Ethics

Q: What impact do you think President Clinton's new ethics rules will have on EPA officials, and on senior industry officials, and what do you think the overall effect will be on environmental progress?

MR. ALM: I do not know. I assume, seeing the number of people that are coming into government, that people feel that there is some way that they could earn a living after leaving their government service. Nevertheless, I am aware of a number of people who felt they could not assume a government position because of the conflict of interest requirements of the Clinton Administration.

I think strong ethical rules are a good idea. I do not think anybody should ever use government to promote their own personal interests. I have always thought that the biggest ethical challenge was how somebody leaves the government and winds up in the private sector. That issue is a difficult ethical issue, that probably needs someone to really look into it - to think through how people can exit the government without being involved with people who might affect their situation after they leave government.

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Ethics

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