Democracy 21 Applauds Ethics Code Issued Today by the Biden-Harris Transition – Wertheimer Statement
Democracy 21 Applauds Ethics Code Issued Today by the Biden-Harris Transition
Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer
The ethics code issued today by the Biden-Harris Transition is an excellent and comprehensive approach to preventing the conflicts of interest that can arise in a presidential transition.
In addition to its important prohibitions on conflicts of interest, the code also protects against appearance of conflicts by requiring any such appearance issues to be resolved by the transition general counsel. This means the Biden-Harris Transition itself will be accountable for any such problems that arise with the transition team members.
Another important protection in the code would prevent members of the transition team from using their transition roles for personal or professional benefit.
The strong Biden-Harris transition ethics code indicates former Vice President Biden’s interest, if elected, in ending the culture of ethics abuses and conflicts of interest that has been pervasive in the Executive Branch since President Trump took office. See CREW study entitled, President Trump’s 3,400 Conflicts of Interest.
The ethics code is an important first step by Vice President Biden to changing, if elected, Washington’s self-interest culture and to repairing our democracy and political system. Vice President Biden has stated during the presidential campaign that, if elected, “a first priority of a Biden Administration will be to lead on a comprehensive set of reforms like those reflected in the For the People Act (H.R. 1).”
H.R. 1, and its Senate companion bill, S. 949, are the most important and comprehensive democracy reform measures since the Watergate reforms of the 1970s.
Democracy 21 applauds the Biden-Harris Transition for adopting a transition ethics code that stands in stark contrast to the complete ethics vacuum that has been a hallmark of President Trump and his administration.
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