Conflict-of-Interest Controls

This fact sheet identifies the extent of and the bases for the promises made by 41 Senate-confirmed political appointees in the Energy Department and the Environmental Protection Agency to disqualify themselves from agency matters that might present conflicts between their personal lives and their governmental responsibilities. Such disqualifications are referred to as "recusals" in federal conflict-of-interest regulations. GAO also identifies the extent to which these individuals took other steps to address conflicts of interest. About half of the appointees were the last incumbents in the Senate-confirmed positions during the Bush Administration. The other half are Clinton Administration appointees.

GAO found that: (1) various statutes, executive orders, and federal regulations govern political appointees' recusal from regulatory matters in which they may have an interest; (2) 76 percent of the appointees it reviewed made documented recusal obligations as a result of the nomination and confirmation process; (3) the most commonly cited basis for recusal obligations was the criminal conflict-of-interest statute, and various appearance-based obligations accounted for the remainder; and (4) most of the appearance-based obligations were grounded in specific agency or Office of Government Ethics recusal requirements.