Political Quotes

“let's talk about that story and ethics for a second. Mr. Bernhardt has spent more than 15 years of a 25-year career in public service, and most of that time has been spent at the Department of the Interior. While in his private law practice, he never lobbied the Department of the Interior--not once. During his time as Deputy Secretary, he has focused on the fundamental transformation of the Department and Bureau-level ethics programs to ingrain a culture of ethical compliance and reduce workplace misconduct. The reality is that the ethics program throughout the Department of the Interior had been, sadly, neglected by the previous administration. The Office of Inspector General and the Departmental Ethics Office had recommended significant resource changes that had fallen on deaf ears under the previous administration. Under Mr. Bernhardt's direction, the Department has hired a total of 42 career professional ethics advisers. By the end of fiscal year 2019, they will have doubled the number of career ethics officials that the previous administration had hired in its entire 8 years. The record shows that he has actively sought and consulted with the Department's designated Agency ethics officials regarding compliance with his ethics obligations recusals. In addition, he has installed a robust screening process to ensure that he does not meet with or engage in particular matters benefiting the former clients from which he is recused.…”