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[109 Senate Hearings]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:28246.wais]
S. Hrg. 109-617
NOMINATION OF ROBERT I. CUSICK
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
ON THE
NOMINATION OF ROBERT I. CUSICK, TO BE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT
ETHICS
__________
MAY 18, 2006
__________
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
28-246 WASHINGTON : 2006
_____________________________________________________________________________
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine, Chairman
TED STEVENS, Alaska JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut
GEORGE V. VOINOVICH, Ohio CARL LEVIN, Michigan
NORM COLEMAN, Minnesota DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
TOM COBURN, Oklahoma THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
LINCOLN D. CHAFEE, Rhode Island MARK DAYTON, Minnesota
ROBERT F. BENNETT, Utah FRANK LAUTENBERG, New Jersey
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico MARK PRYOR, Arkansas
JOHN W. WARNER, Virginia
Michael D. Bopp, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Jennifer A. Hemingway, Professional Staff Member
Michael L. Alexander, Minority Staff Director
Adam R. Sedgewick, Minority Professional Staff Member
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
C O N T E N T S
------
Opening statement:
Page
Senator Voinovich............................................ 1
Prepared statement:
Senator Lieberman............................................ 9
WITNESSES
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Hon. Mitch McConnell, a U.S. Senator from the State of Kentucky.. 1
Robert I. Cusick, to be Director, Office of Government Ethics:
Testimony.................................................... 4
Prepared statement........................................... 10
Biographical and professional information.................... 11
Letter from U.S. Office of Government Ethics................. 20
Responses to pre-hearing questions........................... 21
Response to post-hearing question............................ 40
NOMINATION OF ROBERT I. CUSICK
----------
THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2006
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:25 a.m., in
room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. George V.
Voinovich, presiding.
Present: Senator Voinovich.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR VOINOVICH
Senator Voinovich. The Committee will come to order.
We are privileged to have Senator McConnell with us this
morning to introduce Mr. Cusick.
I apologize for being late, but we had a vote this morning.
We are anxious to have this hearing so that Mr. Cusick's
nomination can be advanced to the floor so he can get to work.
Senator McConnell.
TESTIMONY OF HON. MITCH MCCONNELL, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE
STATE OF KENTUCKY
Senator McConnell. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I am pleased to be here this morning to introduce to you an
old friend, going back over 30 years, Robert I. Cusick, who is
President Bush's nominee to be the next Director of the Office
of Government Ethics.
We call him ``Ric'' and have been calling him that for, as
I indicated, quite awhile.
His decades of experience in ethics and the law have well
prepared him to lead the Executive Branch agency charged with
strengthening public confidence in our government and
government employees. The Office of Government Ethics takes
care to prevent conflicts of interest on the part of government
employees, fosters high ethical standards for government
employees, and resolves conflicts or questions in these
standards when they happen.
I hope that during the confirmation process the Committee
will conclude what all of us in Kentucky already know, which is
that Ric is absolutely ideally suited for a job like this.
He is currently a partner at Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs, one
of our largest law firms. He is the Partner-in-Charge of Ethics
Counseling for a firm of about 200 lawyers. He is also co-chair
of the firm's Opinions and Standards Practice Group. He has
been with this prestigious firm for over 30 years, the main
office of which is located in my hometown of Louisville,
Kentucky.
Area public officials seek Ric out to consult with him on
public officer ethics, and he is frequently asked to lecture on
professional responsibility, confidentiality, and conflicts of
interest.
Ric has served as an expert witness on ethics matters in
both civil and criminal cases, and he has drafted ethics
regulations for the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Prior to joining his law firm, Ric served his country as a
Navy Judge Advocate here in Washington and at sea aboard the
USS America of the Atlantic Fleet. Ric continued to serve as a
Naval Reserve officer until retiring as a decorated Captain in
1998. He has taught Federal officer ethics in three States as a
Naval Reserve officer.
He brings his expertise to many volunteer activities in the
legal community. He currently serves as the chairman of the
Ethics Rule Drafting Committee for the Kentucky Bar Association
and has previously served as a member of that organization's
Ethics Committee. He is a past member of the Board of Governors
of the Kentucky Bar Association and a past member of the
Kentucky Board of Bar Examiners.
He is a member of the Louisville, Kentucky and American Bar
Associations, a member of the American Judicature Society and
the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility.
He has been the chairman of the Louisville Bar Association
Committee on Professional Responsibility. He served 8 years as
chairman of the Jefferson County Ethics Commission, educating
public officials on ethics issues. He received special
commendation for his ethics work when the Kentucky Bar
Association awarded him its Kentucky Bar Service Award.
He also received a Certificate of Merit from the Louisville
Metro Council for his ethics work and received the
Distinguished Service Award from the Louisville Bar
Association.
In addition to that, Ric's neighbors have placed their
trust in him by electing him a councilman for the City of
Indian Hills, a small jurisdiction within our community. He is
also active in his community as a trustee of the Harrods Creek
Fire Protection District and as a Director of the Louisville-
Jefferson County Public Defender Corporation.
A Louisvillian, as I indicated, he received his bachelor's
and law degrees from the University of Louisville.
The President has made the right choice by calling on Ric
to serve our government as a guidepost on issues of
professional responsibility and ethics. His entire career has
really prepared him for this assignment. This is the perfect
person for this job.
He is a man of wisdom, character, and judgment who can be
trusted to manage this office fairly and without prejudice.
So Mr. Chairman, I thank you very much for the opportunity
to be here to introduce an old friend who, at the risk of being
redundant, is the perfect appointment for this job. I mean,
typically the appointments are hard to match up directly with
the positions. But I think the President has certainly done
that in this case, and I am proud to be here with him.
Senator Voinovich. I really thank you very much for coming
here and introducing your friend.
I must say I am very impressed with the list of things that
Mr. Cusick has done. As a matter of fact, it added to some of
the material that I have read personally about Mr. Cusick. I
really thank you for being here today.
Mr. Cusick, first of all, I want to say thank you for
allowing yourself to be considered for Federal service.
Mr. Cusick. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Voinovich. I am well aware of everything you have
to go through in order to be nominated for a position. I must
tell you we are trying to streamline that a little bit.
This Committee continues its work to reform the Federal
workforce in order to address the challenge of the 21st
Century, and I believe that the Office of Government Ethics is
going to grow. While not widely known, the office does vital
work to prevent conflicts of interest on behalf of government
employees. The Office of Government Ethics has responsibility
for reviewing the financial disclosure reports for high-level
Executive Branch nominees and employees in order to ascertain
conflicts of interest.
If that work is as fastidious as what we have to do, you
have a lot of work ahead of you.
Mr. Cusick. Yes, sir.
Senator Voinovich. The Office of Government Ethics issues
advisory opinions to guide Federal agencies in response to
questions about conflict of interest laws and regulations. The
work of the Office of Government Ethics is imperative to foster
and maintain the public's trust in its government. I think that
is something that we all have to be worried about. We have to
maintain the public's trust in government.
Mr. Cusick, you have filed responses to a biographical and
financial questionnaire. You have answered pre-hearing
questions submitted by the Committee. You have had your
financial statements reviewed by the Office of Government
Ethics, and without objection this information will be made a
part of the hearing record, with the exception of the financial
data which are on file and are available for public inspection
in the Committee offices.
Our Committee rules require that all witnesses at
nomination hearings give their testimony under oath. Mr.
Cusick, would you please stand and raise your right hand.
Do you swear that the testimony you are about to give to
this Committee is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help you, God?
Mr. Cusick. I do, Senator.
Senator Voinovich. Let the record show that Mr. Cusick
answered in the affirmative.
I understand that you have members of your family here
today?
Mr. Cusick. Actually not my family, Senator, but a lot of
people close to me, like family.
Senator Voinovich. Well, sometimes people that are close to
you are even better than family.
Mr. Cusick. Yes, sir. That has been my experience, as well.
Senator Voinovich. If you would, we would appreciate your
introducing your friends here today.
Mr. Cusick. Senator, my friend since kindergarten, Charlie
Ricketts.
Mr. Ricketts. Senator.
Senator Voinovich. Mr. Ricketts.
Mr. Cusick. Deanna Pelfrey, a friend of well over 20 years.
My assistant, Beverly Johnson. Danielle Pelfrey, who is a
student at Georgetown Law School and her husband, Eric Duryea.
Obviously Danielle is Danielle Pelfrey Duryea.
I have the members of the staff here from OGE. We have not
known each other very long, and I am very flattered that they
came, as well--Joe Gangloff, Jane Ley, Marilyn Glynn, Susan
Propper, Shelley Finlayson, and Ethan Carrier, whom I met only
today.
Senator Voinovich. That is wonderful. He has got a good
memory for names. That is wonderful.
Mr. Cusick. I sometimes wonder about that, Senator. Not
every day do I have that.
Senator Voinovich. Well, I do not know if you are at that
stage, but we all have our senior moments.
There are three questions that we ask all nominees. First,
is there anything that you are aware of in your background that
might present a conflict of interest with the duties of the
office to which you have been nominated?
Mr. Cusick. No, sir.
Senator Voinovich. Do you know of anything personal or
otherwise that would, in any way, prevent you from fully and
honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to
which you have been nominated?
Mr. Cusick. I know of no such thing, Senator.
Senator Voinovich. And last, do you agree without
reservation to respond to any reasonable summons to appear and
testify before any duly constituted committee of congress, if
you are confirmed?
Mr. Cusick. I do.
Senator Voinovich. Thank you.
I would like to hear from you. Do you have a statement?
TESTIMONY OF ROBERT I. CUSICK,\1\ TO BE DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF
GOVERNMENT ETHICS
Mr. Cusick. Senator, I am, it is hardly necessary to say,
very honored that the President nominated me to the position of
Director of the Office of Government Ethics. And I am also
honored to be here today for the Committee's hearing on my
nomination.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Cusick appears in the Appendix on
page 10.
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I think everybody in this room agrees that public office is
a public trust. We have to go further than that though, I
believe. Careful rulemaking, education and leadership of an
ethical focus is essential to that public trust being observed.
The Office of Government Ethics has been given the central
leadership role in that task by Congress for the Executive
Branch. And frankly, it would please me greatly to be trusted
with the responsibility for that agency.
My experience as a Kentucky lawyer for over 38 years and as
a retired Naval Reserve Judge Advocate, I believe, has prepared
me for the challenge of leading the Agency. I have trained Navy
units. I have trained local officials in public officer ethics.
I have been very active and involved in the Kentucky Bar
Association in ethics matters and discipline matters. I have
served as the ethics partner of Wyatt, Tarrant and Combs for
many years, and that is a large firm of over 200 lawyers in
three States.
I believe that it is essential to the ethical culture in a
large organization to implement a system that trains, advises,
and audits ethical compliance. I believe in systems like that.
Unethical acts, I believe, are not always the result of
venality. Although reading some newspapers might lead you to
that conclusion. They can also grow in a culture of banality,
in which people simply want to look successful or to conceal
failure or to enhance personal relationships or to frustrate
oversight. I believe the ugly examples of corporate unethical
acts in the business pages of the newspapers should not be
permitted in government.
In the most fundamental sense, I think, government ethics
can be characterized as ensuring that government decisions are
informed by the public interest and not by private interest.
There will always be debate in our democracy about alternative
views of what the public interest is, sometimes acrimonious
debate. But such views can be distinguished from private
interest. And it is my belief that distinction is a large part
of the job of the Office of Government Ethics.
Last week FBI Director Robert Mueller was quoted in the
newspaper as saying that public corruption ``tears at the
fabric of democracy.'' I believe Director Mueller said that
very well.
If confirmed, I will exert every effort within the
jurisdiction of the Office of Government Ethics to see that
official decisions are informed by the public interest. Thank
you Senator.
Senator Voinovich. Thank you for that very thoughtful
statement.
Have you had a chance yet to look at how many people you
will have working with you?
Mr. Cusick. Approximately 80 people, Senator.
Senator Voinovich. How long do you think it is going to
take for you to determine whether or not that is enough to get
the job done?
Mr. Cusick. I think probably not too long, as the job
stands right now. I believe if the responsibilities of the
Agency were increased that both personnel and budget changes
might have to be made. I think at the present time the balance
between personnel and the task is a relatively good one, but it
might not remain so if legislation adds to those
responsibilities.
Senator Voinovich. One of the problems in government is in
too many cases Congress asks agencies to do things that are
important to the government but do not give them the resources
to get the job done. I have always had a philosophy that if you
ask somebody to do the job and you do not give them the
resources to get it done, then you are basically saying that
the job is not that important.
Mr. Cusick. I favor that philosophy, Senator.
Senator Voinovich. All I would say to you is that, once
confirmed to this position and you see what is going on, if you
need some additional resources, you ask for them.
I think that the scandals in the corporate world has been
very hurtful and contributed to what we saw happen to the stock
market. It seems that we are starting to get some faith back
into those financial markets.
We must do everything that we can to uphold the public
trust, and even to go beyond that. We should try and guard
against not only doing things that are wrong but also to guard
against doing things that appear to be wrong.
I am glad that you have had the experience that you have
had in education and training.
I would be interested in how important you think it is?
Have you thought about that in context of this new job that you
are taking?
Mr. Cusick. Senator, I think that education is really
essential in this field. Unfortunately, the subject of ethics
tends to be watered down by many people that think well, my
intentions are good, I do not have to worry about that. I think
it is far more complicated than that. And I think that
education in ethics principles and rules is important in a
number of ways.
One of the things it does is raise the level of public
discourse about public official ethics.
I saw that happen in my homecounty of Jefferson County,
where Louisville is located, when the first ethics ordinance
was enacted. All officials above a certain level had to attend
mandatory training every year. And we would have four sessions
to make it accessible to people that worked night shifts and so
forth.
I found that after those sessions I would get a lot of
calls for the next several weeks from people who were thinking
about issues that they had not actively analyzed before, saying
would this be all right? Is this something I should recuse
myself on? Can I approve my subordinate's action in this
respect?
I really found that very satisfying to see that education
in the rules and principles was having effect, was taking
effect.
So yes, I think it is very important. I think it is also
important for subordinates in government to see their senior
leaders in that educational atmosphere. In other words, to
understand that their senior leaders are being trained in that
atmosphere that they will expect compliance with that kind of
thinking.
I think that ethical leadership from the top down is
essential to the ethical survival of an organization. If the
message is sent, as clearly it has been sent in some private
corporations we read about in the newspaper, that it is a
secondary or a tertiary consideration and that the bottom line
is everything, then people begin to think that way.
And that introduces cynicism into a company, it introduces
cynicism into government agencies, and frankly it introduces
cynicism into the public. And I do not think that is good for
any of us.
Senator Voinovich. I agree with you, and I think that one
of the best things that happened in Ohio with our continuing
legal education was requiring that every 2 years lawyers had so
many hours of ethics training.
I have one request of you. That is that after you have had
a chance to get your feet on the ground, I would be interested
in hearing from you your assessment of the ethics education
system and any thoughts that you have on how it might be
improved.
We have a big problem in the Congress. If we pass lobbying
reform, there will be mandatory ethics training for Senators
every year. What I have found is that some of my colleagues
have gotten in trouble because they have not paid attention or
been reminded of the rules. In other words, it has not been
held prominent in their minds, and as a result of it, they have
done some things and many times just inadvertent.
Mr. Cusick. That has been my experience.
Senator Voinovich. So, I would appreciate if you shared
with me your assessment of OGE's training program. I do not
have any further questions. I am honored that you are willing
to take this job on, and I wish you all the best. We will try
to get you confirmed as soon as possible.
Mr. Cusick. Thank you, Senator.
Senator Voinovich. I am going to leave the record open
today until 5 p.m. in case any of my colleagues want to submit
questions to you for the record.
Mr. Cusick. Thank you, sir.
Senator Voinovich. The hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:45 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
----------
PREPARED STATEMENT OF SENATOR LIEBERMAN
Thank you, Madam Chairman. And welcome, Mr. Cusick, to you and your
family. The Office of Government Ethics is a key player in maintaining
the highest ethical standards throughout the Executive Branch. The
director's job has been vacant since December 2003, and I am troubled
the Administration waited a year and a half into the 109th Congress
before nominating you to lead the office. I am pleased your nomination
has been made and I hope it proceeds smoothly so the message going
forward will be that ethics are at the core of everything we in public
service do.
The OGE is responsible for establishing and maintaining a uniform
legal framework of ethics for Executive Branch employees, supporting
the ethics programs of each Federal agency through educational
programs, advisory opinions, and review of agency ethics procedures,
and overseeing the financial disclosure of Executive Branch employees.
Only through the transparency of financial disclosure can we prevent
conflicts of interest that undermine the impartiality of government
decisionmakers.
As Mr. Cusick noted in written responses to the Committee's
questionnaire, ``government ethics'' should not be an oxymoron.
Unfortunately, the headlines of the past year have given the American
public more than a few reasons to question whether some Federal
officials take their ethical obligation seriously.
David Safavian, the President's former top procurement officer, was
indicted for lying about his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Tony
Rudy, a former aide to Congressman DeLay, pleaded guilty to conspiracy
related to corrupt lobbying practices and admitted violating the
prohibition of former Congressional staff from lobbying their previous
bosses for one year. Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud and
conspiracy to bribe public officials, and his associate Michael Scanlon
pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a congressman and other public
officials. Congressman Duke Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting
bribes. A former aide to Congressman Ney pleaded guilty to conspiring
to influence the Congressman's actions through expensive gifts and
travel. And a former aide to Congressman Jefferson pleaded guilty to
bribing his former boss.
In no way do I mean to lay any of these ethical lapses at the feet
of OGE. But in the context of today's hearing, these incidents remind
us how a handful of selfish, corrupt individuals can inflict widespread
damage on the public's confidence in the integrity of our government.
We need strong leadership from OGE to make sure that Executive Branch
personnel fully understand and fulfill their ethical responsibilities.
Public service is a privilege, and those who choose to pursue it
must perform their duties in the public interest, not in their own
self-interest. I look forward to hearing from Mr. Cusick today with his
vision for making that maxim a reality.
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