Conflict-of-Interest Controls: Documented Recusal Obligations of Top
Political Appointees in DOE and EPA (Fact Sheet, 03/07/95,
GAO/GGD-95-81FS).

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.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  GGD-95-81FS
     TITLE:  Conflict-of-Interest Controls: Documented Recusal 
             Obligations of Top Political Appointees in DOE and EPA
      DATE:  03/07/95
   SUBJECT:  Conflict of interest
             Lawyers
             Ethical conduct
             Federal personnel law
             Presidential appointments
             Congressional/executive relations
             Regulatory agencies
             Public officials
             Documentation

             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Fact Sheet for the Ranking Minority Member, Committee on Commerce,
House of Representatives

March 1995

CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST CONTROLS -
DOCUMENTED RECUSAL OBLIGATIONS OF
TOP POLITICAL APPOINTEES IN DOE
AND EPA

GAO/GGD-95-81FS

Conflict of Interest

(966608)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  DAEO - Designated agency ethics official
  DOE - Department of Energy
  EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
  OGE - Office of Government Ethics

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-259424

March 7, 1995

The Honorable John D.  Dingell
Ranking Minority Member
Committee on Commerce
House of Representatives

Dear Mr.  Dingell: 

The principal purpose of this fact sheet is to identify the extent of
and the bases for the promises made by 41 Senate-confirmed political
appointees in the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to disqualify themselves from certain agency
matters to avoid conflicts between their personal interests and their
governmental responsibilities.  (Such disqualifications are referred
to as "recusals" in federal conflict-of-interest regulations.) We
have also identified the extent to which these individuals took other
remedial actions to address actual or potential conflicts of
interest.  About half of the appointees (20) were the last incumbents
in the Senate-confirmed positions during the administration of
President Bush and are referred to in this report as Bush appointees. 
The other half (21), referred to as Clinton appointees, were serving
in the administration of President Clinton at the end of 1993. 

Our specific objectives were to document: 

  -- the extent to which nominees to Senate-confirmed positions in
     DOE and EPA promised to recuse themselves from official
     government matters during the two administrations, including any
     changes between administrations in the frequency of occurrence
     of documented recusal promises or obligations;

  -- the bases cited in agency records for the recusal obligations of
     the appointees, including a description of the recusal
     obligations made by each nominee; and

  -- the extent to which appointees with nominee recusal obligations
     had also documented taking other remedial actions to comply with
     criteria governing their participation in official government
     matters, i.e., divestitures of financial interests, agency
     waivers of statutory participation prohibitions, and any recusal
     obligations following Senate confirmation. 


   BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

Each presidential nominee confirmed by the Senate must undergo a
conflict-of-interest analysis by both the employing agency and the
Office of Government Ethics (OGE).\1 These analyses involve review
and approval of a public financial disclosure report filed by the
nominee and the preparation of opinion letters by agency ethics
officials certifying that there are no unresolved conflicts of
interest under applicable laws and regulations. 

To address any actual or potential conflicts that have been
identified, federal ethics law requires the nominee to enter into an
ethics agreement.  An ethics agreement, according to OGE, describes
the actions that a nominee has agreed to take to resolve conflicts of
interest, including recusals when the need may arise, divestitures of
financial interests, waivers of participation restrictions, and
resignations from outside positions. 


--------------------
\1 OGE was established by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 and is
responsible for providing overall direction of executive branch
policies related to the prevention of conflicts of interest by
officers and employees of the executive branch. 


      CRITERIA FOR DOCUMENTING
      RECUSAL OBLIGATIONS
---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :1.1

Statutory criteria governing how an obligation to recuse should be
documented originated from a 1983 amendment to the Ethics in
Government Act of 1978 (Sec.  9 of P.L.  98-150, Nov.  11, 1983,
codified at 5 U.S.C.  App.  6, Sec.  110).  These criteria require
presidential appointees and other filers of public financial
disclosure reports to put in writing those subjects to which the
recusal obligation will apply and the process for determining whether
the individual must recuse himself or herself in a specific
instance.\2

Under regulations and guidance implementing this statutory provision,
OGE considers a copy of the recusal statement with details on the
matters covered and method of enforcement as satisfactory evidence of
the appointee's fulfillment of an ethics agreement containing a
recusal obligation.  The law requires that these recusal statements
be prepared within the time prescribed by the ethics agreement or not
later than 3 months after the date of the agreement if no date is
specified.  OGE has determined that the day a presidential appointee
is confirmed is the day an ethics agreement becomes effective and
considers any agreements containing a recusal obligation to be
delinquent if the appointee has not approved a recusal statement more
than 90 days after confirmation.  Although the appointee is
responsible for approving and executing the recusal statement, such
statements are typically prepared by agency ethics officials. 

As part of the recusal execution process, a "screening official" is
to be designated in the recusal statement to help identify any
disqualifying matters that may arise, and a "referral official" is to
be designated to act in place of the appointee on any particular
disqualifying matters.  However, neither the appointee nor the
screening or referral official is required by law or OGE regulation
to notify anyone of the appointee's actions to recuse from specific
matters.  Neither OGE nor the agencies maintain comprehensive data on
the specific agency matters that individual appointees did not
participate in because of their recusal obligations. 


--------------------
\2 In contrast, recusals for the majority of federal employees who do
not file public financial disclosure reports need not be in writing. 
Recusals for these employees are to be accomplished simply by their
not participating in matters that could affect their financial
interests.  Agency ethics officials or supervisors, however, have the
discretionary authority under OGE regulations to request
notifications of a recusal in writing, or an employee may voluntarily
elect to put a recusal in writing. 


      LEGAL BASES CITED FOR TYPES
      OF REMEDIAL ACTIONS TAKEN TO
      RESOLVE IDENTIFIED CONFLICTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :1.2

Table 1 gives a brief description of the key legal bases cited in
agency records for the various types of remedial actions taken by the
Senate-confirmed appointees in DOE or EPA to resolve situations
identified as an actual or potential conflict of interest.  As shown
in the table, several of these legal requirements were either
repealed or added during the administrations of both Presidents Bush
and Clinton. 



                                Table 1
                
                   Key Legal Bases Cited for Types of
                            Remedial Actions

Source                              Description
----------------------------------  ----------------------------------
Executive branch laws and regulations
----------------------------------------------------------------------
18 U.S.C. 208 (basic statute        Participation restriction:
effective since 1962, last amended  Prohibits executive branch
in 1989 with passage of Ethics      employees from participating
Reform Act of 1989)                 "personally and substantially" in
                                    an official capacity in any
                                    "particular matter" in which, to
                                    their knowledge, they or any
                                    person whose interests are imputed
                                    to them under this statute has a
                                    "financial interest," if the
                                    particular matter will have a
                                    "direct and predictable effect" on
                                    that interest.

                                    Waiver authority: The appointing
                                    official or authorized agency
                                    designee may grant an individual
                                    waiver when a determination is
                                    made that the "interest [in the
                                    matter] is not so substantial as
                                    to be deemed likely to affect the
                                    integrity of the services which
                                    the Government may expect" from
                                    the appointee. Where practicable,
                                    agencies are required to consult
                                    with OGE prior to granting the
                                    waiver.

Executive Order 12674 (as modified  Appearance recusal authority:
by E.O. 12731), Principles of       Established a set of principles of
Ethical Conduct for Government      ethical conduct for all executive
Officers and Employees (Effective   branch employees that included the
April 12, 1989)                     general requirement that
                                    "Employees shall endeavor to avoid
                                    any actions creating the
                                    appearance that they are violating
                                    the law or the ethical standards
                                    promulgated pursuant to this
                                    order."

Subpart D, 5 C.F.R. 2635,           Financial interest recusals:
Conflicting Financial Interests     Provides for the recusal from
(effective February 3, 1993)        participation in particular
                                    matters that will have a direct
                                    and predictable effect on the
                                    appointee's direct or imputed
                                    financial interests. This subpart
                                    is the key regulation implementing
                                    the statutory prohibition in 18
                                    U.S.C. 208.

Subpart E, 5 C.F.R. 2635,           Appearance recusals based on
Impartiality in Performing          personal and business
Official Duties (effective          relationships: Provides for (1)
February 3, 1993)                   recusal from participation in
                                    particular matters involving
                                    specific parties where the
                                    appointee's work is likely to have
                                    a direct and predictable effect on
                                    the financial interests of a
                                    member of his or her household, or
                                    a person with whom he or she has a
                                    "covered relationship," and if the
                                    appointee determines that a
                                    reasonable person with knowledge
                                    of all the relevant facts would
                                    question his or her impartiality
                                    in the matter; and (2) recusal for
                                    2 years from participating in any
                                    particular matter beginning on the
                                    date of receipt of an
                                    extraordinary payment (with a
                                    value in excess of $10,000) from a
                                    former employee.

Subpart F, 5 C.F.R. 2635, Seeking   Future employment recusals:
Other Employment (effective         Provides for recusal from
February 3, 1993)                   participating in particular
                                    matters involving a prospective or
                                    other employer when the
                                    appointee's work would have a
                                    direct and predictable effect on
                                    the financial interests of a
                                    person with whom the appointee has
                                    an arrangement concerning future
                                    employment or is negotiating
                                    employment.


DOE-specific laws and congressional policy
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 606 of the Department of    Recusal requirement: Required
Energy Organization Act (Pub. L.    newly appointed "supervisory
95-91, Aug. 4, 1977) (Repealed by   employees" who were formerly
Section 3161(a) of Pub. L. 103-     employed by an "energy concern"
160, Nov. 30, 1993.) (Suspended     from participating for a period of
from Dec. 1, 1989, through May 31,  1 year from certain departmental
1991, by Section 507 of Pub. L.     proceedings involving the
101-194, Nov. 30, 1989, and         individual's former employer.
Section 815(a)(4) of Pub. L. 101-
510, Nov. 5, 1990.)

                                    Waiver authority: The Secretary of
                                    Energy was authorized to waive
                                    this recusal requirement when
                                    exceptional hardship would result,
                                    or when in the national interest.
                                    Any such waivers were to be in
                                    writing by the Secretary.

Section 602 of the Department of    Divestiture requirement: Prohibits
Energy Organization Act (Pub. L.    "supervisory employees" of DOE
95-91, Aug. 4, 1977)                from knowingly receiving
                                    compensation from, holding any
                                    official relation with, owning
                                    stocks or bonds of, or having any
                                    pecuniary interest in any "energy
                                    concern."

                                    Waiver authority: The Secretary of
                                    Energy is authorized to waive this
                                    divestiture requirement when
                                    exceptional hardship would result,
                                    or when the interest is a pension,
                                    insurance, or other vested
                                    interest. Certain information
                                    regarding such waivers must be
                                    published in the Federal Register.

United States Senate Committee on   Recusal requirement: This policy
Energy and Natural Resources        was adopted by the Committee to
Recusal Policy (effective May 6,    "make applications of recusals
1993)                               consistent" for presidential
                                    nominees to positions requiring
                                    the Committee's confirmation. As a
                                    condition of appointment, each
                                    nominee is required to recuse
                                    himself or herself in writing from
                                    participation in certain matters
                                    involving former employers or
                                    service relationships for either
                                    the duration of their service in
                                    office, or a period of 1 year.


EPA-specific laws
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Section 318 of the Clean Air Act    Divestiture requirement: EPA
(42 U.S.C. 7618(c) and (d))         officials occupying certain
(Repealed by Section 108(q) of      positions of a regulatory or
Pub. L. 101-549, Nov. 15, 1990.)    policymaking nature were
                                    prohibited from (1) having any
                                    official or contractual
                                    relationship with certain
                                    specified groups related to air
                                    quality or (2) having financial
                                    interests determined by the
                                    Administrator of EPA to be
                                    inconsistent with EPA employment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

   DATA LIMITATIONS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

The recusal obligations we identify in this fact sheet may not
account for every recusal obligation entered into by the appointees
whose records we examined.  OGE regulations do not require appointees
to notify agency ethics officials of recusal obligations made
following their Senate confirmation, nor are agency ethics officials
required to maintain data on these recusals.  The ethics agreement
tracking system maintained by OGE is limited to agreements made by
the appointee during the nomination and confirmation process. 

While the data presented in this fact sheet may not represent the
entire scope of recusal obligations of the appointees whose records
we examined, the data reflect all the written obligations of the
appointees made that were recorded in DOE, EPA, and/or OGE records at
the time of our review.  Unlike the data in OGE's tracking system,
our data also include as separate recusal obligations any temporary
recusal obligations pending divestiture or waiver of financial
interests.  We established a cutoff date of December 31, 1993, for
recording the recusal obligations made by the Clinton appointees
whose records we examined. 

Also, in interpreting data in this fact sheet on the extent of
nominee recusal obligations, it is important to recognize that the
key objective being sought through the recusal obligations is the
appointee's nonparticipation in any particular disqualifying matter. 
In this regard, a recusal statement is meant to serve primarily as a
tool for assisting in the implementation of ethics agreements during
the appointee's term in office and also to serve as an announcement
of the appointee's intent to not participate if disqualifying matters
arise.  However, the nonexistence of a written recusal statement does
not affect the legal obligation of appointees to not participate if
other matters arise in which they have a conflict of interest.  This
legal obligation begins at the time of federal appointment and
extends until termination of appointment, or until the appointee no
longer has the conflict of interest or is granted a waiver. 


   RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

We reviewed the financial disclosure records of 54 presidential
appointees in DOE and EPA for evidence of any promises made by them
to disqualify themselves from any governmental matters due to an
actual or potential conflict of interest.  Forty-one appointees, or
76 percent, made documented recusal obligations as a result of the
nomination and confirmation process.  More specific summary data on
the recusal obligations of the 41 appointees are presented in table
2.  Among other things, the data show that EPA and DOE had about the
same percentage of appointees with nominee recusal obligations (74
percent in EPA, or 17 of 23 appointees, and 77 percent, or 24 of 31
appointees in DOE). 



                                Table 2
                
                 Summary of Nominee Recusal Obligations
                 of Top Political Appointees in DOE and
                    EPA During the Bush and Clinton
                            Administrations


                                   DOE     EPA     DOE     EPA  Totals
==============================  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Number of presidential              21      15      20      13      69
 appointee positions requiring
 Senate confirmation
Number of positions vacant or        4       2       6       3      15
 nominee data not available
Number of filled positions          17      13      14      10      54
 with data available on
 nominee ethics agreements
Number of above appointees          12       8      12       9      41
 with nominee recusal
 obligations (as of 12/31/93)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of agency and OGE financial disclosure records. 

Overall, we found a total of 124 nominee recusal obligations
documented in the financial disclosure records maintained by the
agencies on the 41 Senate-confirmed appointees in DOE and EPA
included in our review.  The single most frequently cited basis for
these obligations was the criminal conflict of interest statute, 18
U.S.C.  208, or its key implementing regulation, which accounted for
46 (37 percent) of the 124 obligations.  Appearance-based obligations
accounted for the remaining nominee recusal obligations.  Agency
ethics officials cited different reasons for the appearance-based
obligations.  In order of frequency of occurrence, we have
categorized them as follows: 

  -- General agency and appointee discretion (30 nominee recusal
     obligations):  This category consists of (1) 18 recusal
     obligations that cited general appearance concerns before OGE's
     standard-of-conduct regulation became effective in February
     1993, and (2) 12 recusal obligations based on EPA's practice of
     having certain nominees make recusal obligations for the
     duration of their tenure.  The financial disclosure records we
     reviewed generally did not indicate whether these recusal
     obligations were initiated by the appointee or agency ethics
     officials. 

  -- Mandatory recusal under DOE-specific restrictions (29 nominee
     recusal obligations):  This category consists of (1) 18 recusal
     obligations made to comply with a recusal policy established by
     the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in May 1993,
     and (2) 11 recusal obligations required of DOE appointees by a
     DOE-specific statute that was repealed in November 1993. 

  -- Agency and appointee discretion under the appearance standard of
     OGE's regulation (5 C.F.R.  2635.502) (17 nominee recusal
     obligations):  Under this standard, every executive branch
     employee is obligated to consider and address the appearance
     implications of participating in agency matters with former
     employers.  This standard provides a maximum 1-year period from
     the last day of former employment in which the employee is
     required to consider recusal from a former employer.  Using the
     process established in OGE's regulation, the employee and agency
     ethics official have the discretion to (1) decide whether the
     circumstances would raise questions of impartiality significant
     enough to warrant recusal and (2) establish the period of time
     the recusal obligation is to remain in effect. 

  -- Mandatory recusal under the extraordinary payment standard of
     OGE's regulation (5 C.F.R 2635.503) (two nominee recusals of DOE
     appointees):  Under this standard any employee who receives an
     extraordinary payment greater than $10,000 from a former
     employer is required to recuse from agency matters involving the
     entity for a period of 2 years from the date the payment is
     received, unless granted a waiver. 

Appendixes I through IV categorize the individual nominee recusal
obligations we found documented in the financial disclosure records
of each of the 41 appointees according to the bases cited by agency
ethics officials for these obligations.  In addition, these
appendixes identify other restrictions governing participation in
government matters that were determined to be applicable to each
appointee, including divestitures, waivers of participation
restrictions, and any recusals made following Senate confirmation
that we observed in the records maintained by the agencies and OGE. 

As shown in figure 1, the proportion of nominee recusal obligations
addressing financial interests versus appearance concerns associated
with a nominee's personal or business relationships changed between
the Bush and Clinton appointees.  Although the number of recusal
obligations addressing conflicts involving continuing financial
interests in each agency remained about the same, the number of
appearance-based obligations by Clinton appointees was more than
double those obligations of the Bush appointees in each of the two
agencies (2.6 times in DOE, and 2.2 times in EPA). 

   Figure 1:  General Types of
   Conflicts of Interest Addressed
   by Nominee Recusal Obligations
   of 41 Presidential Appointees
   in DOE and EPA (1989-1993)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  GAO analysis of DOE, EPA, and OGE financial disclosure
records. 


   DOE APPOINTEES
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

Overall, 24 nominees to DOE Senate-confirmed positions during the
administrations of Presidents Bush and Clinton documented a total of
78 recusal obligations to address an actual or potential conflict of
interest under applicable restrictions to their participation in
governmental matters.  A total of 268 organizational entities were
cited as the subjects of the 78 recusal obligations.  Table 3
provides specific information on the frequency in which DOE records
cited the key legal bases for each type of nominee recusal obligation
and the related number of involved entities. 



                                     Table 3
                     
                      Documented Nominee Recusal Obligations
                        of 24 Nominees to Senate-Confirmed
                                 Positions in DOE


                                          Number                          Number
                                              of                              of
                                          entiti                          entiti
Bases for type    Number of    Number of      es  Number of    Number of      es
of remedial       appointee      nominee  involv  appointee      nominee  involv
action                    s  obligations      ed          s  obligations      ed
----------------  ---------  -----------  ------  ---------  -----------  ------
To address 18            10           15      42         10           16      52
 U.S.C. 208
 financial
 interests
Waiver of 18              2            3       3          2            3       3
 U.S.C. 208
To address                4            6      32         NA           NA      NA
 appearance
 concerns before
 uniform
 standards-of-
 conduct
 regulation
To address               NA           NA      NA          4            5       6
 appearance
 concerns under
 uniform
 standards-of-
 conduct
 regulation (5
 C.F.R. 2635.505
 or 2635.503)
To address               NA           NA      NA          9           18      58
 concerns under
 recusal policy
 of the Senate
 Energy and
 Natural
 Resources
 Committee (DOE
 specific)
To comply with            4            5      10          3            6      61
 section 606 of
 the DOE
 Organization
 Act (appearance
 concerns
 related to
 prior
 employers) (DOE
 specific)
Waiver of                 1            1       1          0            0       0
 section 606,
 DOE Act
================================================================================
Total recusal-           12           30      88         12           48     180
 related
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  The number of nominee recusal obligations of each of these 24
appointees ranged from 1 to 7 obligations. 

Source:  GAO analysis of OGE and DOE financial disclosure records. 

There were 29 total recusal obligations based on DOE-specific
requirements.  Of these, most (18) resulted from DOE's implementation
of a recusal policy established by the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee in May 1993.  These obligations dealt solely with
concerns about appearance of conflicts of interest related to the
appointee's prior employment and service relationships.  Such
appearance-type recusal obligations had also been addressed by
section 606 of the DOE Act until it was repealed on November 30,
1993.  In fact, section 606 accounted for the remaining six
DOE-specific recusal obligations by the Clinton appointees and all
five of the DOE-specific recusal obligations by Bush appointees. 

It should be noted that the Senate Committee recusal policy is more
restrictive in dealing with appearance concerns than either OGE's
current uniform standards of conduct or the repealed DOE Act
provisions.  First, the Senate Committee policy requires recusal from
certain matters related to former employers without providing for the
possibility of a waiver.  Both the uniform standards of conduct and
the DOE Act provided specific waiver authority.  Second, the Senate
Committee policy requires recusals involving specific matters in
which the nominee participated personally and substantially to last
for the duration of his or her service in DOE.  Similar recusals
based on either the uniform standards of conduct or the DOE Act are
or were for a 1-year period. 

As summarized in table 4, divestitures were used as a
conflict-of-interest remedy by 14 of the 24 appointees.  Because each
of the appointees had also entered into at least one recusal
obligation, the divestiture-related actions shown in table 4
represent remedial actions in addition to the recusal remedies.  Of
these divestiture-related actions, 11 were taken to comply with the
divestiture requirement of section 602 of the DOE Organization Act. 
This requirement prohibits certain DOE employees, including
Senate-confirmed presidential appointees, from owning stock or having
interests in an "energy concern," whether or not the situation
presents an actual or apparent conflict of interest with the
employee's duties.  In an April 1994 report to Congress,\3 DOE
concluded that this requirement "...is obsolete, overly broad, and
unnecessary, and should be repealed." The report, among other things,
stated that this divestiture requirement was an absolute proscription
that prohibited every covered DOE employee from holding any interests
in energy concerns and regardless of whether or not the ownership of
an energy concern interest would create either an actual or an
apparent conflict of interest with respect to the employee's duties. 



                                     Table 4
                     
                          Documented Divestiture-Related
                      Obligations of 24 Nominees to Senate-
                            Confirmed Positions in DOE


Bases
for type               Number of   Number of               Number of   Number of
of                       nominee    divested                 nominee    divested
remedial   Number of  obligation   or waived   Number of  obligation   or waived
action    appointees           s   interests  appointees           s   interests
--------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
To                 2           2           2           1           2          14
 comply
 with 18
 U.S.C.
 208
To                 1           1           1           0           0           0
 address
 appeara
 nce
 concern
 s
To                 5           6          21           4           5          21
 comply
 with
 section
 602 of
 the DOE
 Organiz
 ation
 Act
 (DOE
 specifi
 c)
Waiver             2           2           2           4           4           4
 of
 section
 602,
 DOE Act
A                  1           1           1           0           0           0
 require
 ment of
 Senate
 confirm
 ation
================================================================================
Total              8          12          27           6          11          39
 divesti
 ture-
 related
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  The number of nominee divestitures made by each of these 24
appointees ranged from 1 to 25 divestitures. 

Source:  GAO analysis of OGE and DOE financial disclosure records. 

Specific information on the remedial obligations of each DOE
appointee is presented in appendixes I and II. 


--------------------
\3 Report to the Congress As Required by Section 3161 of the National
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (DOE's Office of
General Counsel, April 1994)


   EPA APPOINTEES
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5

Overall, 17 nominees to EPA Senate-confirmed positions during the
administrations of Presidents Bush and Clinton documented a total of
61 nominee recusal obligations to address an actual or potential
conflict of interest under applicable restrictions to their
participation in governmental matters.  A total of 252 organizational
entities were cited as the subjects of the 61 recusal obligations. 
Table 5 provides specific information on the frequency in which EPA
records cited the key legal bases for each type of nominee recusal
obligation and the related number of involved entities.  Unlike DOE,
EPA has no recusal obligations based on agency-specific statutes or
Senate confirmation committee requirements. 



                                     Table 5
                     
                      Documented Nominee Recusal Obligations
                        of 17 Nominees to Senate-Confirmed
                                 Positions in EPA


Bases
for type               Number of                           Number of
of                       nominee   Number of                 nominee   Number of
remedial   Number of  obligation    entities   Number of  obligation    entities
action    appointees           s    involved  appointees           s    involved
--------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
To                 6           8           7           5           7          56
 address
 18
 U.S.C.
 208
 financi
 al
 interes
 ts
Waiver             1           2           2           6           6          50
 of 18
 U.S.C.
 208
To                 7          12          45          NA          NA          NA
 address
 appeara
 nce
 concern
 s
 before
 uniform
 standar
 ds-of-
 conduct
 regulat
 ion
To                NA          NA          NA           8          14          46
 address
 appeara
 nce
 concern
 s under
 uniform
 standar
 ds-of-
 conduct
 regulat
 ion on
 covered
 relatio
 nships
 (5
 C.F.R.
 2635.50
 2)
EPA               NA          NA          NA           9          12          46
 practice
 in
 address
 ing
 "other"
 appeara
 nce
 concern
 s under
 uniform
 standar
 ds-of-
 conduct
 regulat
 ion (5
 C.F.R.
 2635.50
 2(a)(2)
 )
================================================================================
Total              8          22          54           9          39         198
 recusal-
 related
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  The number of nominee recusal obligations made by each of
these 17 appointees ranged from 2 to 6 obligations. 

Source:  GAO analysis of OGE and EPA financial disclosure records. 

There were 26 recusal obligations addressing appearance concerns made
by the Clinton appointees and 12 appearance-type recusal obligations
made by 7 Bush appointees before OGE's uniform standards of conduct
became effective in February 1993.  Of the 26 obligations by Clinton
appointees, 14 addressed appearance concerns related to covered
relationships under the uniform standards-of-conduct regulation.  The
remaining 12 recusal obligations involved former employment
relationships of nine appointees, all but three of whom were
attorneys. 

As a matter of practice, EPA generally treated attorneys
restrictively.  EPA nominees who were attorneys coming from public
interest groups, state governments, and law firms were required to
recuse themselves for the duration of their EPA service from matters
in which they personally and substantially participated as employees
with these groups, states, or firms.  Such "permanent" recusal
obligations are not specifically required by OGE's appearance
standard.  As previously noted, every executive branch employee is
obligated to consider and address the appearance implications of
participating in agency matters with former employers for a maximum
1-year period from the last day of former employment.  Using the
process established in OGE's regulation, the employee and agency
ethics official have had the discretion to (1) decide whether the
circumstances would raise questions of impartiality significant
enough to warrant recusal and (2) establish the period of time for
which the recusal obligation is to remain in effect. 

In providing us their views on the results of our analysis, EPA
ethics officials pointed out that their practice of recusing
attorneys from participation in "specific party" matters in which
they participated before government service was based not only on
OGE's regulation but also on the rules of the American Bar
Association (ABA).  They said that the ABA model rules of
professional conduct provide that, unless specifically authorized,
lawyers serving as public officers or employees shall not participate
in a matter in which they participated personally and substantially
while in private practice. 

As shown in table 6, the EPA Bush appointees in our review made few
divestiture obligations.  A statutory divestiture requirement that
was applicable to three Bush appointees included in our review was
repealed in November 1990.  This provision, Section 318 of the Clean
Air Act, had prohibited EPA officials occupying certain positions of
a regulatory or policymaking nature from having any official or
contractual relationship with certain specified groups related to air
quality.  The provision barred EPA employees from participation in
professional societies, which EPA regarded as an excessive
restriction.  In recommending repeal of Section 318, EPA's Office of
General Counsel said it largely duplicated the criminal conflict of
interest statute, 18 U.S.C.  208, and EPA's regulatory "appearance"
standards. 



                                     Table 6
                     
                          Documented Divestiture-Related
                      Obligations of 17 Nominees to Senate-
                            Confirmed Positions in EPA


Bases
for type               Number of                           Number of
of                       nominee   Number of                 nominee   Number of
remedial   Number of  obligation    divested   Number of  obligation    divested
action    appointees           s   interests  appointees           s   interests
--------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ----------
To                 1           1           5           7          10          30
 comply
 with 18
 U.S.C.
 208
To                 3           3           4          NA          NA          NA
 comply
 with
 section
 318 of
 the
 Clean
 Air Act
 (repeal
 ed in
 Nov.
 1990)
================================================================================
Total              3           4           9           7          10          30
 divesti
 ture-
 related
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  The number of nominee divestitures made by each of these 17
appointees ranged from 1 to 17 obligations. 

Source:  GAO analysis of OGE and DOE financial disclosure records. 

Specific information on the remedial obligations of each EPA
appointee is presented in appendixes III and IV. 


   SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :6

Information in this fact sheet was drawn primarily from the financial
disclosure records of the appointees maintained by OGE and the
designated agency ethics officials at DOE and EPA.  We supplemented
the agency records with the views of agency ethics officials in
instances where the basis for a specific recusal obligation was
unclear from the records.  Appendix V provides a description of the
purpose and scope of each type of record we examined for each
appointee included in our review, including a description of related
regulatory criteria. 

To determine the extent to which nominees in the two agencies made
obligations to recuse themselves from official government matters, we
took the following steps: 

  -- We generally defined the population as those appointees who were
     serving in Senate-confirmed positions at the end of the
     administration of President Bush in December 1992 and the end of
     the first year of the administration of President Clinton in
     December 1993.  To this group, we added eight appointees serving
     in the Bush administration who were the last incumbents serving
     in the positions because their positions were vacant in December
     1992 (four appointees in DOE and four in EPA).  We included
     these appointees in order to get the widest possible
     representation of Senate- confirmed positions in both agencies
     for which nominee data was available.  Nominee data were not
     available for the appointees filling the positions of Inspector
     General at DOE and EPA or for two Bush appointees filling other
     positions (the Director of the Office of Alcohol Fuels in DOE
     and the Assistant Administrator for External Affairs in EPA). 
     Because these four appointees had been in office for more than 6
     years, their nominee or new entrant records were routinely
     disposed of in accordance with OGE regulations. 

  -- We reviewed the financial disclosure records of each appointee
     in the population for evidence of any recusal obligation made
     related to the appointee's nomination and confirmation.  We
     completed a data collection instrument to uniformly describe
     from the records certain characteristics of each appointee's
     recusal or other participation obligations.  Among other things,
     we gathered data on the nature of the continuing financial
     interests or personal and business relationships that were
     viewed as an actual or potential conflict of interest requiring
     a remedial action. 

  -- We then used the data obtained to determine how often nominee
     recusal obligations were documented by appointees in the two
     administrations.  For purposes of our analysis, we considered
     any recusal obligation that agency records or ethics officials
     had identified a distinct basis for as a single obligation
     regardless of how many entities, matters, or subjects may have
     been covered by the recusal obligation.  The appendixes present
     specifically what we considered a single recusal obligation for
     each appointee we examined. 

To determine the bases cited for the recusal obligations of the
appointees, we included in our data collection instrument a
description of the recusal obligations made by each nominee and the
basis cited in the records reviewed.  As previously noted, we
supplemented the agency records with the views of agency ethics
officials in instances where records did not clearly establish the
basis.  Thus, the bases cited represent the views of DOE and EPA
ethics officials. 

To determine the extent to which appointees with nominee recusal
obligations had also taken other remedial actions to comply with
criteria governing their participation in official government
matters, we included in our data collection instrument an
identification of divestitures of financial interests, agency waivers
of statutory participation prohibitions, and instances where
appointees created recusal obligations after the Senate confirmation
process.  The recusal obligations occurring after Senate confirmation
are presented in the appendixes under the "other" remedial action
category.  We did not include remedial actions involving resignations
from outside employment that are governed by different criteria. 
According to OGE, Senate-confirmed political appointee have
traditionally been forbidden by the White House from continuing any
outside positions with for-profit entities, and the White House has
allowed positions with nonprofit entities to continue only after a
case-by-case review. 

We did our work at the DOE, EPA, and OGE headquarters in Washington,
D.C., from June 1993 to July 1994 in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards. 


   AGENCY VIEWS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :7

We discussed information in this fact sheet with the designated
agency ethics officials in DOE and EPA in January 1995 and with OGE
officials, including OGE's General Counsel and Associate Director of
the Office of Program Assistance and Review, in October 1994.  They
provided suggestions for improving the clarity and accuracy of our
analyses, which we incorporated where appropriate. 

OGE officials expressed the view that the practice of
Senate-confirmed political appointees documenting their recusal
obligations is a legitimate tool for the prevention of conflicts of
interest.  In particular, OGE views written recusal statements as
helping to make appointees more sensitive to circumstances that would
require actual recusal and considers such statements to be an
important mechanism for protecting the appointee from charges of
conflict of interest. 

Both DOE and OGE officials offered suggestions to improve our summary
accounting of the recusal and divestiture obligations of the
presidential appointees.  In response to their comments, we revised
the summary tables in the letter and appendixes to provide specific
information on the number of nongovernmental entities involved in the
recusal and divestiture obligations.  As a result, our summary tables
now account for three characteristics of the recusal obligations. 
For example, as shown in table 4, the documented nominee recusal
obligations and other remedial actions of 12 Bush appointees in DOE
are accounted for by (1) the number of appointees for whom agency
records cited a specific basis for recusal from any disqualifying
matters, (2) the number of different times that specific basis was
cited for these appointees in one or more written recusal statements,
and (3) the total number of nongovernmental entities whose financial
interests were the subject of each specific recusal basis. 


---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :7.1

As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce its
contents earlier, we plan no further distribution of this fact sheet
until 30 days from its issue date.  At that time, we will send copies
to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Committees
who were principally involved in confirming the DOE and EPA
appointees included in our review.  In addition, we will send copies
to the Secretary of Energy, Administrator of EPA, Director of OGE,
and other interested parties.  We will also make copies available to
others on request. 

The major contributors to this fact sheet are listed in appendix VI. 
Please contact me on (202) 512-5074 if you or your staff have any
questions. 

Sincerely yours,

Nancy Kingsbury
Director
Federal Human Resource Management
 Issues


DOCUMENTED RECUSAL OBLIGATIONS OF
TOP BUSH ADMINISTRATION DOE
OFFICIALS
=========================================================== Appendix I

The Department of Energy (DOE) had 21 positions that required Senate
confirmation of presidential appointments.  Table I.1 lists these DOE
positions, the names of the incumbents during President Bush's
administration whose financial disclosure records we reviewed at the
Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in August 1993 and at DOE in
October 1993, and the 12 appointees whom we found had executed
recusal statements related to their nomination to the
Senate-confirmed positions.  All but four of the appointees listed in
table I.1 were serving at the end of the Bush administration in 1992. 



                               Table I.1
                
                     Top DOE Officials in the Bush
                  Administration With Nominee Recusal
                               Statements

Senate-confirmed        Incumbent records       Nominee recusal
position                reviewed                statement
----------------------  ----------------------  ----------------------
Secretary               James D. Watkins        Yes-1989

Deputy Secretary        W. Henson Moore         Yes-1989

Under Secretary         John C. Tuck            None required

Administrator-Energy    Calvin A. Kent          Yes-1990
Information
Administration

Administrator-          Chandler L. van Orman   Yes-1987
Economic Regulatory
Administration\a

Asst. Sec.-             Gregg Ward              Yes-1991
Congressional and
Intergovernmental
Affairs

Asst. Sec.-             J. Michael Davis        Yes-1989
Conservation and
Renewable Energy

Asst. Sec.-Defense      Richard A. Claytor      Yes-1990
Programs                                        and 1991

Asst. Sec.-             Paul L. Zeimer          Yes-1990
Environment, Safety
and Health

Asst. Sec.-             Leo P. Duffy            Yes-1991
Environmental
Restoration and Waste
Management

Asst. Sec.-Fossil       Robert H. Gentile       None required
Energy\a

Asst. Sec.-             John J. Easton Jr.      Yes-1989
International Affairs
and Energy
Emergencies\a

Asst. Sec.-Nuclear      William H. Young        None required\b
Energy

Chief Financial         Vacant                  -
Officer

Director-Office of      David M. Lindahl        Nominee data not
Alcohol Fuels\a                                 available

Director-Office of      John W. Bartlett        Yes-1990
Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management

Director-Office of      William Happer          Yes-1991
Energy Research

Director-Office of      Melva G. Wray           None required
Minority Economic
Impact

General Counsel         John J. Easton, Jr.     None required

Inspector General       John C. Layton          Nominee data not
                                                available

Deputy Inspector        Vacant
General
----------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Because this position was vacant on December 31, 1992, we included
the last incumbent of the position in this analysis. 

\b While OGE viewed a proposed recusal as an ethics agreement for
this nominee, the recusal was not subsequently executed because an
agency-specific statute that was the basis for the recusal had been
suspended.  Thus, the need to execute the recusal was no longer
necessary, according to a DOE letter to OGE dated April 30, 1990. 

Source:  GAO analysis of financial disclosure records on file at OGE
and DOE. 


   OUTCOME OF DOE'S APPLICATION OF
   PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:1

As shown in table I.1, 12 of the 17 Bush appointees whose financial
disclosure records we reviewed had made obligations to recuse
themselves from certain official DOE matters as part of their
nomination to the Senate-confirmed position.  Among other things: 

  -- The 12 appointees with recusal obligations represent 71 percent
     of the 17 incumbents in Senate-confirmed positions for whom
     financial disclosure data was available on their nominations to
     the positions at OGE during our work.  All but 2 of the 12
     appointees were serving at the end of the Bush administration in
     1992. 

  -- There were 10 types of recusal or divestiture obligations that
     were applicable to these 12 DOE Bush administration appointees. 
     In total, there were 30 obligations related to recusals and 12
     to divestitures.  The 30 recusal-related obligations involved a
     total of 88 organizational entities, and the 12
     divestiture-related obligations involved a total of 27
     organizational entities. 

  -- The three most frequently occurring types of remedial
     obligations were recusals to comply with 18 U.S.C.  208,
     recusals to address appearance concerns, and divestitures to
     comply with legislation applicable to only DOE employees
     (section 602 of the DOE Organization Act). 

Table I.2 identifies the frequency of occurrence of each of the 10
types of remedial obligations. 



                               Table I.2
                
                    Outcome of DOE's Application of
                  Participation Restrictions to 12 Top
                Political Appointees Serving in the Bush
                             Administration

                                                 Number of
                                     Number of     nominee   Number of
                                    applicable  obligation    entities
Basis for type of remedial action   appointees           s    involved
----------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------
======================================================================
Recusal-related:                            12          30          88
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                10          15          42
To address appearance concerns (no           4           6          32
 specific criteria cited)
To comply with section 606 of the            4           5          10
 DOE Organization Act
Waiver of 18 U.S.C. 208                      2           3           3
Waiver of section 606 of the DOE             1           1           1
 Act
======================================================================
Divestiture-related:                         8          12          27
To comply with section 602 of the            5           6          21
 DOE Organization Act
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                 2           2           2
Waiver of section 602 of the DOE             2           2           2
 Act
A requirement of Senate                      1           1           1
 confirmation
To address appearance concerns               1           1           1
======================================================================
Total                                       12          42         115
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of financial disclosure records on file at OGE
and DOE. 


   CASE HISTORY SUMMARIES
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:2

For the 12 Bush appointees in DOE with nominee recusal agreements on
file with OGE, the following case histories summarize information
from the financial disclosure records maintained at either OGE or DOE
by the designated agency ethics official (DAEO).  We selected
information that would provide an overview of the outcome of DOE's
entire application of restrictions governing participation in
official government matters by Bush appointees.  Beyond individual
recusals, we identified when DOE used divestitures or waivers to
resolve a conflict situation or concern.  We summarized the
underlying conflict situation or concern that the specific remedial
action addressed.  We generally categorized the conflict situation or
concern as involving a continuing financial interest or a
personal/business relationship.  While many of the appointees had
more than one paid or uncompensated position before Senate
confirmation, we selected the previous employer that appeared to be
the principal source of the appointee's recusal obligations.  (App. 
V provides further details on the general types of DOE records we
examined for each appointee and a description of related regulatory
criteria.)


   SECRETARY OF ENERGY
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:3

Appointee:  James D.  Watkins
Previous employer:  Members of Boards of several private corporations
or organizations (federal service included the U.S.  Navy)


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Mutual    Divest
stock
fund
holdings
(energy
concern)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Former                                                Recuse
energy                                                (durat
concern                                               ion)\a
employer
(Board
of
Director
s at
Philadel
phia
Electric
)

Former                                                                  Recuse
employer                                                                (duratio
(Board                                                                  n)\b\
of
Advisors
at Ford
Aerospac
e)

Other

Negotiat                             Recuse
ing for
employme
nt with
seven
entities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a The appointee executed the recusal for the "duration of my
employment with the Department;" however, the DAEO ethics advice
stated the DOE act required recusal "for a period of one year from
the termination of his employment with Philadelphia Electric
Company."

\b The appointee made this recusal obligation on his own initiative
according to a DOE ethics official (included in the executed recusal
statement, but not addressed in DAEO ethics advice to nominee).




   DEPUTY SECRETARY OF ENERGY
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:4

Appointee:  W.  Henson Moore
Previous employer:  Law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan


Conflic
t        DOE     Waiver  18              18    Waiver,          Waiver
situati  Act     of DOE  U.S.  Appearan  U.S.  18        DOE    of DOE  Appearan
on/      Sec.60  Act-    C.    ce        C.    U.S.C.    Act-   Act-    ce
concern  2       602     208   concern   208   208       606    606     concern
-------  ------  ------  ----  --------  ----  --------  -----  ------  --------
Continu
ing
financi
al
interes
t

Spouse'                        Divest
s
direct
ownersh
ip of
Exxon
common
stock

Spouse'                                  Recu  Waiver\a
s                                        se    (8/4/
interes                                  (unl  89)
t in a                                   ess
trust                                    waiv
holding                                  ed)
Exxon
common
stock

A                                              Waiver\a
particu                                        (12/12/
lar                                            91)
matter
that
arose
with
Exxon

Persona
l/
busines
s
relatio
nship

Any                                                                     Recuse\b
matter
directl
y
relatin
g to
award
of
Strateg
ic
Petrole
um
Reserve
contrac
t in
which
he gave
legal
service
s

Any                                                                     1-Year
particu                                                                 recuse
lar
matter
involvi
ng
former
law
firm as
a
specifi
c party

Any                                                                     1-Year
particu                                                                 recuse
lar
matter
involvi
ng any
of 26
former
legal
clients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a First waiver covered oil and gas industry generally; second waiver
covered Exxon specifically. 

\b Although the basis for this recusal was a general appearance
concern according to DOE ethics officials, DOE records also cited a
rule of professional conduct of the Louisiana State Bar as a factor
in the decision to recuse.  DOE said, however, that it has no
responsibility for interpreting such state bar rules for private
attorneys entering federal service. 


   ADMINISTRATOR, ENERGY
   INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:5

Appointee:  Calvin A.  Kent
Previous employer:  Professor, Baylor University


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Holdings  Divest
in two                               Recuse
energy                               (befor
concerns                             e
(Ashland                             divest
Oil\a                                )
and
Norfolk
Southern
Corporat
ion)

Holdings                             Recuse
in four
U.S.
firms
(two of
which
represen
t
spousal
interest
s)

Tenured           Waiver             Recuse
position
at
Baylor
Universi
ty (an
energy
concern)
(leave
of
absence)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Ethics advice said that despite being a small holding paying less
than $20 per year, divestiture was necessary. 



   ADMINISTRATOR, ECONOMIC
   REGULATORY ADMINISTRATION (ERA)
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:6

Appointee:  Chandler L.  van Orman (Recess appointment) (Nominated by
President Reagan)
Previous employer:  Deputy Administrator, ERA



Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Interest                             Recuse
s in
four
companie
s (IBM,
Schlumbe
rger,
Foster
Wheeler
Corp., &
Fairchil
d
Industri
es)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Member                                                                  Recuse
of
National
Boating
Safety
Advisory
Council
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
   CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:7

Appointee:  Gregg Ward
Previous employer:  Vice-President of External Affairs, American
Institute of Architects



Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Interest                             Recuse
s in two
firms:
Laidlaw
Inc. and
Law
Office
of
Deborah
Steelman
(spouse)

Holdings                     Divest
in a
nonenerg
y
concern,
Noxso
Corporat
ion
(coal
pollutio
n
control)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                               1-
personal                                              Year
ly                                                    recuse
involved
with two
former
energy
concern
employer
s (Duke
Power
Co. and
Gulf
States
Utilitie
s)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
   CONSERVATION AND RENEWABLE
   ENERGY
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:8

Appointee:  Jon M.  Davis
Previous employer:  President, Glowcore Colorado Inc. 


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Presiden                     Divest  Recuse
t and                        \a      (until
owner of                             divest
Glowcore                             )
, a
commerci
al
mechanic
al
engineer
ing firm
engaging
in
heating,
ventilat
ion, and
air
conditio
ning
products

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

None

Other

Five                                 Recuse
incumben
t
recusals
(negotia
ting
future
employme
nt)
dated
within 6
months
of
departur
e from
DOE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a While DOE had determined that a recusal could have satisfied
requirements of 18 U.S.C.  208, the appointee chose to divest his
interests in this firm according to DOE ethics officials. 


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY, DEFENSE
   PROGRAMS
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:9

Appointee:  Richard A.  Claytor
Previous employer:  Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear
Energy


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Holdings  Divest
in three                             Recuse
energy                               (befor
concerns                             e
(Exxon,                              divest
Freeport                             )
McMoran,
and
American
Electric
Power
Company)

AT&T      The
stock     Senate                     Recuse
holdings  Armed                      (befor
          Servic                     e
          es                         divest
          Commit                     )\a
          tee
          requir
          ed
          divest
          iture

Holdings                             Recuse
in U.S.
West
Inc.
(nature
of
business
not
describe
d)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a While DOE had determined the AT&T holdings did not constitute a
disqualifying financial interest under 18 U.S.C.  208, the appointee
subsequently agreed to execute a recusal covering AT&T "in view of
his stock ownership." DOE had contractual relations with AT&T, but
none of these contracts were with the Office of Defense Programs. 


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
   ENVIRONMENT, SAFETY AND HEALTH
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:10

Appointee:  Paul L.  Ziemer
Previous employer:  Professor, Purdue University


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Leave of                             Recuse
absence
from
Purdue
Universi
ty

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
   ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AND
   WASTE MANAGEMENT
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:11

Appointee:  Leo P.  Duffy
Previous employer:  Westinghouse (also Director, Office of
Environmental Restoration and Waste Management just before
confirmation)



Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Stock in  Divest
Boeing
(an
energy
concern)

Holdings                             Recuse
in three
companie
s
(Rockwel
l, AT&T,
Bell
Telephon
e)

Vested            Waiver\a                   Waiver\
interest                                     a
s in
pension
and
retireme
nt plans
and
deferred
compensa
tion
from
Westingh
ouse (an
energy
concern)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a These two waivers were initially granted by the Secretary of
Energy when the appointee was a Special Assistant to the Secretary,
but the waivers were reaffirmed by the DAEO during the confirmation
process as sufficient to cover his service as Assistant Secretary. 



   ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR
   INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND
   ENERGY EMERGENCIES
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:12

Appointee:  John J.  Easton, Jr.
Previous employer:  Law firm of Miller, Eggleston and Rosenberg, Ltd. 


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

None

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Any                                                                     1-Year
private                                                                 recuse
discussi
ons of
official
business
matters
with
former
law firm
employme
nt and
one
client
(Champla
in
Pipeline
Company)

Any                                                   1-
departme                                              Year
ntal                                                  recuse
proceedi
ng
related
to legal
services
provided
to a
former
energy
concern
client
(Green
Mountain
Power
Corp)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF CIVILIAN
   WASTE MANAGEMENT
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:13

Appointee:  John W.  Bartlett
Previous employer:  Manager, The Analytic Sciences Corporation


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Common                               Recuse
stock
holdings
in
previous
employer
and
interest
in
profit-
sharing
retireme
nt fund

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

None

Other

To avoid                                                                Recuse\a
an
appearan
ce of a
conflict
in the
award of
a
manageme
nt and
operatin
g
contract
(incumbe
nt
recusal
followin
g Senate
confirma
tion)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a The appointee was not required to execute this incumbent recusal
but did so on his own initiative according to DOE ethics officials. 


   DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ENERGY
   RESEARCH
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix I:14

Appointee:  William Happer
Previous employer:  Professor, Princeton University


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     Waiver    Appearan
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  of DOE    ce
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       Act-606   concern
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Holdings  Divest                     Recuse
in 13                                (befor
energy                               e
concerns                             divest
                                     )

Common                               Recuse
stock
holdings
in four
nonenerg
y
concerns

Tenured   Divest
position  /
at        resign
Princeto
n
Universi
ty (an
energy
concern)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Any                                                   1-
Departme                                              Year
ntal                                                  recuse
matter
involvin
g three
former
energy
concern
employer
s
(Princet
on,
Universi
ty of
Californ
ia,
Schlumbe
rger-
Doll
Laborato
ries)

Matters                                               1-      Partial
personal                                              Year    waiver\a
ly                                                    recuse
involved
for 5
prior
years
with
former
energy
concern
employer
s

Other

Negotiat                             Recuse
ing
employme
nt with
six
entities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Certain matters were excluded from the waiver (thus continuing the
participation prohibition), including Departmental proceedings
related to the Physics Department at Princeton. 


DOCUMENTED RECUSAL OBLIGATIONS OF
TOP CLINTON ADMINISTRATION DOE
OFFICIALS
========================================================== Appendix II

The Department of Energy (DOE) had 20 positions that required Senate
confirmation of presidential appointments during the first year of
President Clinton's administration.  Table II.1 lists these DOE
positions, the names of the incumbents whose financial disclosure
records we reviewed at the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in
December 1993 and at DOE in March 1994, and the 12 appointees whom we
found had executed recusal statements related to their nominations to
the Senate-confirmed positions.  All these appointees were serving at
the end of the first year of the Clinton administration in 1993. 



                               Table II.1
                
                    Top DOE Officials in the Clinton
                  Administration With Nominee Recusal
                   Statements as of December 31, 1993

Senate-confirmed        Incumbent records       Nominee recusal
position                reviewed                statement
----------------------  ----------------------  ----------------------
Secretary               Hazel R. O'Leary        Yes

Deputy Secretary        William H. White        Yes

Under Secretary         Vacant -person
                        nominated but not
                        confirmed as of 12/
                        31/93

Administrator, Energy   Jay E. Hakes            Yes
Information
Administration

Administrator,          Vacant
Economic Regulatory
Administration

Assistant Secretary,    William J. Taylor III   Yes
Congressional,
Intergovernmental and
International Affairs

Assistant Secretary,    Christine A. Ervin      Yes
Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy

Assistant Secretary,    Victor H. Reis          Yes
Defense Programs

Assistant Secretary,    Susan F. Tierney        Yes
Domestic and
International Energy
Policy

Assistant Secretary,    Tara J. O'Toole         None on file as of 12/
Environment, Safety                             31/93
and Health

Assistant Secretary,    Thomas P. Grumbly       Yes
Environmental
Restoration and Waste
Management

Assistant Secretary,    Vacant
Fossil Energy

Assistant Secretary,    Archer L. Durham        None required
Human Resources
Administration

Chief Financial         Vacant
Officer

Director, Office of     Daniel A. Dreyfus       Yes
Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management

Director, Office of     Martha A. Krebs         Yes
Energy Research

Director, Office of     Corlis S. Moody         Yes
Minority Economic
Impact

Director, Office of     Vacant
Nuclear Energy

General Counsel         Robert R. Nordhaus      Yes

Inspector General       John Layton (carryover  Nominee data not
                        from previous           available
                        administration)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of OGE and DOE financial disclosure records of
top political appointees serving during first year of President
Clinton's administration. 


   OUTCOME OF DOE'S APPLICATION OF
   PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:1

As shown in table II.1, as of the end of 1993, 12 of the 14 Clinton
appointees whose financial disclosure records we reviewed had made
obligations to recuse themselves from certain official DOE matters as
part of their nomination and confirmation to the DOE positions. 
Among other things: 

  -- The 12 appointees with recusal obligations represent 86 percent
     of the 14 DOE political appointees who were Senate confirmed at
     the end of 1993 and for whom nominee ethics agreement data were
     available. 

  -- There were 8 types of recusal or divestiture obligations that
     were applicable to the 12 DOE Clinton administration appointees. 
     In total, there were 48 obligations related to recusals and 11
     related to divestitures.  The 48 recusal-related obligations
     involved a total of 180 organizational entities, and the 11
     divestiture-related obligations involved a total of 39
     organizational entities. 

  -- The 3 most frequently occurring types of remedial obligations
     were recusals to address appearance concerns under the May 1993
     recusal policy of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
     Committee (16 obligations), recusals to comply with a criminal
     conflict-of-interest statute (18 U.S.C.  208) (16 obligations),
     and recusals to comply with agency-specific legislation (section
     606 of the DOE Act) (6 obligations). 

Table II.2 identifies the frequency of occurrence of each of the
eight types of remedial obligations. 



                               Table II.2
                
                    Outcome of DOE's Application of
                  Participation Restrictions to 12 Top
                  Political Appointees Serving in the
                         Clinton Administration

                                                 Number of
                                     Number of     nominee   Number of
                                    applicable  obligation    entities
Basis for type of remedial action   appointees           s    involved
----------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------
======================================================================
Recusal-related:                            12          48         180
To address appearance concerns               9          18          58
 under recusal policy of the
 Senate Energy and Natural
 Resources Committee
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                10          16          52
To address appearance concerns               4           5           6
 under executive branch-wide
 standards of conduct (5 C.F.R.
 2635.502 and 2635.503)
To comply with section 606 of the            3           6          61
 DOE Organization Act
Waiver of 18 U.S.C. 208                      2           3           3
======================================================================
Divestiture-related:                         6          11          39
To comply with section 602 of the            4           5          21
 DOE Organization Act
Waiver of section 602 of the DOE             4           4           4
 Organization Act
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                 1           2          14
======================================================================
Total                                       12          59         219
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of financial disclosure records on file at OGE
and DOE. 


   CASE HISTORY SUMMARIES
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:2

For the 12 Clinton appointees in DOE with nominee recusal agreements
on file with OGE, the following case histories summarize information
from the financial disclosure records maintained at either OGE or DOE
by the designated agency ethics official (DAEO).  We selected
information that would provide an overview of the outcome of DOE's
entire application of restrictions governing participation in
official government matters of Clinton appointees at the end of 1993. 
Beyond individual recusals, we identified when DOE used divestitures
or waivers to resolve a conflict situation or concern.  We summarized
the underlying conflict situation or concern that the specific
remedial action addressed.  We generally categorized the conflict
situation or concern as involving a continuing financial interest or
a personal/business relationship.  While many of the appointees had
more than one paid or uncompensated position before Senate
confirmation, we selected the previous employer that appeared to be
the principal source of the appointee's recusal obligations.  (App. 
V provides further details on the general types of DOE records we
examined for each appointee and a description of related regulatory
criteria.)


   SECRETARY OF ENERGY
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:3

Appointee:  Hazel R.  O'Leary
Previous employer:  Northern States Power Company


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.    DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C    Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   602     602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Seven     Divest                     Recuse
energy                               /
concern                              until
holdings                             divest

Holdings  Divest
in an
energy
concern
gifted
to a son
(not
minor or
dependen
t)

Interest                             Recuse
s in
Eastman
Kodak,
General
Public
Utilitie
s, and
Minnesot
a Mining
&
Manufact
uring

Survivor          Waiver                     Waiver
benefits          1/21/93                    8/08/
and                                          93
deferred
compensa
tion
from an
energy
concern
(General
Public
Util.)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Former                                                1-
energy                                                Year
employer                                              recuse
(Norther
n States
Power)

Matters                                               1-
personal                                              Year
ly                                                    recuse
involved
for 5
prior
years
with
above
employer

Other

Extraord                                                      2-Year
inary                                                         recuse
payment
from
Northern
States
Power
Co.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   DEPUTY SECRETARY OF ENERGY
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:4

Appointee:  William H.  White
Previous employer:  Law firm of Susman Godfrey, L.L.P.



Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    concern-
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      Senate
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Spousal                              Recuse
interest                             \a
in
Browning
-Ferris
Industri
es;
other
interest
s in
Eastman
Kodak,
IBM,
Mead
Corp.

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Any of                                                1-
16                                                    Year
former                                                recuse
legal
clients

Matters                                               1-
personal                                              Year
ly                                                    recuse
involved
for 5
prior
years
with 23
former
legal
clients

Any of                                                                  Recuse
five
entities
for
which
appointe
e served
as
officer,
director
,
trustee
or
general
partner
just
before
DOE
service

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
employme
nt with
any of
above
five
entities

Other

Extraord                                                      2-Year
inary                                                         recuse
payment
from
former
law firm
(Susman
Godfrey,
L.L.P.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Ethics agreement also cited a May 1993 recusal policy of the
confirmation committee as the basis for this recusal. 



   ADMINSITRATOR, ENERGY
   INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:5

Appointee:  Jay E.  Hakes
Previous employer:  Adjunct Professor at Florida State University


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Spouse                               Recuse
employme
nt by
Florida
State
Universi
ty

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
as
employee
of
Florida
State
Universi
ty

Any                                                                     1-year
matter                                                                  Recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
Florida
State
employme
nt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
   CONGRESSIONAL,
   INTERGOVERNMENTAL, AND
   INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:6

Appointee:  William J.  Taylor III
Previous employer:  Law firm of Hutcheson and Grundy, L.L.P. 


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Spouse's                             Recuse
mineral                              \a
royalty
interest

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
as an
officer,
director
, or
employee
in nine
entities
,
includin
g former
law firm

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
employme
nt
relation
ship
with any
of above
nine
entities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Ethics agreement also cited a May 1993 recusal policy of the
confirmation committee as the basis for this recusal. 


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY, ENERGY
   EFFICIENCY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:7

Appointee:  Christine A.  Ervin
Previous employer:  Director, Oregon Department of Energy


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Spousal                              Recuse
employme                             \a
nt
Oregon
State
Universi
ty and
interest
s in
Oregon
Public
Employee
s
Retireme
nt
System
and
Universi
ty of
Missouri
Deferred
Retireme
nt Plan

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
as an
employee
of
Oregon
Dept. of
Energy

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
relation
ship
with
previous
employer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Ethics agreement also cited a May 1993 recusal policy of the
confirmation committee as the basis for this recusal. 


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY, DEFENSE
   PROGRAMS
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:8

Appointee:  Victor H.  Reis
Previous employer:  Director, Defense Research and Engineering, DOD



Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Pension           Waiver             Recuse
interest          (8/93)
in
Massachu
setts
Institut
e of
Technolo
gy (an
energy
concern
due to
holdings
in oil
and gas
properti
es)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY, DOMESTIC
   AND INTERNATIONAL ENERGY POLICY
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:9

Appointee:  Susan F.  Tierney
Previous employer:  Executive Office of Environmental Affairs,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

None

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
as
officer,
director
, or
employee
of the
Office
of
Environm
ental
Affairs
Commonwe
alth of
Massachu
setts or
the
Massachu
setts
Water
Resource
s
Authorit
y

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
employme
nt
relation
ship
with any
of above
two
entities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT SECRETARY,
   ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION AND
   WASTE MANAGEMENT
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:10

Appointee:  Thomas P.  Grumbly
Previous employer:  President, Clean Sites, Inc. 


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

None

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
as
officer,
director
, or
employee
of Clean
Sites,
Inc.,
and five
other
entities

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
employme
nt
relation
ship
with any
of above
six
entities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF CIVILIAN
   RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:11

Appointee:  Daniel A.  Dreyfus
Previous employer:  Special Assistant to the Secretary just prior to
nomination; prior to that he was Vice-President of Gas Research
Institute



Confli
ct
situat                                       Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
ion/              Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
concer  DOE Act   DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
n       Sec.602   602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
------  --------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Contin
uing
financ
ial
intere
st

Vested            Waiver\a
intere            (8/93)             Recuse
st in                                (12/
the                                  93)
Gas
Resear
ch
Instit
ute
(GRI)
(an
energy
concer
n)

Intere                               Recuse
sts in
IBM

Person
al/
busine
ss
relati
onship

Any                                                           1-Year
matter                                                        recuse
raisin
g
questi
ons of
impart
iality
due to
employ
ment
relati
onship
with
any of
two
entiti
es
(GRI
and
Gas
Techno
logy
Inform
ation)

Any                                                           1-Year
matter                                                        recuse
raisin
g
questi
ons of
impart
iality
due to
former
member
ship
on
board
of
direct
ors of
Americ
ans
for
Energy
Indepe
ndence
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Authorized by the Secretary when Mr.  Dreyfus was a Special
Assistant to the Secretary for the duration of his DOE employment as
a supervisory employee. 


   DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ENERGY
   RESEARCH
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:12

Appointee:  Martha A.  Krebs
Previous employer:  Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of
California


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Holdings  Divest                     Recuse
in an                                /
energy                               until
concern                              divest
(America
n
Electric
Power
Co.,
Inc.)

Vested            Waiver             Recuse  Waiver\
Universi          (1/94)             /       a (1/
ty                                   until   94)
pension                              waiver
interest
s

Spouse's                             Recuse  Waiver\
vested                               /       a (1/
Universi                             until   94)
ty                                   waiver
pension
interest
s

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
as an
employee
of the
Universi
ty of
Californ
ia, or
as a
consulta
nt to
the Gas
Research
Institut
e or
Institut
e for
Defense
Analysis

Any                                                           1-Year    \
matter                                                        recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
employme
nt
relation
ship
with
Lawrence
Berkeley
Laborato
ry

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
service
as
consulta
nt with
the Gas
Research
Institut
e and
Institut
e for
Defense
Analysis
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Excludes matters specifically affecting the University's
retirement system. 



   DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF MINORITY
   ECONOMIC IMPACT
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:13

Appointee:  Corlis S.  Moody
Previous employer:  Northern States Power Company


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Common    Divest                     Recuse
stock                                /
holdings                             until
in an                                divest
energy
concern
(Norther
n States
Power
Company)

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
as
employee
of
Northern
States
Power
Company

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
of
impartia
lity due
to
employme
nt with
Northern
States
Power
Company
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   GENERAL COUNSEL
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix II:14

Appointee:  Robert R.  Nordhaus
Previous employer:  Law firm of Van Ness, Feldman & Curtis


Conflict  DOE                                Waiver,  DOE     Appearan  Appearan
situatio  Act     Waiver of  18      18      18       Act     ce -5     ce -
n/        Sec.60  DOE Act-   U.S.C.  U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Sec.60  C.F.R.    Senate
concern   2       602        208     208     208      6       2635      policy
--------  ------  ---------  ------  ------  -------  ------  --------  --------
Continui
ng
financia
l
interest

Holdings  Divest                     Recuse
in 11                                /
energy                               until
concerns                             divest

Spouse                       Divest  Recuse
holdings                             /
in 13                                until
entities                             divest
viewed
as
financia
l
interest
s under
18 USC
208

Financia                     Divest  Recuse
l                            \a      /
interest                             until
in                                   divest
previous
law firm
employer

Personal
/
business
relation
ship

Legal                                                 1-
services                                              Year
to six                                                recuse
energy
concern
clients
of
previous
law firm

Legal                                                 1-
services                                              Year
to 14                                                 recuse
energy
concern
clients
(covers
5 years
of prior
personal
involvem
ent)

Matters                                                                 Recuse
personal
ly
involved
in as
employee
with
previous
law firm

Any                                                                     1-Year
matter                                                                  recuse
raising
question
s of
impartia
lity due
to
employme
nt with
previous
law firm
or any
immediat
e past
business
relation
ships

Other

Particip                                                      Recuse\b
ation in
certain
overchar
ge cases
pending
before
the
Federal
Energy
Regulato
ry
Commissi
on
(incumbe
nt
recusal
followin
g Senate
confirma
tion)

Particip
ation in                                                      Specific
revising                                                      auth.(5
a draft                                                       C.F.R.
report                                                        2635.502
on                                                            (c))
contract
reform
(followi
ng
Senate
confirma
tion)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a The appointee divested pension and ownership interests in previous
law firm on his own initiative, according to a DOE ethics official. 

\b A November 24, 1993, memorandum "memorializes previous
conversations" wherein the appointee recused himself from certain
matters, and a subsequent February 5, 1994, statement identified
screening and referral officials.  Both of these actions were
initiated by the appointee, according to a DOE ethics official. 


DOCUMENTED RECUSAL OBLIGATIONS OF
TOP BUSH ADMINISTRATION EPA
OFFICIALS
========================================================= Appendix III

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had 15 positions that
required Senate confirmation of presidential appointments during
President Bush's administration.  Table III.1 lists these EPA
positions, the names of the incumbents whose financial disclosure
records we reviewed at the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) in June
1993 and at EPA in August 1993, and the eight appointees whom we
found had executed recusal statements related to their nominations to
the Senate-confirmed positions.  All but four of the appointees
listed in table III.1 were serving at the end of the Bush
administration in 1992. 



                              Table III.1
                
                     Top EPA Officials in the Bush
                  Administration With Nominee Recusal
                               Statements

Senate-confirmed        Incumbent records       Nominee recusal
position                reviewed                statement
----------------------  ----------------------  ----------------------
Administrator           William K. Reilly       Yes-1989

Deputy Administrator    Frank H. Habicht II     Yes-1989

Assistant               Charles Grizzle         None on file
Administrator-
Administration and
Resources\a

Assistant               William G. Rosenberg    None on file\b
Administrator-
Air and Radiation

Assistant               Herbert H. Tate Jr.     Yes-1991
Administrator-
Enforcement and
Compliance

Assistant               Jennifer Wilson         Nominee data not
Administrator-                                  available
External Affairs\a

Assistant               Timothy B. Atkeson      Yes-1989
Administrator-
International Affairs

Assistant               Linda J. Fisher         None on file
Administrator-
Pest and Toxic
Substances

Assistant               J. Clarence Davies      Yes-1989
Administrator-Policy/
Plan/Evaluate\a

Assistant               Erich W. Bretthauer     None on file
Administrator-
Research and
Development

Assistant               Don R. Clay             None on file
Administrator-
Solid Waste

Assistant               LaJuana S. Wilcher      Yes-1989
Administrator-
Water

Assistant               Christian R. Holmes     Yes-1992
Administrator
and Chief Financial
Officer

General Counsel\a       Edwin Donald Elliot,    Yes-1989
                        Jr.

Inspector General       John C. Martin          Nominee data not
                                                available
----------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Because this position was vacant on December 31, 1992, we included
the last confirmed incumbent of the position in this analysis. 

\b In providing us their views on the results of our analysis, EPA
officials provided us a post-confirmation recusal statement filed by
this appointee in 1989. 

Source:  GAO analysis of financial disclosure records on file at OGE
and EPA. 


   OUTCOME OF EPA'S APPLICATION OF
   PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:1

As shown in table III.1, 8 of the 13 Bush appointees whose financial
disclosure records we reviewed had made obligations to recuse
themselves from certain official EPA matters as part of their
nominations and Senate confirmation to the EPA positions.  Among
other things: 

  -- The 8 appointees with recusal obligations represent 62 percent
     of the 13 incumbents in EPA Senate-confirmed positions for whom
     financial disclosure data were available on their nominations to
     the positions at OGE during our work.  All but two of the eight
     appointees were serving at the end of the Bush administration in
     1992. 

  -- There were five types of recusal or divestiture obligations that
     were applicable to these eight EPA Bush administration
     appointees.  In total, 22 obligations were related to recusals,
     and 4 were related to divestitures.  The 22 recusal-related
     obligations involved a total of 54 organizational entities, and
     the 4 divestiture-related obligations involved a total of 9
     organizational entities. 

  -- The specific basis for each type of remedial obligation was
     often not described in the disclosure records maintained by
     either OGE or EPA on these appointees.  In these instances, an
     EPA ethics official identified EPA's basis during interviews
     with GAO officials. 

Table III.2 identifies the frequency of occurrence of the five types
of remedial obligations. 



                              Table III.2
                
                    Outcome of EPA's Application of
                Participation Restrictions to Eight Top
                Political Appointees Serving in the Bush
                             Administration

                                                Number  Number  Number
                                                    of      of      of
                                                applic  nomine  entiti
                                                  able       e      es
                                                appoin  obliga  involv
Basis for type of remedial action                 tees   tions      ed
----------------------------------------------  ------  ------  ------
======================================================================
Recusal-related:                                     8      22      54
To address appearance concerns (before uniform       7      12      45
 standards)
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                         6       8     7\a
Waiver of 18 U.S.C. 208                              1       2       2
======================================================================
Divestiture-related:                                 3       4       9
To comply with section 318 of the Clean Air          3       3       4
 Act
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                         1       1       5
======================================================================
Total                                                8      26      63
----------------------------------------------------------------------
\a One recusal obligation under 18 U.S.C.  208 cited no specific
entities; but rather the appointee disqualified himself from
participating in any EPA rulemaking or policy matters involving four
industries. 

Source:  GAO analysis of financial disclosure records on file at OGE
and EPA. 


   CASE HISTORY SUMMARIES
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:2

For the eight Bush appointees in EPA with nominee recusal agreements
on file with OGE, the following case histories summarize information
from the financial disclosure records maintained at either OGE or EPA
by the designated agency ethics official (DAEO).  We selected
information that would provide an overview of the outcome of EPA's
entire application of restrictions governing participation in
official government matters by Bush appointees.  Beyond individual
recusals, we identified when EPA used divestitures or waivers to
resolve a conflict situation or concern.  We summarized the
underlying conflict situation or concern that the specific remedial
action addressed.  We generally categorized the conflict situation or
concern as involving a continuing financial interest or a
personal/business relationship.  While many of the appointees had
more than one paid or uncompensated position before Senate
confirmation, we selected the previous employer that appeared to be
the principal source of the appointee's recusal obligations.  (App. 
V provides further details on the general types of EPA records we
examined for each appointee and a description of related regulatory
criteria.)


   ADMINISTRATOR, EPA
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:3

Appointee:  William K.  Reilly
Previous employer:  President of the World Wildlife Fund, The
Conservation Foundation


                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Sever contractual             Divest                Recuse-
relationship with Northeast   (sec.                 until
Utilities by transferring     318)                  divest
deferred compensation into a
bank trust account

Personal/business
relationship

Any particular matter                                                   Recuse
involving eight former
employers or organizations
in which he served as an
officer, director, or
trustee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, EPA
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:4

Appointee:  F.  Henry Habicht II
Previous employer:  Perkins Coie/W.D.  Ruckelshaus and Associates
(law firm)


                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Financial interest in                               Recuse
Pyrotite Company (a small
nonpublicly traded company
that makes fire-retardant
materials)

Stocks in New Jersey                     Divest
Resources Corporation,
Boeing, Brunswick, Illinois
Central, and ATT

Personal/business
relationship

16 former employers or                                                  1-Year
clients                                                                 recuse

Resignation of positions in   Resign
the Environmental Law         (sec.
Institute and the Natural     318)
Resources Section of the
American Bar Association
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR,
   ENFORCEMENT
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:5

Appointee:  Herbert H.  Tate Jr.
Previous employer:  Prosecutor, Essex County, New Jersey


                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Holdings in the New Jersey                                     Two
Public Employees' Retirement                                   waivers
System fund                                                    \a

Personal/business
relationship

Any EPA matters in which                                                Recuse
Essex County is an adverse
party and in which he
represented or provided
legal advice

Any EPA matter that involves                                            1-Year
Essex County as a specific                                              recuse
party

Any matter that involves the                                            Recuse
State of New Jersey as a
specific party and in which
the State is an adverse
party, other than certain
enforcement matters

Other

Any involvement with                                                    Recuse
enforcement decisions or
otherwise with a specific
hazardous waste project
(following confirmation)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a One waiver permitted the appointee's participation in EPA matters
affecting these holdings; the other permitted participation in any
enforcement matter involving the State of New Jersey other than as a
specific adverse party. 


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:6

Appointee:  Timothy B.  Atkeson
Previous employer:  Steptoe and Johnson (law firm)





                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Steptoe and Johnson pension                         Recuse
interest (defined benefit
plan)

Any rulemaking or policy                            Recuse
matter that could affect any
financial interests of the
appointee, his wife, or
minor children in four
industries (such interests
were not specified in
recusal or ethics agreement)

Personal/business
relationship

Matters involving six former                                            1-Year
employers and clients                                                   recuse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   POLICY, PLANNING, AND
   EVALUATION
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:7

Appointee:  J.  Clarence Davies
Previous employer:  The Conservation Foundation


                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial interet

None

Personal/business
relationship

Any EPA matter that                                                     Recuse
specifically involves three
organizations in which he
recently served as officer
or employee, including The
Conservation Foundation

Other

Minority share in family                            Recuse
real estate business (after
confirmation the appointee
discovered that two
properties held by the
business have underground
storage tanks and added this
recusal to his nominee
ethics
agreement)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   WATER
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:8

Appointee:  LaJuana S.  Wilcher
Previous employer:  Bishop, Cook, Purcell & Reynolds of Washington,
D.C.  (law firm)



                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

None

Personal/business
relationship

Representative of Cave                                                  Recuse
Research Foundation, Yellow
Springs, Ohio, a scientific
nonprofit educational
organization

Matters involving 11 former                                             1-Year
employers and clients,                                                  recuse
including former law firm
(from whom she generated
more than $5,000 income)

Husband's employer,                                                     Recuse
Environmental Law Institute

Other

Husband's new employer,                                                 Recuse
Friends of the Earth
(following confirmation)

Any matter involving certain                        Recuse
specific EPA regulatory
issues with firm negotiating
for future employment
(following confirmation)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   ADMINISTRATION AND RESOURCES
   MANAGEMENT
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix III:9

Appointee:  Christian R.  Holmes
Previous employer:  Acting Assistant Administrator for Administration
and Resources Management


                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Stock interest in a computer                        Recuse
company, Digital Equipment
Corp.

Holding in Mesa, Ltd                                Recuse
(natural gas industry)

Personal/business
relationship

None

Other

Matters dealing with 25                                                 Recuse
firms with whom appointee
had exploratory discussions
regarding possible
employment (25 individual
recusal documents sent to
EPA DAEO) (following
confirmation)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   GENERAL COUNSEL
------------------------------------------------------ Appendix III:10

Appointee:  Edwin Donald Elliot, Jr.
Previous employer:  Professor, Yale University


                                                               Waiver,
                                                               18
                              Clean Air  18 U.S.C.  18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.   Appearan
Conflict situation/concern    Act        208        208        208      ce
----------------------------  ---------  ---------  ---------  -------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Employment interest in Yale                         Recuse
University Law School (leave
of absence)

Personal/business
relationship

University Fellow at          Resign
Resources for the Future of   (sec.
Washington, D.C. (nonprofit   318)
educational institution)

Member of Board of Advisors                                             Recuse
in the Gruter Institute for
Law and Behavioral Research

Any EPA matter specifically                                             1-Year
involving five former                                                   recuse
employers or clients (from
whom he received more than
$5,000 in income)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOCUMENTED RECUSAL OBLIGATIONS OF
TOP CLINTON ADMINISTRATION EPA
OFFICIALS
========================================================== Appendix IV

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had 13 positions that
required Senate confirmation of presidential appointments during the
first year of President Clinton's administration.  Table IV.1 lists
these EPA positions, the names of the incumbents whose financial
disclosure records we reviewed at the Office of Government Ethics
(OGE) in December 1993 and at EPA in July 1994, and the nine
appointees whom we found had executed recusal statements related to
their nominations to the Senate-confirmed positions.  All these
appointees were serving at the end of the first year of the Clinton
administration in 1993. 



                               Table IV.1
                
                    Top EPA Officials in the Clinton
                  Administration With Nominee Recusal
                   Statements as of December 31, 1993

Senate-confirmed        Incumbent records       Nominee recusal
position                reviewed                statement
----------------------  ----------------------  ----------------------
Administrator           Carol M. Browner        Yes

Deputy Administrator    Robert M. Sussman       Yes

Assistant               Mary D. Nichols         Yes
Administrator-
Air and Radiation

Assistant               Steven A. Herman        None required
Administrator-
Enforcement and
Compliance

Assistant               (unfilled)
Administrator-
International Affairs

Assistant               Lynn R. Goldman         Yes
Administrator-
Pest and Toxic
Substances

Assistant               David M. Gardiner       Yes
Administrator-Policy/
Plan/Evaluate

Assistant               (unfilled)
Administrator-
Research and
Development

Assistant               Elliot P. Laws          Yes
Administrator-
Solid Waste

Assistant               Robert W. Perciasepe    Yes
Administrator-
Water

General Counsel         Jean C. Nelson          Yes

Assistant               Jonathan Z. Cannon      Yes
Administrator-
Administration and
Resources; Chief
Financial Officer

Inspector General       John C. Martin          Nominee data not
                        (carryover from         available
                        previous
                        administration)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  There are two fewer positions than in the Bush administration;
the Assistant Administrator position of Chief Financial Officer was
merged with the position for Administration and Resources, and the
Assistant Administrator position for External Affairs was deleted. 

Source:  GAO analysis of financial disclosure records on file at OGE
and EPA. 


   OUTCOME OF EPA'S APPLICATION OF
   PARTICIPATION RESTRICTIONS
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:1

As shown in table IV.1, 9 of the 10 Clinton appointees whose
financial disclosure records we reviewed had made obligations to
recuse themselves from certain official EPA matters as part of their
nominations and confirmation to the EPA positions.  Among other
things: 

  -- The 9 appointees with recusal obligations represent 90 percent
     of the 10 EPA political appointees who were Senate confirmed at
     the end of 1993 and for whom financial disclosure data were
     available on their nominations to the positions at OGE during
     our work. 

  -- There were five types of recusal or divestiture obligations that
     were applicable to these nine EPA Clinton administration
     appointees.  In total, 39 obligations were related to recusals,
     and 10 were related to divestitures.  The 39 recusal-related
     obligations involved a total of 198 organizational entities, and
     the 10 divestitures involved a total of 30 entities. 

  -- The specific basis for each type of remedial obligation was
     often not described in the disclosure records maintained by
     either OGE or EPA on these appointees.  In these instances, an
     EPA ethics official identified EPA's basis during interviews
     with GAO officials. 

Table IV.2 identifies the frequency of occurrence of the five types
of remedial obligations. 



                               Table IV.2
                
                    Outcome of EPA's Application of
                 Participation Restrictions to Nine Top
                  Political Appointees Serving in the
                  Clinton Administration at the End of
                                  1993

                                                 Number of
                                     Number of     nominee   Number of
                                    applicable  obligation    entities
Basis for type of remedial action   appointees           s    involved
----------------------------------  ----------  ----------  ----------
======================================================================
Recusal-related:                             9          39         198
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                 5           7          56
Waiver of 18 U.S.C. 208                      6           6          50
To address appearance concerns of            8          14          46
 covered relationships under
 uniform standards of conduct (5
 C.F.R. 2635.502)
EPA practice in addressing "other"           9          12          46
 appearance concerns under the
 uniform standards-of-conduct
 regulation (5 C.F.R.
 2635.502(a)(2))
======================================================================
Divestiture-related:                         7          10          30
To comply with 18 U.S.C. 208                 7          10          30
======================================================================
Total                                        9          49         228
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Source:  GAO analysis of financial disclosure records on file at OGE
and EPA. 


   CASE HISTORY SUMMARIES
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:2

For the nine Clinton appointees in EPA with nominee recusal
agreements on file with OGE, the following case histories summarize
information from the financial disclosure records maintained at
either OGE or EPA by the designated agency ethics official (DAEO). 
We selected information that would provide an overview of the outcome
of EPA's entire application of restrictions governing participation
in official government matters by Clinton appointees as of the end of
1993.  Beyond individual recusals, we identified when EPA used
divestitures or waivers to resolve a conflict situation or concern. 
We summarized the underlying conflict situation or concern that the
specific remedial action addressed.  We generally categorized the
conflict situation or concern as involving a continuing financial
interest or a personal/business relationship.  While many of the
appointees had more than one paid or uncompensated position before
Senate confirmation, we selected the previous employer that appeared
to be the principal source of the appointee's recusal obligations. 
(App.  V provides further details on the general types of EPA records
we examined for each appointee and a description of related
regulatory criteria.)


   ADMINISTRATOR, EPA
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:3

Appointee:  Carol M.  Browner
Previous employer:  Department of Environmental Regulation, State of
Florida


                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

None

Personal/business
relationship

Any matter involving                                                    Recuse -
State as a specific                                                     EPA
party and in which                                                      practice
personally involved
as Secretary of the
Department of
Environmental
Regulation

Any EPA matter                                                1-Year
involving the State                                           recuse
or political
subdivisions as a
specific party

Any particular matter                                         Recuse
involving Citizen
Action as a specific
party as long as
spouse employed by
the entity
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, EPA
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:4

Appointee:  Robert M.  Sussman
Previous employer:  Partner, Latham and Watkins (law firm)



                                                              5 C.F.R   Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Holdings in                                         Waiver
diversified stock and
bond fund accounts
considered equivalent
to "excepted
investment funds"

Interest in LBO        Divest
Partners, Ltd.
(limited partnership)

Severance of           Divest
partnership interest
in law firm (received
lump sum payment,
continued retirement,
and medical program)

Personal/business
relationship

Any matter involving                                                    Recuse -
former law firm as a                                                    EPA
specific party and in                                                   practice
which personally
participated on
behalf of the firm

No private                                                              1-Year
communication                                                           recuse -
regarding official                                                      EPA
EPA matters with                                                        practice
employees of former
law firm or former
clients

Any matter involving                                          1-Year
any of 19 former                                              Recuse
legal clients as a
specific party
(compensation over
$5,000)\a

Any matter with a                                                       Recuse
specific EPA
contractor (ICF
company) as long as
sister is employed by
the company\b
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a The EPA DAEO advised this appointee in July 1993 that this recusal
obligation would not require the appointee to recuse himself from a
particular EPA matter involving one of his former legal clients. 

\b The EPA DAEO provided this appointee additional guidance in July
1993 on the scope of this recusal obligation that, among other
things, stated the recusal was intended to include only specific
party matters involving ICF and not general rulemaking or policy
matters affecting ICF or EPA contractors as a whole.  An example
cited of a specific party matter prohibited by the recusal would be
the appointee's involvement in approving or disapproving any request
for changes in funding for the ICF contract or any proposed
contractual remedies against ICF.  An example cited of a nonspecific
party matter allowed under the recusal would be the appointee's
involvement in applying the Superfund indemnification rule to
existing contractors, even though ICF is one of the existing
contractors.  Further, the guidance stated that the EPA Administrator
could authorize the appointee's participation in a specific party
matter involving ICF. 


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATION FOR
   AIR AND RADIATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:5

Appointee:  Mary D.  Nichols
Previous employer:  Senior Staff Attorney, Natural Resources Defense
Council



                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                          18        18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/     18 U.S.C          U.S.C.    U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                 208        Other  208       208       ship      ship
----------------------  ---------  -----  --------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Interest in 17 stocks   Divest\a          Recuse    Waiver
likely to come to                         until     until
attention of her                          divest    divest\b
office and be affected
by particular matters

Personal/business
relationship

Any matter involving                                                    Recuse -
as a specific party                                                     EPA
the Natural Resources                                                   practice
Defense Council or
City of Los Angeles
Dept. of Water and
Power and in which
personally
participated on behalf
of these two former
employers firms

Any other matter                                              1-Year
involving as a                                                recuse
specific party the
Natural Resources
Defense Council, the
University of Southern
California, or City of
Los Angeles Dept. of
Water and Power

Any EPA matter in                         Recuse
which the law firm of
O'Melveny and Meyers
provides
representational
services (spouse
employment)

Other

Any particular matter                     Recuse
involving the Walt
Disney Company as a
specific party
(following
confirmation)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a In January 1994 the DAEO endorsed a request for a Certificate of
Divestiture to OGE covering certain of these stock holdings.  As part
of the justification, the DAEO stated that it is impractical for this
appointee to recuse herself from participation in matters that have a
direct and predictable effect on these financial interests because
such matters are an essential part of the duties of the Assistant
Administrator for Air and Radiation. 

\b In December 1993 the DAEO granted an 18 U.S.C.  208(b)(1) waiver
to allow this appointee to participate in rulemaking or policy
matters that affect any of the 17 entities.  The waiver did not
extend to matters involving the entities as specific parties.  The
waiver justification cited the appointee's commitment to sell all the
stocks pursuant to a Certificate of Divestiture to be issued by OGE. 
The DAEO viewed as small and insubstantial the appointee's financial
interest in any EPA rule or policy that could affect the value or
earnings of these stocks. 


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   PREVENTION, PESTICIDES AND
   TOXIC SUBSTANCES
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:6

Appointee:  Lynn R.  Goldman
Previous employer:  Public Health Medical Administrator, California
Department of Health Services


                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Leave of absence from  Resigned
previous employer

Interest in                                         Waiver\a
California State
retirement system
(defined benefits
plan)

Personal/business
relationship

All lawsuits and                                                        Recuse -
other matters                                                           EPA
involving the State                                                     practice
of California as a
specific party and in
which personally
participated in
position of Public
Health Medical
Administrator

All other specific                                            1-Year
party matters (except                                         recuse
lawsuits challenging
EPA rules) in which
the State of
California is a party
or has filed an
amicus brief unless
authorized by EPA
Administrator

Any EPA matter                                                Recuse
involving the
American Academy of
Pediatrics as a
specific party

Any EPA matter                                                1-Year
involving as a                                                recuse
specific party any of
nine positions
previously held
outside of U.S.
government
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a This waiver applies to matters that involve the State of
California as a specific party as well as to rulemaking or policy
matters that distinctively affect state governments. 


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   POLICY, PLANNING AND EVALUATION
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:7

Appointee:  David M.  Gardiner
Previous employer:  Employee, Sierra Club, Washington, D.C. 


                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Holdings of stocks or  Divest            Recuse
bonds in four                            until
entities                                 divest

Personal/business
relationship

Any EPA matter                                                          Recuse -
involving Sierra Club                                                   EPA
as a specific party                                                     practice
and in which
personally
participated as
employee of the Club

Any EPA matter                                                1-Year
involving as a                                                recuse
specific party any of
four positions
previously held
outside of U.S.
government

Any EPA matter                                                Recuse
specifically
involving a Superfund
contractor, "CH2M
Hill," as long as
brother employed with
that company

Any EPA matter                                                Recuse
specifically
involving the law
firm of Hazel and
Thomas of Alexandria,
Va. as long as
brother-in-law
employed with that
firm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE AND
   EMERGENCY RESPONSE
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:8

Appointee:  Elliott P.  Laws
Previous employer:  Partner (nonequity) in the law firm Patton, Boggs
and Blow, Washington, D.C. 


                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Stock in a single      Divest            Recuse     Waiver
entity, Dominion                         until      until
Resources\a                              divest     divest

Leave of absence from  Resign
previous law firm
employer (agreed to
completely sever
relationship)

Personal/business
relationship

Any EPA matter                                                1-Year
involving a specific                                          recuse
party in which
previous law firm
employer is providing
legal services before
EPA unless authorized
by the EPA
Administrator

Any EPA matter                                                1-Year
involving 10 former                                           recuse
clients of previous
law firm employer
(who received over
$5,000) unless
authorized by the EPA
Administrator

Any site-specific                                                       Recuse -
issue regarding 13                                                      EPA
Superfund sites                                                         practice
represented as a
former client\b
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a On Dec.  7, 1993, the DAEO granted this appointee an 18 U.S.C. 
208(b)(1) waiver applying only to rulemaking or policy matters
affecting the utility industry.  The waiver did not extend to matters
that involve Dominion Resources as a specific party.  The waiver also
stated "EPA customarily and routinely grants waivers for rulemaking
and policy matters where, as here, the total value of stock in an
affected industry does not exceed $15,000." Further, the waiver
stated "...  this waiver will cease to apply even to rulemaking or
policy matters if the value of your stock should ever exceed
$15,000." OGE issued a Certificate of Divestiture for this stock on
December 21, 1993.  Evidence of actual divestiture on February, 10,
1994, was in EPA's records.  While this recusal obligation was first
stated in the Sept.  15, 1993, ethics agreement, it was not included
in the formal recusal statement executed on Nov.  1, 1993. 

\b In November 1993 an EPA ethics official provided advice on the
applicability of this recusal obligation to a Superfund site not
listed in his recusal statement but that involved as a "potential
third party defendant" a former client covered in the appointee's
recusal statement.  The advice was that the appointee need not recuse
himself from issues associated with the Superfund site because the
former client had no direct dealings with EPA. 


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   WATER
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:9

Appointee:  Robert W.  Perciasepe
Previous employer:  Secretary of Maryland Department of Environment


                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Interest in Maryland                                Waiver\a
State retirement
system (defined
benefits plan)

Personal/business
relationship

All lawsuits and                                                        Recuse -
other matters                                                           EPA
involving the State                                                     practice
of Maryland as a
specific party and in
which personally
participated in
position as Secretary
of the Maryland
Department of the
Environment

All other specific                                            1-Year
party matters (except                                         recuse
lawsuits challenging
EPA rules) in which
the State of Maryland
is a party or has
filed an amicus brief
unless authorized by
EPA Administrator
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a This waiver applies to matters involving the State of Maryland as
a specific party and to rulemaking or policy matters distinctively
affecting state governments, including the Chesapeake Bay Program. 


   GENERAL COUNSEL
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:10

Appointee:  Jean C.  Nelson
Previous employer:  Chief Deputy Attorney General, State of Tennessee


                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Any matter involving   Divest            Recuse
Chevron Corporation,                     until
Exxon Corporation, or                    divest
Dupont E.I. DeNemours
and participation
affecting any related
industries

Holdings in 29 stocks                    Recuse\a   Waiver\b
or bonds (including
spouse and joint
holdings)

Retained pension       Divest
benefits from former
law firm of Gullet,
Sanford, Robinson's,
Martin

Personal/business
relationship

All lawsuits and                                                        Recuse -
other matters                                                           EPA
involving the State                                                     practice
of Tennessee as a
specific party and in
which personally
participated in
position as Chief
Deputy Attorney
General

All lawsuits and                                                        Recuse -
other matters                                                           EPA
involving the                                                           practice
Southern
Environmental Law
Center as a specific
party and in which
personally
participated as a
member of the Board.

All other specific                                            1-Year
party matters (except                                         recuse
lawsuits challenging
EPA rules) in which
Tennessee or the Law
Center is a party or
has filed an amicus
brief unless
authorized by EPA.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a The recusal obligation for each of these 29 entities (plus 2
additional entities) was first stated in the August 11, 1993, ethics
agreement.  However, this obligation was not entirely included in the
formal recusal statement executed on December 23, 1993.  The recusal
statement addressed specifically three of the entities and firms in
the computer industry.  Addressing treatment of the other entities,
the recusal statement also said:  "I or my husband have other
interests in several industries.  Although I am aware that 18 U.S.C. 
208(a) bars my participation in any EPA matter which involves any of
these entities as a specific party, I am not listing the individual
holdings because it is highly unlikely that the Office of General
Counsel will have occasion to deal with any 'particular matter' which
involves them as a specific party."

\b On Dec.  21, 1993, the DAEO granted this appointee an 18 U.S.C. 
208(b)(1) waiver applying only to rulemaking or policy matters
affecting the 29 entities.  The waiver did not extend to matters
involving any of the entities as a specific party. 


   ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR
   ADMINISTRATION AND RESOURCES
   MANAGEMENT / CHIEF FINANCIAL
   OFFICER
------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:11

Appointee:  Jonathan Z.  Cannon
Previous employer:  EPA Acting Assistant Administrator, Office of
Policy, Plans, and Evaluation


                                                              5 C.F.R.  Other
                                                              2635.502  uncovere
                                                              covered   d
                                                    Waiver,   appearan  appearan
                                                    18        ce        ce
Conflict situation/    18 U.S.C.         18 U.S.C.  U.S.C.    relation  relation
concern                208        Other  208        208       ship      ship
---------------------  ---------  -----  ---------  --------  --------  --------
Continuing financial
interest

Stock in IBM           Divest            Recuse
                                         until
                                         divest

Personal/business
relationship

Any EPA matter in                                                       Recuse -
which provided legal                                                    EPA
services to any of 22                                                   practice
entities while
employed with former
law firm (received
$5,000 or more)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TYPES OF GENERAL FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE RECORDS EXAMINED AND
RELATED REGULATORY CRITERIA
=========================================================== Appendix V

1.  Copies of New Entrant (Nominee), Annual, and Termination Public
Financial Disclosure Reports (SF 278s)

As a means of increasing public confidence in federal officials,
public disclosure of certain financial information of elected and
high-level officials has been required by statute since 1979. 
Presidential appointees requiring Senate confirmation are required to
file public disclosure reports (SF 278s) with the designated agency
ethics official (DAEO) at the employing agency.  DAEO is required to
review the information disclosed in the report for compliance with
applicable conflict-of-interest laws and regulations, including those
governing recusals.  In addition, the Office of Government Ethics
(OGE) further reviews the reports of all presidential appointees
requiring Senate confirmation.  OGE views these financial disclosure
reports as an important safeguard for the individual, as well as the
government, in that they provide a mechanism for identifying and
resolving actual or potential conflicts between the individual's
public responsibilities and private interests. 

2.  DAEO Opinion Letter to OGE

This is one of several documents required by OGE financial disclosure
regulations that would address the recusal obligations of
presidential nominees (other related documents are described below.)
Current OGE regulations require DAEOs to write an opinion letter to
the OGE director certifying that DAEO's review of the presidential
nominee's disclosure report disclosed no conflict of interest under
applicable law and regulations and the DAEO's letter is supposed to
discuss: 

     "(A) Any actual or apparent conflicts of interest that were
     detected during the review process; and

     (B) The resolution of those real or apparent conflicts,
     including any specific commitment, ethics agreement entered
     under the provisions of subpart H of this part, or other
     undertaking by the nominee to resolve any such conflicts.  A
     copy of any commitment, agreement, or other undertaking which is
     reduced to writing shall be sent to the Director, in accordance
     with subpart H of this part." [See 5 C.F.R. 
     2634.605(c)(2)(iii).]

Typically, these DAEO opinion letters will refer to any recusal
obligations made by the nominee. 

3.  DAEO Notification to OGE of Ethics Agreements

OGE's regulation requires DAEOs to (1) submit to OGE any ethics
agreement that a presidential nominee has made with the nominee's
financial disclosure report; (2) notify OGE immediately of any
additional agreements made by the nominee after submission of the
nominee's report; and (3) apprise OGE of any other ethics agreements
made by the individual as an incumbent in a Senate-confirmed
position, or that become known to DAEO during the incumbent's term in
office.  [See 5 CFR 2634.803(a) and (b).] This regulation does not
specify a form for this notification (such as a letter). 

4.  OGE Opinion Letter to Senate Confirmation Committee

OGE's regulation requires the Director of OGE to provide Senate
confirmation committees a letter "expressing the Director's opinion
whether, on the basis of information contained in the report, the
nominee has complied with all applicable conflict laws and
regulations." [See 5 C.F.R.  2634.605(c)(3).]

5.  The Appointee's Executed Recusal Statement

This document is viewed by OGE as evidence of satisfaction of a
formal ethics agreements under section 110 of the Ethics in
Government Act, as amended.  OGE's regulation requires the appointee
to list and describe in the executed recusal statement the specific
matters or subjects to which the recusal applies; state the method by
which the agency will enforce the recusal; and list the positions of
those agency employees involved in the enforcement (i.e., the
individual's immediate subordinates and supervisors.) [See 5 C.F.R. 
2634.804(b)(1).] Such recusal statements are considered as part of
the confirmation process and with OGE and DAEO opinion letters (see
above discussion) have been viewed by oversight committees as an
important institutional check against conflicts of interest by
presidential appointees. 

6.  Evidence of Ethics Agreement Compliance

OGE's regulation requires that evidence of any action taken to comply
with ethics agreements be submitted by the DAEOs, upon receipt, to
OGE and to the Senate confirmation Committee.  [See 5 C.F.R. 
2634.804(a).] The ethics agreement is required to specify that the
individual must complete action that he or she has agreed to
undertake within a period not to exceed 3 months from the date of the
agreement.  The definition of ethics agreements includes any oral or
written promise by a reporting individual to alleviate an actual or
apparent conflict of interest, including "Preparation of a written
instrument for recusing (disqualifying) the individual from one or
more particular matters or categories of official action." [See 5
C.F.R.  2634.802(a)(1).]

7.  OGE Ethics Agreement Tracking Form

This is an internal OGE form that OGE staff use to record the results
of their determinations of when the ethics agreements of presidential
appointees have complied with OGE's regulatory requirements.  Using
this record, OGE enters into a computer database the status of each
appointee's compliance with any ethics agreement that generally
involves six types of actions:  recusals, divestitures, resignations,
waivers, severance payments, and blind trusts.  OGE prepares monthly
status reports from this data and has biennially provided Congress
information on the frequency of such agreements governmentwide. 


MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS FACT
SHEET
========================================================== Appendix VI

GENERAL GOVERNMENT DIVISION,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Norman A.  Stubenhofer, Assistant Director
John J.  Tavares, Evaluator-in-Charge
Gary V.  Lawson, Senior Evaluator

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL,
WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Jill P.  Sayre, Senior Attorney


*** End of document. ***