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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Mark Davis Subject Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Davis, Mark, Files
Subseries:
Subject File, 1989-1991
OA/ID Number:
13870
Folder ID Number:
13870-005
Folder Title:
Ethics, 3/28/89
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
19
2
6
3
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
01a. Memo
Mark Davis to POTUS, Re: Ethics Speech. (1 pp.)
03/28/89
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Office:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Davis, Mark William
Subseries:
Subject File
WHORM Cat.:
Open on Expiration of PRA
File Location:
Ethics 3/28/89
(Document Follows)
By CAP
(NLGB) on 4/5/05
Date Closed:
12/13/2004
OA/ID Number:
13870-005
FOIA/SYS Case #:
S
Appeal Case #:
Re-review Case #:
2005-0481-S
Appeal Disposition:
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
Disposition Date:
AR Case #:
MR Case #:
AR Disposition:
MR Disposition:
AR Disposition Date:
MR Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
PRM. Removed as a personal record misfile
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March 28, 1989
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
FROM:
MARK DAVIS
SUBJECT:
ETHICS SPEECH
byevec. order,
Event: You will give two speeches on the day you unveil your
ethics legislation in early to mid April. One speech will be
before political appointees; this will be a more precise,
programmatic look at your legislation. The second speech, which
I am drafting, will be given before several hundred congressional
interns and pages. I recommend that this speech concern ethics
in the broader context of basic American values.
Theme: We expect our leaders to live up to our best standards.
Yet these standards do not emanate from Washington. They are to
be found in the everyday conduct of working men and women; in the
postman who checks on the elderly resident at home; in the
cashier who runs after the customer she overcharged.
Tone: No preaching, no holier-than-thou rhetoric. Just an
acknowledgement that many of these young men and women are
beginning a long career in government, and that now is the best
time in their lives to embrace certain standards.
Content: Ethics legislation will bring about uniformity,
simplicity and fairness to federal ethics laws. We do not want
to scare off good people with laws that are too complex to
understand or obey. Congress must be included: the American
people will not long respect a legal system that treats the
branches of government differently.
Caveat: An ethics law is not a political weapon, a blunt
instrument with which to pound the opposition. It is not a gag
with which to silence the outspoken. It is not an instrument of
torture with which to torment the unpopular. It is a tool for
government as good, as honest and as wise the nation it serves.
- Sununu: not est. STANDARDS that E place
perception over Reality.
Withdrawal/Redaction Sheet
(George Bush Library)
Document No.
Subject/Title of Document
Date
Restriction
Class.
and Type
01b. Report
Commission recommendations, Re: Ethics legislation. (4 pp.)
n.d.
Collection:
Record Group:
Bush Presidential Records
Office:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Davis, Mark William
Subseries:
Subject File
Open on Expiration of PRA
WHORM Cat.:
(Document Follows)
File Location:
Ethics 3/28/89
By
CAP
(NLGB) on 4/5/05
Date Closed:
12/13/2004
OA/ID Number:
13870-005
FOIA/SYS Case #:
S
Appeal Case #:
Re-review Case #:
2005-0481-S
Appeal Disposition:
P-2/P-5 Review Case #:
Disposition Date:
AR Case #:
MR Case #:
AR Disposition:
MR Disposition:
AR Disposition Date:
MR Disposition Date:
RESTRICTION CODES
Presidential Records Act - [44 U.S.C. 2204(a)]
Freedom of Information Act - [5 U.S.C. 552(b)]
P-1 National Security Classified Information [(a)(1) of the PRA]
(b)(1) National security classified information [(b)(1) of the FOIA]
P-2 Relating to the appointment to Federal office [(a)(2) of the PRA]
(b)(2) Release would disclose internal personnel rules and practices of an
P-3 Release would violate a Federal statute [(a)(3) of the PRA]
agency [(b)(2) of the FOIA]
P-4 Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential commercial or
(b)(3) Release would violate a Federal statute [(b)(3) of the FOIA]
financial information [(a)(4) of the PRA]
(b)(4) Release would disclose trade secrets or confidential or financial
P-5 Release would disclose confidential advice between the President
information [(b)(4) of the FOIA]
and his advisors, or between such advisors [a)(5) of the PRA]
(b)(6) Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
P-6 Release would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy [(b)(6) of the FOIA]
personal privacy [(a)(6) of the PRA]
(b)(7) Release would disclose information compiled for law enforcement
purposes [(b)(7) of the FOIA]
C. Closed in accordance with restrictions contained in donor's deed of
(b)(8) Release would disclose information concerning the regulation of
gift.
financial institutions [(b)(8) of the FOIA]
(b)(9) Release would disclose geological or geophysical information
PRM Removed as a personal record misfile
4 PRINICIPLE
A) LEVEL PLAYIN field
B) cons. OF Exec. BRANCH STANDARDS - common
sense AND uniforms to Ethics.
II. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
c) STANDARDS TOUOH Enlough to keep sour ethical.
D) NOT TOO TOUGH TO Keep people out - not too burden
A
Recommendation 1:
The Commission recommends that the conflict-of-interest
statute, 18 U.S.C. § 208, be extended to non-Member officers
and employees of the judiciary and Congress, but not to
Members of Congress themselves.
B
Recommendation 2:
The Commission recommends (1) that the Office of Government
Ethics, in collaboration with the Department of Justice, issue
interpretive regulations relating to financial conflicts of interest
under 18 U.S.C. § 208; and (2) that legislation be enacted
granting the Office of Government Ethics the authority to issue
rules providing for general waivers under § 208(b)(2).
B
Recommendation 3:
The Commission recommends (1) that agencies granting waivers
under § 208(b) be required to consult with the Office of
Government Ethics in advance and provide that office with a
copy of any waiver granted; (2) that further consideration be
given to the mechanism for granting waivers for employees of
the legislative branch; and (3) that legislation be enacted
granting the President authority to waive the provisions of
§ 208(a) in situations where the national interest so requires.
Recommendation 4:
The Commission recommends that legislation be enacted to
grant tax relief to persons who are required to divest assets in
order to avoid conflicts of interest.
Recommendation 5:
To respond to certain unique circumstances that pose unusual
conflict of interest issues, the Commission recommends (1) the
enactment of legislation authorizing waivers from 18 U.S.C.
§ 208(a) for advisory committee members where the appointing
authority determines, after review of financial disclosure forms,
that the need for a member's expertise outweighs the potential
for conflict of interest; and (2) that limitations on the activities
of partners of federal employees (18 U.S.C. § 207(g)) apply only
when the government employee and the partner are general
partners, not when the government employee is a limited
partner.
Recommendation 6:
The Commission recommends (1) that federal employees in all
three branches be prohibited from receiving honoraria, (2) that
existing criminal prohibitions against supplementing government
salaries apply to all three branches, and (3) that senior
8
if P.warts to 50 after Coymo, this is central-
popular w/ POST- BUT not UPGES.
employees in all three branches be covered by a uniform
percentage cap on outside earned income, but that the President
have authority to exempt categories of earned income from the
cap that do not present significant issues of ethical propriety or
interfere with the full performance of job duties.
A
Recommendation 7:
The Commission recommends that senior federal employees in
all three branches of government be prohibited from serving
on the boards of directors of for-profit commercial enterprises
(whether or not compensated) and that requests by such
employees to serve on the boards of directors of nonprofit
organizations be subject to review on a case-by-case basis.
A
Recommendation 8:
The Commission recommends the following changes in the laws
and regulations governing acceptance of gifts: (1) enactment of
B
uniform gift acceptance authority government-wide; (2)
enactment of a uniform maximum value for gifts to individuals;
and (3) enactment of revisions to the current statutory bar on
gifts to supervisors.
A
Recommendation 9:
The Commission recommends that restrictions in 18 U.S.C.
§ 208 on negotiation for employment be amended to extend to
Members and employees of the legislative and judicial branches.
We further recommend that Congress reconsider the necessity
of retaining statutes applying special restrictions to specified
categories of employees. To the extent that Congress feels that
such supplementary restrictions are necessary, those prohibitions
should be consolidated into § 208.
Recommendation 10:
The Commission recommends that the one-year cooling-off
period presently applicable to Senior Employees of the executive
branch be extended to the legislative and judicial branches and
their senior staff. As to all three branches, the bar should
permit self-representation by the former employee on particular
matters involving the former employee specifically.
Recommendation 11:
The Commission recommends that Congress enact legislation
that adds a new provision to 18 U.S.C. § 207 creating a two-
year post-employment bar, for executive and legislative branch
personnel, against the use or disclosure of certain specifically
defined, non-public information in connection with representing
a party to the government or in connection with aiding or
advising a party in such a representation. Such legislation
should include: (1) a provision that includes non-public
procurement-related proprietary or source selection information
within the scope of the restriction; and (2) if specifically
definable, a provision that includes non-public information as
9
to the government's position and strategy in international trade,
disarmament, and finance negotiations.
B
Recommendation 12:
The Commission recommends amending the 18 U.S.C.
§ 207(b)(i) two-year official responsibility bar to add a
knowledge requirement.
B
Recommendation 13:
The Commission recommends repeal of the 18 U.S.C.
§ 207(b)(ii) two-year prohibition against Senior Employees
assisting in a representational effort by personal presence.
Recommendation 14:
The Commission recommends that the Executive Office of the
President be treated as one agency for the purpose of the one-
year cooling off period.
Recommendation 15:
The Commission recommends that the receipt of compensation
not be included as an essential element of any post-employment
restriction.
B
Recommendation 16:
The Commission recommends that the public financial disclosure
reporting system mandated by the Ethics in Government Act of
1978 be continued, but the floors of the highest categories of
value for reporting of income and assets should be raised, there
should be broader ranges of values within the categories, and
specified statutory reporting requirements should be replaced
by general requirements, with an authorization for the Office
of Government Ethics to impose detailed reporting requirements
by regulation. In addition, for non-career appointees, the
reporting requirements for liabilities should be expanded to
include mortgages on personal residences and loans from
specified relatives.
A
Recommendation 17:
The Commission recommends that financial reporting
requirements and review be made more uniform across the three
branches of government.
B
Recommendation 18:
The Commission recommends that a coordinating committee
composed of ethics officials of the three branches of
Government study ways to simplify the Presidential appointment
process by reducing the number and complexity of forms to be
completed by potential appointees.
B
Recommendation 19:
The Commission recommends revision, updating and reissuance
of Executive Order 11222 to emphasize the President's
commitment to the highest ethical standards for executive
branch employees.
10
Recommendation 20:
The Commission recommends that the Office of Government
Key one
Ethics be directed by executive order to consolidate all executive
branch standards of conduct regulations into a single set of
regulations. Individual agencies could supplement these
regulations with stricter standards with the approval of the
Office of Government Ethics. The Office of Government Ethics
should also issue a comprehensive ethics manual.
Recommendation 21:
The Commission recommends that executive branch agencies
should be responsible for training their employees concerning
ethics requirements, but an agency should obtain the Office of
Government Ethics approval of its annual plan for training and
awareness activities.
A
Recommendation 22:
The Commission recommends that Congress appoint an
independent ethics official, to be confirmed by both houses,
who would head a permanent ethics office that would investigate
allegations of misconduct, report findings publicly to the ethics
committee of the appropriate house, and recommend
appropriate sanctions.
Recommendation 23:
The Commission believes that a White House Ethics Council
or similar body could be helpful in preserving high ethical
standards in the executive branch.
B
Recommendation 24:
The Commission recommends the addition of misdemeanor and
civil penalties as sanctions for violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 203-
209 but recommends that willful violations of these laws should
continue to be punishable as felonies.
B
Recommendation 25:
The Commission recommends that Chapter 11 of title 18 of the
United States Code be amended to allow the Attorney General
to seek injunctive relief for all violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 203-
209.
B
Recommendation 26:
The Commission recommends the strengthening of
administrative debarment procedures for former government
employees who violate the post-employment restrictions in 18
U.S.C. § 207.
A
Recommendation 27:
Assuming the continued use of an Independent Counsel
mechanism, the Commission recommends that Congress enact
legislation to extend the scope of the Independent Counsel
statute to cover the legislative branch.
11
GEORGE BUSH PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
THIS FORM MARKS THE FILE LOCATION OF ITEM NUMBER
/
LISTED ON THE WITHDRAWAL SHEET AT THE FRONT OF THIS FOLDER
PARTING
-2-
and clear.
Ethical standards are central to our Administration
and our Nation, and we will enforce them: strictly,
comprehensively, fairly, and to the letter and spirit of the law.
Ten weeks ago, I issued an Executive Order creating the
President's Commission on Federal Ethics Law Reform. And I asked
its members to recommend steps which would foster full confidence
in the integrity of all Federal public officials and employees.
On March 9, this Commission filed its report and its
recommendations. And, today, I am announcing a new Executive
Order and legislation to enforce government ethics in fact, not
merely in theory. This afternoon, legislation is being sent to
the Congress. And in a few moments, I will issue my Executive
Order, affecting executive-branch employees.
Both actions seek a common end: To raise ethical standards,
to avoid conflicts of interest, and to ensure that violating the
law -- even the appearance of wrong-doing -- will not be
tolerated.
There are those, of course, who rightly say that public
ethics and values cannot be legislated. But they can be
encouraged, respected, and adhered to in government. Public
servants must reflect the best values of America. And let me add
that most public servants do. They are decent and devoted men
and women who care deeply about their Nation.
-3-
Jefferson said, "The whole art of government consists in
being honest." Yet, too often, government rules have worked at
cross-purposes. Our regulations have been unfair and
complicated. Our laws have been contradictory and unclear.
We've spent more time trying to understand Federal ethics laws
than we have trying to live by them.
Our ethics program seeks to change all that. How? By
achieving four objectives: First, to set high ethical standards;
second, to ensure uniform standards among all three branches of
government; third, to insist that these standards are fair and
reasonable; and, fourth, to bring in, not drive out, the talented
and enterprising to government.
First, our ethics program insists that ethical standards
must be exacting enough to ensure that officials act with utmost
integrity. For the public's confidence is not ours to inherit.
We must earn that confidence. It must be constantly renewed.
Therefore, our bill will dramatically increase financial
disclosure requirements. Moreover, it will prohibit the personal
use of excess campaign contributions by all members of Congress.
PAC-Man may play in pizza parlors, but it's time we pulled its
plug in Washington, D.C.
My friends, the PAC freight train is out of control. Unless
we stop it, it will steamroll democracy. Consider: In 1972, PAC
-4-
contributions to House and Senate candidates totaled $12 million;
last year, they skyrocketed to $150 million. In 1974, there were
608 PACs; today, there are about 4,200.
This explosion protects incumbents, harms challengers, and,
as The Washington Post said recently, helps "give new meaning to
the term life member." In 1988, PAC money favored incumbents
over challengers by eight to one. Our Founding Fathers created a
two-year term of office for the House of Representatives to make
that body responsive and responsible. With a re-election rate of
98.5 per cent, how can it be either?
Worse, PAC money too often aids special interests at the
expense of the general interest. That is why we support sweeping
reductions in the amounts that PACs can contribute. We want to
reduce maximum contributions to an individual from $5,000 to
$1,000. And we want to cap calendar-year contributions by any
PAC to federal candidates at $25,000. Our proposal will put
corporations and labor PACs on an equal footing. It will
strengthen America's two-party system. Above all, it will send
this clarion message: "Democracy is not for sale."
Our ethics program's second goal insists that standards be
equitable across all three branches of government. Remember: If
every branch of government is equal, none warrants preferential
treatment. If Washington is a level playing field, then every
team member should be treated the same.
-5-
Therefore, assuming the continued existence of the
Independent Counsel, I request that we extend that statute to
cover the Congress. I want to create an independent ethics
office for the Congress, to be headed by an independent official,
confirmed by both houses. I ask that the existing one-year post-
employment "cooling-off" period for senior executive-branch
employees also apply to the other branches. And I want to extend to
legislative- and judicial-branch employees and judges the Federal
statute that prohibits employees from taking actions which
enhance their own financial interests.
Then, there's the third objective of our ethics program. It
insists that standards be reasonable and reflect good old-
fashioned common sense.
Some financial interests, for example, are too minor to
create any meaningful conflict-of-interest. So, I want the
Office of Government Ethics to have the authority to issue
regulations authorizing waivers from the conflict-of-interest
statute. But at the same time, we're urging tougher penalties
when intentional violations of criminal conflict-of-interest laws
occur.
We're asking officials from all three branches to jointly
simplify the forms that must be completed by prospective
Presidential appointees -- the forms you've memorized in your
-6-
sleep. And our new Executive Order sets forth ethical standards
for executive-branch employees. For example: Presidential
appointees will not be allowed to earn outside money for services
performed during their time here. And I'm requiring mandatory
annual briefings on ethics for Presidential appointees.
An old adage claims that "when all is said and done, as a
rule, more is said than done." Our program's fourth objective,
like the previous three, aims to dodge that pitfall.
This objective says that America must not allow overly
restrictive requirements to keep talented people from entering
public service. That is why we have carefully crafted new post-
employment restrictions. And why we want to allow persons who
Resecution
are required to divest assets in order to avoid conflicts of
interest to defer their tax liability.
( (You know, there's an old New England story about a man,
n.
stuck in the mud with his car, who was asked by a passing
motorist whether he was really stuck. "You could say I was
stuck," the fellow said, "if I was really going anywhere. "))
Our ethics program shows exactly where we are going, and
why. We seek to attract, and keep, more of the best and
brightest in government. And by helping others -- honorably,
ethically -- we seek to show how public service is not the sum of