I just wanted to see how anxious you were to weigh in on that.

I think the hearing has been very productive.

It is not easy to run all these hearings without a scorecard, and we do not work on a text.

Do you think it would be appropriate to ask a man in your position to file a public financial disclosure statement?

The first line is to have transparency with a public disclosure so that people can see what is going on.

But these allegations will give fuel to people who want to cut back on your funding.

The Congress really does not want to get into this, if we do not have to, to micro-manage what you are doing, but I think that there are really major problems here.

Your Department nor this oversight committee is in a position to make that kind of an intensive investigation.

To deal with them on an individual basis is going to be enormously complicated to investigate each one of these matters and make some determination.

How long would you expect it to take to promulgate new rules and regulations?

Is there no appeal process from what the Office of Government Ethics rules?

Are you taking any action to suspend these arrangements while the investigation goes on?

I am not talking about many cases. I am talking about a blanket suspension of consulting arrangements until there can be an inquiry as to all the pending matters to see if there is an actual conflict of interest.

this subcommittee is prepared to do it if you do not and we are prepared to get into the changes of law if you do not come up with something which is adequate.

As a matter of law, there could not be a blanket suspension.

Suppose this subcommittee did not want you to wait. How long would it take you to draft a regulation?

Well, would you specify what is not under your control so that the subcommittee can make an evaluation of that?

The agency would have the authority to submit a regulation to the Office of Government Ethics and then the Office of Government Ethics has to concur before it can be put into effect.