美国国家公共电台 NPR Ethics Watchdog Has Big Impact On Federal Workers, But Not On Trump

 

LOURDES GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Members of Congress will be returning to Washington tomorrow. And the Senate is scheduled to vote on Wilbur Ross's nomination¹ as secretary of commerce. He's another billionaire. He promises to let go of most of his holdings after an agreement with the Office of Government Ethics² to prevent conflicts of interest. As NPR's Peter Overby tells us, the OGE is a tiny agency that faces huge challenges in the new administration.

PETER OVERBY, BYLINE³: First things first - the Office of Government Ethics does not enforce federal ethics laws. Instead, it helps government officials comply with them. It guides them in filling out forms and avoiding conflicts of interest, as it did with Commerce nominee⁴ Ross. Back in November, OGE's director, Walter Shaub, used President Trump⁵'s favorite social media to tweet some advice, coaxing⁶ Trump to divest⁷ his business empire. OGE didn't win that one. But as government-reform advocate Meredith McGehee said...

MEREDITH MCGEHEE: I would describe it at this point as the mouse that roared.

OVERBY: And roaring its loudest, in fact, since 1978, when it was created to help keep Washington calm. Congress didn't want another national trauma⁸ like the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RICHARD NIXON: People have got to know whether or not their president's a crook⁹. Well, I'm not a crook.

OVERBY: Nixon made that declaration in 1973. He was gone the next year. And by the early 1980s, the Office of Government Ethics was a big deal.

JAN BARAN: Government officials didn't disclose their personal financial holdings and wealth until the ethics laws were created.

OVERBY: Washington ethics lawyer Jan Baran.

BARAN: These forms were being filled out and submitted and made public for the first time.

OVERBY: The disclosure requirement led to OGE's biggest controversy¹⁰ up until now. In the mid-'80s, President Ronald Reagan's attorney general, Ed Meese, failed to disclose a financial relationship with lawyers for a Pentagon contractor¹¹. It was a complicated story. But, ultimately, Meese resigned. For the most part, OGE has worked quietly. It's had a big impact on the federal bureaucracy. It creates things like this training video.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Today we're going to be talking about roles for supervisors¹² in the confidential¹³ financial disclosure program.

OVERBY: This is a program that collects annual financial disclosures from 370,000 federal employees, mid-level workers who do contracting, award grants and oversee¹⁴ federal spending - anyone who touches money. OGE's goal is to ensure that federal workers don't have financial interests that could come before the public interest. And that's the rub with President Trump.

While he has stepped back from management of his business empire, he continues to profit from it. Trump notes that the conflict-of-interest law doesn't actually apply to the Oval Office occupant. That's true. But previous presidents complied voluntarily. Walter Shaub, the OGE director, in a rare speech last month suggested that Trump is upsetting a delicate balance.

WALTER SHAUB: Should a president hold himself to a lower standard than his own appointees?

OVERBY: Appointees such as Wilbur Ross, a billionaire like Trump. But to serve his country as commerce secretary, Ross agreed with OGE that he'll resign his positions with 37 companies and sell off his holdings in 80 companies. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

1 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

2 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 coaxing   

v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的现在分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱；“锻炼”效应

参考例句：

• No amount of coaxing will make me change my mind. 任你费尽口舌也不会说服我改变主意。
• It took a lot of coaxing before he agreed. 劝说了很久他才同意。 来自辞典例句

7 divest   

v.脱去，剥除

参考例句：

• I cannot divest myself of the idea.我无法消除那个念头。
• He attempted to divest himself of all responsibilities for the decision.他力图摆脱掉作出该项决定的一切责任。

8 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

9 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

11 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

12 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

13 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

14 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。