, the first identified with the political left, the second with the right.  When these two agree, it’s a very good sign.

Statement of Thomas Mann
Brookings Institution

“The ethical guidelines released today for the Obama transition are tough and unequivocal.  They will prevent some honorable people with rich experience from serving in the transition.  That is a real cost but it is more than balanced by the strong signal sent by the President-elect.  He aspires to attract to government able individuals whose highest priority is to serve the public interest.  This is a very constructive step in that direction.”

Statement of Norm Ornstein
American Enterprise Institute

“Restoring trust in government is a prerequisite to enacting good policy and the tough choices the country needs. This ethics policy for the transition is a far-reaching, bold and constructive step to do just that. The policy may exclude some good people with deep experience in their fields, but it will also exclude those who see government service as a springboard to financial success, or who are more intent on pleasing future potential employers or clients than making tough choices in the public interest. As much as anything, this ethics policy is a statement about the tone and tenor of the Obama administration. It is a good sign.”

Posted on November 11th, 2008 by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson
Filed under: Uncategorized