Sen. Chuck Grassley today protested President Clinton's recent move to revoke the five-year prohibition on senior government officials from lobbying the agencies in which they had served and said he would introduce legislation to enforce the ban if it is not reinstated.
Grassley said that Clinton "did the right thing in 1993," when he implemented an executive order (#12834) on his first day in office to help ensure that public service was not just an opportunity for private benefit for those serving at the highest levels of the federal government. In a letter to the President today, Grassley urged that he withdraw the order he issued on Dec. 28, which revokes the President's own 1993 order.
"President Clinton's spokesman has tried to argue that the original order is no longer needed because a Republican has been elected to the White House. But that argument doesn't pass muster," Grassley said. "The intent of the good government order first issued by President Clinton in 1993 was to stop top government officials from lobbying their agencies, whether that was political appointees or non-political government employees. Since 99 percent of agency employees are not appointed by the president, the political affiliation of the White House is not relevant."
Grassley said he has also urged President-elect Bush to impose a similar restriction on senior appointees of his new administration. Grassley said the legislation he will offer if Clinton does not reverse his latest executive order also would apply to the incoming Bush administration.
"I hope that President Clinton acts in the remaining days of his presidency to reverse the mistake made by revoking the order against the revolving door," Grassley said. "Using the power of the presidency to reverse a policy he put in place to help ensure integrity in government service undermines the public's confidence in political leadership.