Neil Abercrombie: “This amendment places a 1-year ban on flag and general officers in the Armed Services from receiving compensation from…”

“This amendment places a 1-year ban on flag and general officers in the Armed Services from receiving compensation from any company that does greater than $50 million in business with the Department of Defense. The rationale is very, very straightforward. It assures that large corporations, relying on DOD business, do not take advantage of loopholes in the post-employment ethics laws right now. Current laws govern conduct-based actions. Conduct-based actions and restrictions that are in there now are meaningless because there's what's called behind-the-scenes and in-house provisions. If I'm going to get lectured on ethics, let's talk about ethics. Former flag and general officers cannot overtly attempt to influence government officials. The $50 million ensures that small businesses seeking access to the DOD market are protected and people can go to work for them. It does not impact officers pay grade O-6 and below. We are talking about the top people up here making the top money making the top decisions with Department of Defense organizations. The amendment protects senior officers from large DOD prime contractors seeking to gain undue influence during their time in service.”