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TO AMEND THE ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT ACT

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 1986

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT

OF GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT,

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS,

Washington, DC.

The subcommittee met at 2:25 p.m.,_in_room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. William S. Cohen (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Senators Cohen, Rudman, and Levin.

Staff Present: Susan M. Collins, staff director; Mary B. Gerwin, majority counsel; Linda J. Gustitus, minority staff director; Elise J. Bean, minority counsel; Frankie de Vergie, chief clerk; and Beth Andrews, intern.

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR COHEN

Senator COHEN. The committee will come to order.

In 1978, the Congress passed the Ethics in Government Act in order to promote public confidence in Government and to increase the accountability of Federal officials. A major element of this law was the establishment of a uniform system of financial disclosure for top-level officials and employees in all three branches of the Government.

In requiring financial disclosure, the Congress endorsed the principle espoused by Justice Brandeis that "sunlight is the best disinfectant. Congress believed that when the private interests of public servants are matters of record, they can be monitored to determine whether conflicts of interest exist.

The issue before the subcommittee today is what sanctions should be used to enforce the financial disclosure reporting requirements. Should the Department of Justice continue to use both criminal and civil penalties in enforcing the law, or should civil and administrative sanctions be the exclusive remedies?

To date, the Department of Justice has used the Criminal False Statement Act to indict at least one public official in each branch of Government for submitting false statements on financial disclosure reports. The most publicized of these cases was the conviction of Congressman George Hansen for failing to disclose over $300,000 in loans and profits on his financial disclosure reports filed for 1978 through 1981. Congressman Hansen was fined $40,000 and sentenced to 5 to 15 months in prison for these violations, and his conviction was upheld on appeal.

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