Fred Dombo Discusses Impact of Biden Ethics Pledge

Fred Dombo was quoted in The Hill article, “Biden Expands On Obama Ethics Pledge.” The article examines the impact of President Biden issuing an ethics pledge (via executive order) that imposes a two-year lobbying ban for White House staffers, similar to the Obama White House pledge. The pledge from the Biden Administration goes further than what was instituted under Obama, with restrictions on golden parachutes and shadow lobbying.

The article states that “enforcing a ban on shadow lobbying will be tough, especially since personal or casual communications can end up helping a client.”

Commenting on the issue, Fred said, “Companies, trade associations and labor unions across the board go to great lengths to comply, and consultants who skirt the disclosure law like this undermine the value of those good faith efforts.”

He added, “much of the onus will fall on self-reporting…I commend President Biden’s intent here, but at the end of the day it’s going to come down to the former official being honest about what they’re doing not just with their contacts but also with their efforts in support of the lobbying activities of others, which earns them their fees.”