GovExec

In a new GovExec commentary, John L. Martin, Esq., a former government lawyer who consults with Intelliworx on financial disclosure best practices, looks at how scattered handling of supplemental disclosure forms can create ethical blind spots. Travel reimbursements, widely attended gatherings, and outside activities are often reviewed in isolation, so no single official sees the full picture. Martin points to the recent charges against John Windom, the former lead of the VA’s Electronic Health Record Modernization project, as a cautionary case of what those gaps can allow. Martin lays out three practical steps agencies can take to reduce that risk. First, centralize supplemental processes so every ethics official reviewing a form can see the related disclosures around it. Second, create a clearinghouse with a common entry point where every review starts in the same place, which reduces the chance to forum shop an answer. Third, drive agency-level alignment through consistent […]