Ethics Moment                                                                         December 2007

 

 

The U.S. Department of the Interior:

A Model Ethical Workplace?

 

Can Secretary Dirk Kempthorne make the scandal ridden Department of the Interior a model of an ethical workplace? He thinks so. He has put forward a 10 point plan to do just that. The plan comes on the heels of the sentencing of the former second-ranking official J. Steven Griles to 10 months in prison for lying to a Senate committee about his ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the resignation of Julie MacDonald after an internal investigation found that she had politically interfered in scientific advice offered on the Endangered Species Act.

 

What are the key ingredients of the plan to turn Interior into a model ethical workplace? They include:

 

            *appointing an experienced ethics lawyer to be Interior’s Designated Agency Ethics Officer;

            *expanding the ethics staff;

            *implementing best ethics practices identified by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics;

            *Creating a Conduct Accountability Board;

            *Including a measure for effective management of ethics in the performance standards for members of the Senior Executive Service;

            *Strengthening conduct and discipline procedures and penalties;

            *Reviewing policies and procedures governing contacts with lobbyists and policy advocates;

            *Enhancing ethics communication with employees, including printing Interior’s core values—stewardship for America with integrity and excellence--on each employee’s badge.

           

Alas, no sooner had Secretary Kempthorne released his plan, then the Assistant Secretary for Water and Science (who was appointed to chair the newly constituted Conduct Accountability Board) announced his departure from Interior for a lucrative lobbying job with a firm that represents local and state water agencies with interests before the Department. These developments prompted U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) to query Secretary Kempthorne about the Department’s strategy to turn the agency into a model ethical workplace.

 

Will the Secretary be able to build a strong ethical environment in Interior? Perhaps. But if one believes that the secret of doing so involves more than just compliance-compliance-compliance, and the Secretary’s plan does emphasize compliance with rules, regulations, and laws, then there is reason to be skeptical.

 

Sources: New York Times, June 27, 2007, July 10, 2007 and http://wyden.senate.gov/media/2007/Print/print_07192007_Kempthorne.htm