U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

32–489 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019

S. Hrg. 115–472 

PENDING NOMINATIONS 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

HOMELAND SECURITY AND 

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

NOMINATION OF EMORY A. ROUNDS III NOMINTATED TO BE DIRECTOR, 

U.S. OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS, KELLY A. HIGASHI 

NOMINATED TO BE AN ASSOCIATE JUDGE, SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND FREDERICK M. NUTT NOMINATED TO BE 

CONTROLLER, OFFICE OF FEDERAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, OFFICE 

OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 

MAY 23, 2018 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.Govinfo.gov/ 

Printed for the use of the 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

( 
(II) 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 

RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

ROB PORTMAN, Ohio 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

STEVE DAINES, Montana 

CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri 

THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware 

HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota 

GARY C. PETERS, Michigan 

MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire 

KAMALA D. HARRIS, California 

DOUG JONES, Alabama 

CHRISTOPHER R. HIXON, Staff Director 

GABRIELLE D’ADAMO SINGER, Chief Counsel 

AMANDA R. HILL, Deputy Staff Director, Subcommittee on Regulatory 

Affairs and Federal Management 

MARGARET E. DAUM, Minority Staff Director 

DONALD K. SHERMAN, Minority Senior Counsel 

STACIA M. CARDILLE, Minority Chief Counsel 

LAURA W. KILBRIDE, Chief Clerk 

BONNI E. DINERSTEIN, Hearing Clerk 
(III) 

C O N T E N T S 

Opening statements: Page 

Senator Lankford .............................................................................................. 4 

Senator Jones .................................................................................................... 5 

Senator Carper ................................................................................................. 12 

Senator Hassan ................................................................................................. 14 

Senator Heitkamp ............................................................................................ 20 

Prepared statements: 

Senator Lankford .............................................................................................. 21 

Senator Jones .................................................................................................... 23 

Senator Collins ................................................................................................. 26 

WITNESSES 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018 

Hon. Angus King, a U.S. Senator from the State of Maine ................................. 1 

Hon. Eleanor Holmes Horton, a Representative in Congress from the District 

of Columbia ........................................................................................................... 3 

Emory A. Rounds III Nominated to be Director, U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 27 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 29 

Letter from the Office of Government Ethics ................................................. 40 

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 43 

Responses to post-hearing questions .............................................................. 80 

Kelly A. Higashi Nominated to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court for 

the District of Columbia 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 9 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 93 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 94 

Responses to post-hearing questions .............................................................. 116 

Frederick M. Nutt Nominated to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial 

Management, Office of Management and Budget 

Testimony .......................................................................................................... 10 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 117 

Biographical and financial information .......................................................... 119 

Letter from the Office of Government Ethics ................................................. 136 

Responses to pre-hearing questions ................................................................ 141 

Responses to post-hearing questions .............................................................. 155 

(1) 

NOMINATION HEARING 

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY

AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:33 p.m., in room 

342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. James Lankford presiding. 

Present: Senators Lankford, Carper, Heitkamp, Hassan, Harris, 

and Jones. 

Senator LANKFORD. Good afternoon, everyone. I apologize for 

starting a couple of minutes late. I am going to shift some schedule 

around a little bit in deference to some Members and some things 

that are moving right now as well, and so we can also get us moving as we go through this, and move some of our introductions, our 

distinguished guests that are here as well, Senator King and Delegate Norton, to be able to do some introductions, which we want 

to make sure we honor that. That is a rare enough moment for us 

to have votes at all, and so I want to make sure that we are getting 

good quality time to that and we can get through as much as we 

possibly can. 

So what I would like to do before I do my opening statement, before Ranking Member Jones today gives his opening statement, I 

would like to recognize Senator King to do an introduction, and 

then I am going to recognize Delegate Norton to also do an introduction as well. Senator King. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ANGUS KING, A UNITED 

STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MAINE 

Senator KING. Thank you, Chairman Lankford, and Senator Carper, Members of the Committee. It is an honor for me to come to 

the meeting and join my colleague, Senator Collins in introducing 

Emory Rounds. He is President Trump’s nominee to be the Director 

of the Office of Governmental Ethics (OGE). 

Before I begin I want to recognize Emory’s family. His wife, Leslie, is here. She is the Executive Director of the Dyer Library and 

Saco Museum in Maine. I also want to recognize his children, 

Emory IV, Erin, Kathleen, Christopher, and Megan. And I know 

from service in the government that their support is very important to his successful career. 

Emory Rounds has a long record of public service. He was a 

Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer for 22 years, ethics 

counsel in the Bush Administration, most recently an associate 
2 

1The prepared statement of Senator Collins appears in the Appendix on page 26. 

counsel at the Office of Governmental Ethics. In the Navy, he 

served in a number of different capacities as a JAG officer, command legal officer, district attorney, chief counsel resolving criminal, tort, ethics, civil, personnel information release, equal opportunity, aviation accidents, international congressional inquiry—admiralty and litigation issues. In Department of Commerce he 

served as a staff attorney in the Office of the Assistant General 

Counsel of Administration, and as such he managed ethics training 

for over 12,000 employees, personally trained more than 1,100 employees. 

From 2003 to 2009, Emory served as Associate Counsel to the 

President, where he provided counsel to Cabinet and other Senate 

confirmed nominees regarding financial disclosure reports, responsibilities, as well as standards of conduct, compliance, and general 

legal issues. He recruited and supervised ethics professionals detailed to the Office of Counsel to the President. 

Since 2009, Emory has been working in the Office of Governmental Ethics. He has been a Special Assistant to the OGE’s Acting Director, Acting Chief of OGE’s Internal Operations Division, 

and Associate Counsel in the General Counsel’s Office. 

I think the one thing that is clear is that Emory Rounds is devoted to public service. That is why his nomination has won praise 

from people like Walter Shaub, the former OGE Director. Mr. 

Shaub said, on Cable News Network (CNN), ‘‘He is a solid guy, a 

decent human being, devoted his life to public service.’’ That is not 

a bad epitaph for any of us, a solid guy, a decent human being, devoted his life to public service. 

It is a privilege to be able to introduce him to the Committee 

today. I commend him to your consideration and am delighted to 

have a son of Maine appearing before this Committee and ascending to this important position. 

Senator LANKFORD. The only hesitation that we would have is 

Mainers are so incredibly nice. To have someone running government ethics to be that nice, to be a Mainer, makes us all a little 

nervous. 

Senator KING. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I will note that for the 

record. 

Senator LANKFORD. Yes. I would also ask unanimous consent 

that the statement of Senator Collins,1 who could not be here due 

to other Committee assignments right now, regarding the support 

for Emory Rounds, to be the Director of the Office of Government 

Ethics, also be included in the hearing record. Without objection, 

I would like to include her resounding recommendation as well. 

Senator King, thank you. If you want to stay you are welcome 

to that, or I know you also have other responsibilities. 

Senator KING. We are in the Armed Services Committee right 

now, so I feel that I must do that, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. 

Delegate Norton, thank you for being here. You have such an incredible pride and tenacity for watching out for Washington, DC. 

We are honored that you are here to be a part of this conversation. 

Obviously, this hearing itself also is very important to Washington, 
3 

DC. in the days ahead and in the judicial work here so I appreciate 

you being here very much. You are recognized. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 

Ms. NORTON. Thank you very much, Senator Lankford, and we 

certainly miss you on the House side, especially in the Committee 

on which you and I both served. 

I very much appreciate the opportunity to appear before you 

today on behalf of the nomination of Kelly A. Higashi. But the 

court to which she is being nominated is different from what this 

Committee is used to hearing, because it is the Superior Court of 

the District of Columbia. That is an Article I court, which means 

this Committee must confirm. 

I will summarize my testimony. I think you will find Ms. Higashi 

to be an eminently qualified nominee to serve on the Superior 

Court, which is the engine of the day-to-day criminal and civil justice operation in the District of Columbia. 

Mr. Chairman, it would be difficult to imagine a nominee more 

qualified and with greater experience. The nominee has litigated in 

both the D.C. courts and the Federal courts. She is now 14 years 

as Chief of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section of the 

United States Attorney General’s Office. She has a staff of 38, and 

she has this multifaceted, with both courts, experience that should 

hold her in good stead. 

Higashi was an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 22 years, and litigated in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She handled complex, and sometimes very serious litigation involving domestic violence and sexual assault involving both adults 

and children. She has been the recipient of a number of awards. 

She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and then came here to law school, to George Washington 

University Law School. She clerked on the Superior Court, which 

is the court on which she would now serve on, if confirmed. 

I hope you will allow me, Mr. Chairman, indeed, I think I would 

be remiss if I did not call to your attention the number of vacancies 

on the D.C. Superior Courts. There are 10 vacancies out of 62 authorized judges of the Superior Court, and 2 vacancies out of 9 authorized on the Court of Appeals. We are a year and a half into 

this Congress, and we have only been able to get one judge confirmed. 

The reason I bring that to your attention, this is a very busy, bigcity court, and the court has indicated that it feels itself in a crisis 

mode. Understandably, most of the nominees that are here before 

you are here for Federal courts, so it is very difficult for the Committee to focus on an Article I court. I understand that. I would not 

use this time to bring this to your attention except that the judges 

of the Superior Court and the D.C. Court of Appeals have brought 

these vacancies to my attention on more than one occasion and our 

local court is in crisis for lack of personnel. Because these nominees 

are so over-qualified, if I may say so, I do not think it would take 

much time if the Committee were to hear from a few more of these 

judges. 
4 

1The prepared statement of Mr. Lankford appears in the Appendix on page 21. 

The Senate leadership, of course, is understandably more focused 

on your attempts during this Congress to get U.S District Court 

and Courts of Appeals nominees confirmed. I draw the D.C. Court 

vacancies to your attention and ask that you give some further attention, even as I thank you very much for reducing the number 

of vacancies by the hearing before you today for Ms. Higashi. 

Senator LANKFORD. Ms. Norton, thank you for being here. Again, 

you are welcome to be able to remain or you also have other responsibilities. I know lots of things that are going on. This is a 

busy week in the House as well, so you may take your leave either 

direction that you choose to go. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LANKFORD1

Senator LANKFORD. I do want to introduce and be able to set up 

the rest of the hearing, on the three nominations we have, Mr. 

Emory Rounds to be the Director, Office of Government Ethics; Ms. 

Kelly Higashi to be the Associate Judge on the Superior Court of 

the District of Columbia; Mr. Frederick Nutt to be the Controller 

of the Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM), which is 

in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

The Committee takes these nominations seriously. We are 

pleased to have three very strong candidates before us today. 

Mr. Emory Rounds is nominated to be the Director of the Office 

of Government Ethics. Mr. Rounds earned his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his J.D. from the University of Akron Law School. Upon completion of law school, Mr. 

Rounds began his active duty Navy career, where he advanced 

from attorney to Military Judge in his 22 years of military service 

to his country. 

After a very brief retirement—I think it was about 10 minutes 

or so, if I remember reading it right—Mr. Rounds rejoined the Federal Government as an ethics attorney, first with the Department 

of Commerce and then as Associate Counsel to President George 

W. Bush at the White House Counsel’s Office. Mr. Rounds joined 

the Office of Government Ethics as an Associate General Counsel 

in 2009, the position which he serves now. 

Committee staff spoke to Mr. Rounds’ colleagues in the ethics 

community and OGE, who spoke exceptionally highly of his experience as an ethics lawyer and his commitment to the mission of the 

Office of Government Ethics. The Committee is confident Mr. 

Rounds is qualified to be the Director of the Office of Government 

Ethics. 

Ms. Higashi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her J.D. from George Washington University School of Law. Ms. Higashi has had a legal career steeped in 

criminal law. After law school, Ms. Higashi clerked for The Honorable Frederick Weisberg of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Ms. Higashi then joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the 

District of Columbia in 1994. 

Early in her career with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Higashi 

rotated through several sections, gaining experience in the misdemeanor trial section, felony trial section, and grand jury selection 
5 

1The prepared statement of Senator Jones appears in the Appendix on page 23. 

and the narcotics section. However, for the last 15 years, Ms. 

Higashi’s work has focused on the very difficult work of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office 

for the District of Columbia. Ms. Higashi is currently the section 

chief of this section, and, by the way, is very respected there. 

Committee staff reached out to numerous colleagues of Ms. 

Higashi and the comments were very positive, with specific praise 

given to her intelligence, her hard work, her people skills, and 

leadership as section chief, her ability to manage difficult cases, 

make hard decisions every day. Interestingly enough, after all of 

those things, several mentioned just her humanity in dealing with 

victims of crime, as well, and her compassion for those individuals. 

Those are good characteristics for a judge. 

The Office of Federal Financial Management provides direction 

to our Federal financial systems. The Controller coordinates the 

work of the Chief Financial Officers of the major Federal agencies. 

The Controller also coordinates the work of the senior real property 

officers. This position provides a unique opportunity to help make 

our Federal Government run efficiently and effectively by implementing policies that support sound budgeting, cost management, 

effective financial reporting, and right-sizing Federal real properties. 

Frederick Nutt graduated from Virginia Tech and has spent 

much of his career serving in the Federal Government. Mr. Nutt 

has worked in both houses of Congress and has held several financial management roles at the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the Overseas 

Private Investment Corporation. 

Committee staff spoke with former colleagues of Mr. Nutt and 

they speak very highly of his professionalism and his varied experience that has gained within the Federal Government, and that he 

could bring that understanding to different Federal organizations 

had a great bearing in this selection. 

Staff interviewed the nominees on an array of issues. Each has 

thoughtfully and competently answered each question. To date, the 

Committee has found you all to be qualified to the position you 

have been nominated. I look forward to speaking with each of you 

more today on your experience and accomplishments and how you 

intend to bring them to bear for the Federal Government and for 

the District of Columbia. 

I now recognize Ranking Member Jones for his opening statement as well. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JONES1

Senator JONES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and thank you for the 

opportunity, for the first time, to serve as Ranking Member on this 

Committee. And I want to thank each of you and congratulate you, 

Mr. Rounds, Mr. Nutt, and Ms. Higashi, for being here today and 

on your nominations. Each of you has demonstrated a dedication 

to public service and we appreciate your willingness to continue to 

serve in those new roles. 
6 

Ms. Higashi, as an attorney who has practiced in Federal and 

State courts for almost 40 years, I know how much litigants depend 

on having qualified, impartial judges on the bench. I served as an 

Assistant U.S. Attorney, a U.S. Attorney, also as a defense lawyer 

at various parts of my career, so I understand the difficult work 

you have been doing, and I commend you on your dedication to 

finding justice for the most vulnerable among us who have been 

the victims of some of the most heinous crimes. 

Public service requires government employees to place loyalty to 

the Constitution, the laws and ethical principles above private 

gain. The Office of Government Ethics is responsible for providing 

leadership and oversight to the Executive Branch ethics programs, 

which is intended to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest involving Administration employees. In other words, the purpose of OGE 

is to safeguard the public’s trust in government. 

In the current climate of intense partisanship and suspicion, the 

importance of this role cannot be overstated. Created by the 1978 

Ethics in Government Act in the wake of Watergate, the OGE was 

reviewed and reauthorized by Congress until 2007, when its statutory authorization expired. Although OGE does continue to receive 

Federal appropriations, reauthorization is important and provides 

an opportunity to consider whether there are improvements that 

can better enable the OGE to fulfill its mission. I hope that this 

Congress will see fit to reauthorize OGE before it ends later this 

year. 

There are a number of OGE reform proposals under consideration, some based on suggestions made by former OGE Director 

Walter Shaub. Having reviewed those proposals and given the climate we currently find ourselves in, I hope that they will be given 

serious consideration by Congress, and to the extent that they can 

be done internally by OGE itself. 

Mr. Rounds, you have an extensive background in ethics and obviously a deep commitment, not just to public service but to ethical 

and transparent public service. I am interested to hear how you 

plan to help OGE navigate novel conflict-of-interest circumstances, 

whether you feel OGE has the adequate tools necessary to address 

the issues that have recently arisen, and how you plan to ensure 

OGE’s independence in doing its job. 

The Office of Federal Financial Management also has a role in 

protecting the public trust in government, specifically with regard 

to the effective and transparent use of government resources. The 

OFFM was established in 1990, to lead the Executive Branch toward better financial management and decisionmaking. Its priorities include transparency and data management, shared services, 

real property, improper payments, grants management, internal 

control, Federal financial reporting, debt collection, and charge 

cards. We could probably add some more to that, Mr. Nutt, if you 

want to increase your responsibilities, but I think that that is plenty. 

Mr. Nutt, you are currently serving as Senior Advisor to the Director and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and in that role you have had some opportunity to familiarize 

yourself with OFFM, since it reports to the Deputy Director. You 

have recognized that the Federal Government continues to waste 
7 

1The prepared statement of Mr. Rounds appears in the Appendix on page 27. 

far too much money on improper payments, and I look forward to 

hearing your thoughts on ways OFFM can effectively reduce this 

number. 

Once again, thank you all for your service and thank you for 

being here, and I look forward to hearing from each of our nominees. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. It is the custom of this Committee to be able to swear in all witnesses before they give testimony, so if you would please stand and raise your right hand. 

Do you swear the testimony you will give before this Committee 

will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so 

help you, God? 

Mr. ROUNDS. I do. 

Ms. HIGASHI. I do. 

Mr. NUTT. I do. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. You may be seated. Let the 

record reflect that all witnesses answered in the affirmative. 

I am going to recognize you in the order that you are seated 

here, actually. Mr. Rounds you will go first. I would fully anticipate 

that when you begin your oral testimony you will start by recognizing your family that is here, and introducing them to us. We are 

all very pleased to be able to meet your family. This is a big day, 

not just for you but for your family as well. 

Mr. Rounds, you are recognized. 

TESTIMONY OF EMORY A. ROUNDS III,1 NOMINATED TO BE 

DIRECTOR, U.S. OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

Mr. ROUNDS. Thank you, Chairman. I would like to introduce my 

wife of some 45 years, Leslie Rounds. I do not know what I would 

do without her; my daughter, Erin, a newly minted attorney from 

California; my son, Emory, on the end, my oldest, and his friend, 

Cagney. Thank you, sir. 

Chairman Lankford, Ranking Member Jones, Senator Carper, 

Senator Hassan, Senator Harris, Members of the Committee, I 

thank you for the opportunity to appear here before you today. 

I am profoundly honored that President Trump has nominated 

me to be the Director of the Office of Government Ethics. It has 

been my distinct privilege to serve my country and the American 

public for more than four decades, as a career naval officer and 

later as a civil servant and White House appointee. That I might 

serve further, as OGE’s Director, would certainly be the capstone 

of my government career. 

I have proudly been a member of the OGE team since January 

2009, and could not be more pleased to have, if I am confirmed, an 

opportunity to lead the people who constitute the most dedicated, 

talented, and professional small agency staff in the Executive 

Branch. In context with the growing interest in and concerns regarding government ethics, OGE finds itself under-funded, understaffed, over-missioned, and to a great extent under-appreciated. 

But, to a person, OGE’s staff always performs above any reasonable expectations. 
8 

If confirmed, my challenges as Director may be many, but the 

least among those challenges is any question about OGE’s staff and 

its ability to do its job, whatever the environment. Each member 

of OGE’s staff is committed to achieving OGE’s mission, whatever 

it takes to do so, to ensure that OGE continues to provide leadership and oversight of the Executive Branch’s ethics program. This 

nation should be proud of their work. 

I have been a zealous supporter of the government’s ethics program and its mission to prevent conflicts of interest; fraud, waste, 

and abuse; and to ensure impartiality throughout my career. I 

firmly believe that it is better to prevent ethical misconduct than 

to correct or punish violations after the fact. I strongly believe that 

it must be Executive Branch leaders who, by example, foster an 

ethical culture in their agencies not only by themselves acting in 

compliance with the ethics laws and rules, but also by carefully 

considering the appearance of their actions, even if permissible. 

The default must be on the side of ‘‘over-compliance’’ rather than 

the testing of any limits. In my opinion, the tone from the top is 

critical to fostering and maintaining a strong ethics culture and a 

positive tone, which requires more than mere technical compliance. 

If confirmed as OGE’s Director, I would take on the critical duty 

of ensuring that the Executive branch’s ethics laws and rules are 

followed by calling upon government leaders to protect the integrity 

of government and strengthen the public’s confidence in government decisionmaking. 

To that end, one of my immediate priorities, if confirmed, would 

be to personally meet with as many departmental and agency 

heads as I can, as quickly as possible, to convey my commitment 

to, and leadership of, the ethics program. I would impress upon 

these officials the critically important need for their strong ethics 

leadership. Further, I would commit to leading the Executive 

branch ethics program by working with senior agency leaders, ethics officials, and the enforcement community to prevent potential 

ethical lapses, resolve issues that currently exist, and support enforcement when prevention has failed. 

Integrity in government must not be simply aspirational. Rather, 

it must be our mission as senior leaders every day to encourage 

and foster a culture of government integrity, free of conflicts, and 

dedicated to impartial decisionmaking. Without impartial and ethical decisionmaking, government leaders cannot deliver on their 

important promises, perform their public duties, or serve our country and its people. 

If confirmed, I look forward to the opportunity to lead OGE and 

the Executive Branch in this vital mission. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you once more for your consideration of my 

nomination. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you, Mr. Rounds. Ms. Higashi, I understand that your parents were not able to join us today but they 

are watching online through a video feed. They have to be incredibly proud of you. This is yet another accomplishment in your life, 

in your service. So I look forward to receiving your testimony, and 

I am sorry they could not be with us here today. 

So, Ms. Higashi, you are recognized. 
9 

1The prepared statement of Ms. Higashi appears in the Appendix on page 93. 

TESTIMONY OF KELLY A. HIGASHI,1 NOMINATED TO BE AN ASSOCIATE JUDGE, SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF 

COLUMBIA 

Ms. HIGASHI. Thank you, Senator. 

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Committee. 

It is a great honor for me to be here today and I thank you for considering my nomination to be a Judge of the Superior Court of the 

District of Columbia. 

I would like to recognize the leadership of the Honorable Eleanor 

Holmes Norton for introducing me today, and the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, chaired by the Honorable 

Emmet Sullivan, for recommending me to the White House. I am 

grateful that Judge Sullivan is here today. I thank the President 

for nominating me for this position. I would also like to recognize 

and acknowledge D.C. Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Morin, 

who is present today, for his leadership and encouragement. 

I am immeasurably grateful for the support and inspiration of 

my colleagues, family, and friends, many of whom are here with me 

today. The United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ms. 

Jessie Liu, an exemplary leader of the Office, as well as many of 

my present and former colleagues, are here today, including Mr. 

Channing Phillips, the beloved former U.S. Attorney who preceded 

Ms. Liu. 

Many close friends, including two from my childhood days in 

California, who traveled from far away, are here today. I would like 

to introduce to you my family: my life partner, Mr. John Marsh, 

and our children, Mary Marsh, a freshman at Columbia University; 

and Riley Marsh, a ninth-grader at the School Without Walls in 

D.C. They, along with my 14-year-old nephew, Taro Zimmerman, 

are my greatest sources of support and inspiration. 

I would also like to acknowledge the love and support I have received from my two sisters, and to acknowledge my parents, Robert 

and Kiyo Higashi, who were unable to travel here from California, 

but who truly wished they could be here. My mother, who was born 

and raised in Portland, Oregon, and who, during World War II, 

spent several years in internment camps for Japanese Americans, 

is especially proud that I have had the privilege, as an Assistant 

United States Attorney, to seek truth and justice within our legal 

system, and if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, that I will 

contribute to the D.C. Superior Court’s mission to provide equal access to justice for all people. 

Although I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the 

District of Columbia is my home. I moved here in 1990, to attend 

law school at George Washington University School of Law, and I 

never left. I then had the good fortune to serve as a judicial law 

clerk to the Honorable Frederick H. Weisberg of the Superior Court 

of the District of Columbia, who I am honored to say is here today, 

and who has been a role model and mentor to me throughout my 

career. 

After my clerkship, I was sworn in as an Assistant U.S. Attorney 

in the District of Columbia, where I have served the citizens of the 

District as a prosecutor for the past 231⁄2 years. It would be a privi-
10 

1The prepared statement of Mr. Nutt appears in the Appendix on page 117. 

lege and an honor for me to continue my public service, and my 

commitment to the citizens of the District of Columbia, as an Associate Judge of the Superior Court. 

Thank you again for considering my nomination and I look forward to answering your questions. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. Mr. Nutt, we would be pleased 

to be able to receive your testimony, and any introductions you 

want to give. 

TESTIMONY OF FREDERICK M. NUTT,1 NOMINATED TO BE 

CONTROLLER, OFFICE OF FEDERAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 

Mr. NUTT. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Good afternoon Chairman Lankford, Ranking Member Jones, 

Members of the Committee. It is an honor to appear before the 

Committee today as the Administration’s nominee for Controller in 

the Office of Management and Budget. I would like to thank the 

President for nominating me to this position and I would like to 

thank Director Mulvaney and Deputy Director for Management 

Weichert in supporting my nomination. 

I would also like to thank my father, Tom Nutt, who is sitting 

behind my left shoulder, for being a great father, mentor, and 

friend. I am very grateful that he was able to make it here today. 

I come from a family with a long commitment to public service. 

My grandfather served in the Iowa House of Representatives, my 

grandmother was a school teacher and principal, my father served 

30 years in the United States Navy, and I have nearly 22 years of 

Federal service as well. 

After my father’s Navy career, my family began farming just 50 

miles west of Washington, DC. There I learned how farming was 

a way of life, a business, a small business subject to factors outside 

of the farmer’s control such as weather, pestilence, and economic 

decline. I also learned about the importance of being responsible, 

reliable and consistent. 

Years later, my family decided to try our hand at oyster farming 

in Reedville, Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population had 

been depleted due to overharvesting and other ecological problems. 

We built a business that produced nearly 600,000 oysters per year, 

which in addition to providing a food source, filtered the Bay’s 

water and reduce the undesirable and excessive algae bloom. 

These experiences in farming and oyster aquaculture introduced 

me to the role that the government plays in the everyday lives of 

the American people. While farming, we interacted with the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency and the 

Natural Resources Conservation Service, and with oyster farming, 

we interacted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the State Marine Resources 

Commission. These experiences gave me an appreciation for the 

role government plays in our daily lives and how dependent we are 

for timely and effective interaction with government agencies. 

After college, I started my first professional job working as a cost 

analyst for a defense contractor. Several years later, I worked in 
11 

the House of Representatives tracking appropriations riders which 

were important to the Speaker. For the last 15 years, I have 

worked in management at Federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 

and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. At these agencies I led efforts to track appropriations, modernize, replace and 

consolidate financial systems, and modernize business systems to 

improve agency management and achieve savings. My experience 

leading management professionals in the Federal community 

taught me that many agencies face the same management issues, 

regardless of size. 

At a time when the American people are accessing information 

instantaneously and ordering food and transportation services over 

their smart phones, the Federal Government needs to modernize 

and transform the way it operates to be more effective at delivering 

the mission, to be more customer service oriented to the citizens, 

and to be good stewards of public assets. 

In working to develop solutions for management problems, I have 

learned how to work with stakeholders with a variety of competing 

interests and I have learned that improving management in an 

agency is more than buying new systems. It is about changing the 

minds of your peers and getting them to adopt bold new ideas. 

Without the support of internal stakeholders, failure is often a likely outcome. 

My experience has given me the knowledge, insight, and desire 

to lead efforts to address systemic problems including transforming 

financial management across government. My temperament and 

ability to convene with a variety of people and interests allows me 

to lead agency stakeholders to support new solutions. My practical 

experience has given me a holistic understanding of Federal financial systems and how they interact with other systems. I understand the lifecycle of a Federal dollar from appropriation to disbursement. 

My strong interest in improving Federal financial systems across 

government allows me to work across the silos within agencies in 

the areas of information technology (IT), procurement, and performance management to bring efficiency and transparency to government. 

My appreciation for the role government plays in our daily lives, 

the need for more efficient and effective government services, improved transparency, and my experience in working in financial 

management, has prepared me to address the issues facing financial management today. 

Thank you again Chairman Lankford, Ranking Member Jones, 

and Members of the Committee for your time and for the opportunity to appear before you today. 

I would be glad to take any of your questions. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. Thank you, all three of you. We 

have three mandatory questions that we ask all candidates and 

nominees that appear before this Committee, so I am going to ask 

for a yes-or-no answer for these three questions, and then I am 

going to defer my questioning time to Senator Carper, then, to be 

able to ask a 5-minute question round there. 
12 

So let me ask this first. This will be a yes-or-no question. I will 

ask all three of you in a row. 

First question, is there anything 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. Rounds. 

Mr. ROUNDS. No. 

Senator LANKFORD. Ms. Higashi. 

Ms. HIGASHI. No. 

Senator LANKFORD. Mr. Nutt. 

Mr. NUTT. No. 

Senator LANKFORD. Second question. 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. Rounds. 

Mr. ROUNDS. No. 

Senator LANKFORD. Ms. Higashi. 

Ms. HIGASHI. No. 

Senator LANKFORD. Mr. Nutt. 

Mr. NUTT. No. 

Senator LANKFORD. Third question. Do you agree, without reservation, to comply with any requests or summons to appear and 

testify before any duly constituted committee of Congress if you are 

confirmed? Mr. Rounds. 

Mr. ROUNDS. Yes. 

Senator LANKFORD. Ms. Higashi. 

Ms. HIGASHI. Yes. 

Senator LANKFORD. Mr. Nutt. 

Mr. NUTT. Yes. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. 

I recognize Senator Carper for questioning. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARPER 

Senator CARPER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and welcome, one 

and all. Thank you for joining us today and for your friends and 

family that have joined you here and afar. 

I want to start off with a couple of yes-or-no questions if I could, 

for Mr. Rounds, and one question will need a little more discussion. 

The first one of those is, do you agree, Mr. Rounds, that it is important for OGE to function independently of the White House? 

Mr. ROUNDS. I believe that it is very important that the Office 

of Government Ethics provide solid, firm, independent advice. I 

analogize it to the good doctor who might otherwise have a patient 

who has an illness and has to be prescribed, perhaps, some hard 

medicine. 

Senator CARPER. All right. Thank you. If confirmed as OGE Director, are you confident you can maintain independence from this 

White House and, when necessary, hold it accountable? 

Mr. ROUNDS. I certainly intend to do so. Yes, sir. 

Senator CARPER. Good. Thank you. 

Third question. What steps will you take, if confirmed, to ensure 

that your work and the work of the OGE employees remains independent from this Administration? 

Mr. ROUNDS. Well, it simply is as we have done in the past, if 

I am confirmed. OGE has a very strong outreach and transparency 
13 

program, and we will continue that. The Office of Government Ethics has not been shy, and will not be shy in the future, within the 

constraints of its authority, its limited authority, to take such action as is necessary to protect and preserve the integrity of the government with regard to the ethics laws and rules. 

Senator CARPER. Thank you. A couple of questions for Mr. Nutt, 

and a welcome to your father. Tom Nutt, it is nice to have you 

here, sir. 

For years, my colleagues and I on this Committee have partnered 

with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), with agency Inspector Generals (IGs), with OMB to ensure that agencies are more 

efficiently and effectively addressing management challenges in 

areas like property management, IT procurement, and preventing 

improper payments. In fact, our Congress built off the recommendations of the Government Accountability Office by passing 

two real property reform bills. Some of us worked on that legislation. These bills require the Federal Government to better manage 

the vast real property holdings across our government, across the 

country, to help us get a better handle on what we are spending 

on real estate. 

So I would just ask of you, what is your vision for driving better 

management practices across the government when it comes to real 

property management? 

Mr. NUTT. Thank you, Senator, for that question. I think that 

real property in the Federal Government is an area that has been 

somewhat neglected in the past and it needs to be elevated, because it represents such a substantial—— 

Senator CARPER. I can assure you it has not been neglected in 

this Committee. Go ahead. 

Mr. NUTT. It represents such a substantial dollar amount that I 

think that by elevating the issue internally, and if confirmed I 

would work to that effort through the Federal Real Property Council, as well as through the Federal Assets Sale Transfer Act 

(FASTA) board, I would work to elevate that issue. 

Senator CARPER. Just a follow-up. What, if any, reforms would 

you suggest to current law to expedite the process for disposing of 

excess unutilized or surplus real property? 

Mr. NUTT. Senator, at this point I do not have any suggestions 

to make to current law. I think that working within the context of 

the laws that we have is sufficient, and I would just like to work 

in that area. 

Senator CARPER. At the beginning of our Congress, GAO issued 

something called a high-risk list, high-risk ways of wasting money, 

and near the top of the list every year has been, for a long time, 

real property management reform. The second area that they always bring to our attention, improper payments, which, last time 

I checked I think it was fiscal 2016, totaled about $145 billion for 

overpayments, underpayments, mistaken payments, $145 billion, in 

a year. 

I understand that you do not believe that publishing a governmentwide improper payment rate is helpful to the issue of managing improper payments. In fact, I understand that the Trump 

Administration has not published an improper payment estimate 
14 

for the Federal Government yet. Can you please elaborate on your 

position? 

Mr. NUTT. The issue of improper payments is an issue with a lot 

of different factors affecting the aggregate number. We had looked 

at it and discussed this internally, quite a bit, and we came up 

with the thought that the programs each have their own problems 

when it comes to improper payments, so it was much more helpful, 

from a policymaker’s point of view, to look at each program-level 

activity and address the problems that they have at that amount. 

The aggregate number was not published for 2017. The program 

numbers were available, though, and could be added up, and I 

think if you did add them up you would find that it was a slight 

decline but it was within the margin of error of the estimates, so 

it was relatively flat. 

Senator CARPER. I am out of time, but if improper payments are 

not identified, if they are not recorded in a manner that allows us 

to compare them to previous years, one would wonder how well you 

will be able to gauge OMB’s efforts in addressing this issue, governmentwide. A guy named Vince Lombardi used to coach the 

Green Bay Packers for many years, quite successfully, as I recall, 

and he used to say if we are not keeping score, we are just practicing. What you cannot manage, and this is an issue that we have 

dealt with, trying to deal with, and I would say we just need all 

hands on deck, including OMB. Thank you. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you, Senator Carper. 

Senator Hassan. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HASSAN 

Senator HASSAN. Well, thank you, Senator Lankford and Senator 

Jones. Thank you to all three of you for your past service, for being 

willing to accept these nominations, to your families. This is a family affair and we are so grateful for your support of these three 

nominees. And so congratulations, and again, thank you. 

I am going to ask my questions today of Mr. Rounds, and, Mr. 

Rounds, I enjoyed our meeting very much and I thank you for taking the time to have a courtesy meeting. 

I wanted to follow up a little bit on what Senator Carper was 

asking. I will take from your exchange with him that you are committing to ensuring that the Ethics in Government Act is enforced 

free from political influence. Is that correct? 

Mr. ROUNDS. That is absolutely correct. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you. 

Mr. ROUNDS. Yes, Senator. 

Senator HASSAN. Does the Ethics in Government Act apply to individuals who work in the White House? 

Mr. ROUNDS. It applies, as written, to all officers and employees 

of the Federal Government. 

Senator HASSAN. So that would include people in the White 

House. 

Will you commit to ensuring that government officials who work 

in the White House comply with the Ethics in Government Act? 

Mr. ROUNDS. To the extent of my authority as Director, if confirmed, I will do so, just as I would with any other agency or department within the Executive branch. 
15 

Senator HASSAN. The distinction, of course, being that other 

agencies have Inspectors General and the White House does not. 

Is that correct? 

Mr. ROUNDS. Well, there are other agencies which do not have 

Inspectors General either. 

Senator HASSAN. Oh, OK. 

Mr. ROUNDS. Smaller agencies do not have Inspectors General either, but that said, OGE has, I think, over the past many months, 

shown that it is ready and willing to protect and preserve, as I say, 

the integrity of the employees and officials of the Executive 

Branch, and we will continue to do so, if I am confirmed as Director. 

Senator HASSAN. Thank you for that. 

We talked in my office about the importance of top-down leadership and of creating a culture of ethics at each agency, and you 

have said that one of your priorities, should you be confirmed, is 

to meet with the heads of agencies in order to set this tone. But 

the fact of the matter is that this Administration has arguably seen 

some of its biggest ethics violations from these people at the top. 

How will you work to create a top-down ethical culture if the people at the top are part of the problem? 

Mr. ROUNDS. Well, that is, in fact, the challenge, yes, Senator, 

and I am going to do the best that I can, use whatever persuasive 

skills I might have, perhaps, to discuss with them, and to listen to 

them as well. Because if we have a communication, if we have a 

dialogue, perhaps there will be a fuller and better understanding 

of what the ethics laws and rules are and how they play an important role within an Executive Branch agency and department. 

Senator HASSAN. Well, I would look forward to continuing that 

discussion because I think it is a real challenge that we have right 

now, and I think when the tone is not set correctly at the top it 

makes it very difficult for the public to have confidence, which I 

know is something you care a great deal about. 

I wanted to raise one additional issue. OGE recently released 

guidance on disclosures of donors to legal defense funds that 

former OGE Director Walter Shaub has called—and this is his 

quote—‘‘the worst thing OGE has done in its 40 years of existence.’’ 

This guidance I am referring to applies to recipients of money to 

the Patriot Fund, the fund established to defray the legal costs of 

members of the President’s team who are deposed in the Russia investigation. 

This new guidance would exclude recipients of money from this 

fund from having to name individual donors who give $200 or more 

to the fund on their financial disclosures, leaving the development 

of these donor list to the fund’s manager, who has discretion over 

how to dole out the money pooled in the fund. The fund manager 

cannot only dole out money as she sees fit, meaning the fund recipients could be rewarded monetarily for giving more favorable 

testimony in the investigation, but her management also gives the 

President’s team plausible deniability if there are any illegal gifts 

to the fund. 

I find this very concerning, and I guess my first question is, have 

you read this guidance, and, if so, do you share these concerns? 
16 

Mr. ROUNDS. Senator, I have read the guidance but I fully do not 

have all of the information, all of the facts, all of the considerations 

that were made before this was, in fact, promulgated as an opinion, 

a recommendation, if you will, of the Office of Government Ethnics. 

I should explain that I strongly respect the Senate’s confirmation 

role in the appointment process, and because of that, and given my 

Navy background where there is only one skipper of any ship, and 

that current skipper is the Acting Director of the Office of Government Ethics, I have been very careful not to, in any way, impose 

myself on the agency in any other role than as an employee, and 

I have not insinuated myself in any OGE decisionmaking, and I 

have done that purposefully. 

So what I need to do, among many things, when I get there, is 

ask questions. 

Senator HASSAN. Right. And I realize that I am over my time. 

What I would appreciate is a commitment from you to review the 

guidance, if you are confirmed, and to, I hope, make changes necessary so that that guidance complies with ethical standards. 

Mr. ROUNDS. I appreciate your concerns, Senator. I have a list 

of things, if I am confirmed, that I will be considering. 

Senator HASSAN. OK. Thank you very much. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. I am going to recognize Ranking 

Member Jones for this. We have just had votes called, and so we 

are going to see if we can wrap this up with his questions and with 

mine. And I know that would grieve you all tremendously if we 

were to wrap up in the next 10 or 12 minutes, but we will see if 

we cannot wrap that up together. Senator Jones. 

Senator JONES. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and let me say, real 

quickly, that this morning I had the opportunity to visit with the 

FBI to discuss your backgrounds and I will say, Mr. Chairman, 

that in my time in the Senate it was the shortest meeting I think 

I have ever had, which I think is a testament to all of our nominees 

here. 

So, Mr. Nutt, real quick, I am just going to ask a series of things. 

You have talked about becoming familiar with the President’s management agenda. What specific challenges can you identify with the 

management agenda that the President has put out, and do you 

have any plans for developing and implementing that agenda? 

Mr. NUTT. There are approximately 14 cap goals in the President’s management agenda, of which 4 or 5 are in the financial 

management area that we would be meeting with the appropriate 

folks at various agencies to get everybody aligned so that we are 

all working in the same general direction when it comes to the various different issues, whether it is improper payments, financial 

and other systems, grants, improved accountability for grants management, and so forth. So there are several different areas that we 

would be working in. 

Senator JONES. All right. Great. Ms. Higashi, I mentioned in my 

earlier statement that I have been both an Assistant U.S. Attorney 

and U.S. Attorney. What I did not also say is that in between both 

of those stints I was also a member of the Defense bar, both in a 

civil and criminal realm. So I understand sometimes it is difficult 

going from one hat to the next. But I know you understand the importance of an independent judiciary and a fair judiciary. Do you 
17 

see any problem with you changing hats after a wonderful career 

as a prosecutor to make sure that all litigants that come before you 

have the same and equal opportunity? 

Ms. HIGASHI. Absolutely not, Senator. I do not see any difficulty. 

In fact, in my role as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and especially 

during the years when I have been a supervisor, I have come to 

learn that one of the most important roles that we serve is not just 

as an advocate but as a minister of justice. So, as you know, as an 

Assistant U.S. Attorney, my client is not the victim of a case. My 

client is the United States. My client is the community. So I have 

a special duty to ensure that we only bring prosecutions, or we 

have reasonable likelihood of success. when we evaluate evidence 

for potential disclosure under Brady and Giglio, we are required to 

view the evidence from a defense perspective in deciding whether 

or not something would be not only material or favorable, but 

something that the defense should know. 

Senator JONES. All right. Thank you so much. 

Mr. Rounds, let me say, earlier in my statement I talked about 

the challenges, I think, that we are facing right now, both with 

partisanship around here as well as, I think, ethics has become a 

highlight over the last couple of years. I am not being critical of 

the Administration or anyone. I think what we have seen are some 

new opportunities where the President and others that are coming 

in are representing some new challenges that we have not seen as 

much before. 

With those challenges come opportunities to fine-tune the ethics 

and the role of the Office of Government Ethics. Is that what you 

plan to do, to try to look and review all of this in the light of what 

can be done to make it better in light of the new circumstances 

that we may see, and new opportunities? 

Mr. ROUNDS. Thank you, Senator, and I appreciate the interest, 

and I concur that this is something that, if I am confirmed as Director, I will certainly be doing. The nature of financial interests 

that we see on financial disclosure reports has changed and evolved 

since the Ethics in Government Act was first promulgated, and 

OGE has to evolve in many ways with those changes. 

OGE has, over its history, evolved, and has changed, and has 

come to grips with changes that need to be made as time passes. 

So, absolutely, this is one of the things that I will be doing, is 

studying, with my senior staff, if I am confirmed, what can we do 

to make this better? 

Senator JONES. All right. Thank you, sir. And let me just say 

that I share Senator Hassan’s concern concerning the Patriot Fund, 

and I hope you will look at that. And I come at that from the 

standpoint of both a prosecutor and a defense lawyer. No one is 

suggesting that there is any manipulation going on, but when there 

is that possibility, it raises issues that I think need to be looked 

at, so I appreciate your willingness to at least take a look and see 

whether that guidance needs to be reviewed. 

So thank you and thank you all for being here, and congratulations. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. Mr. Rounds, let me ask you a 

question on reauthorization. Senator Jones just, earlier, mentioned 
18 

about how OGE has not been reauthorized now. Mr. Shaub, the 

previous Director, did a proposal for a 7-year reauthorization but 

with no changes in it. After he left as Director, he recommended 

13 different policy changes to the Office of Government Ethics. It 

has been an interesting challenge for us all along that people that 

are sitting in the chair say everything is fine and when they leave 

they say, ‘‘By the way, there are major changes I would recommend’’ but would not say it while they were in the chair. 

I am not asking you to make the recommendations. You are not 

even in the chair at this point yet. 

Mr. ROUNDS. Yes, sir. 

Senator LANKFORD. But we need engagement from this Committee so that when you are in the seat, we can have ongoing dialogue rather than hearing, ‘‘It is fine,’’ and then you leave and go, 

‘‘Yes, there are real problems.’’ Can we have a commitment from 

you that we can have some honest dialogue, that if you are placed 

in this position and confirmed, if there are recommendations that 

you would make, we could have that dialogue either in a public or 

private setting, so we can make the changes needed? 

Mr. ROUNDS. Yes, sir. 

Senator LANKFORD. We would appreciate that very much, just to 

be able to have that open once you get to know us, we are not that 

difficult. So we will get a chance to be able to work this out. 

The previous Director also did some tweets at different points. 

No one really understood was that the official position from the Office of Government Ethics or was this a personal opinion on that. 

How will you handle social media, and as far as official policy positions or statements from OGE? 

Mr. ROUNDS. If I am confirmed as Director, it will be crystal 

clear when there are official statements made by the Office of Government Ethics, and I do not intend, as Director, to make any unofficial statements or declarations as Director. 

Senator LANKFORD. Terrific. That helps make it exceptionally 

clear. 

Ms. Higashi, I have one simple question for everyone on the 

bench, and it is, do you pledge that the facts of the law will drive 

your decisions when you are on the bench? 

Ms. HIGASHI. Absolutely. 

Senator LANKFORD. I did not doubt your answer on that, but I 

ask everybody, because that is the primary question. There are a 

lot of other issues that we could talk about, but the law being the 

primary feature obviously is the key issue as you walk through the 

process, and what people would anticipate when they come to your 

bench. 

Let me ask you a second follow-up question. In your experience 

that you have had, which has been pretty varied, what do you 

think prepares you uniquely for this spot on the bench, based on 

your experience, and where are you weakest to think I am going 

to have to develop that because I do not have a strong experience 

in that area? 

Ms. HIGASHI. Well, while my 23 years of experience prosecuting 

cases in the Superior Court and the U.S. District Court has been 

within the area of criminal law, I believe that, at a base level, 

every litigated matter, whether it is within the criminal law, the 
19 

civil law, family law, has two basic aspects—a fair finding of the 

truth in the facts, and identifying of the governing relevant law, 

and applying that law to the facts. And I have significant experience in investigating and prosecuting cases, and have developed, 

through that, a skill at honing in on the relevant facts of a case. 

And I have also gained experience in being very resourceful in finding the governing relevant law and analyzing it and applying it to 

the facts. 

Absolutely, and when I am assigned to a docket in the civil division, or the family division, or the tax and probate division, I will 

absolutely have to be very diligent and study and learn new rules 

of procedure and become familiar with new areas of law that I am 

not as familiar with. But I believe given the experience that I have, 

I am confident that I can do that. 

Senator LANKFORD. OK. Thank you. 

Mr. Nutt, Senator McCaskill and I have a bill that we are working through the process called the Taxpayer’s Right to Know. It has 

passed unanimously through the House. It is now in the Senate. 

It might surprise you that it slowed down some in the Senate, even 

though it was unanimous in the House. That bill does a simple request of every agency to do a list of all the programs that they do, 

as an agency, how much they spend on those programs, how many 

staff they assign to those programs, the people that they serve for 

those programs, and if the program is evaluated, how it is evaluated. It is fairly straightforward. It is not a complicated piece. 

And, by the way, the GAO has said this was the top issue for 

them, and saying it is a tool that they need to be able to do oversight from the GAO level as well—that would fall to you, to be able 

to help work with agencies. When this passes, and we believe that 

it will, and we are going to keep working until it does, how will 

you implement that? Have you had the opportunity to be able to 

look at that particular bill? 

Mr. NUTT. I am familiar with the issue only a certain level. I, 

first off, would say that I am wholeheartedly in support of improving transparency and accountability to the U.S. taxpayer. My understanding of the data from agency to agency across the government is such that it is not easily comparable, and so that is one 

of the difficult areas, and it is an area that I think we are already 

working on. But it is an area that will continue to need to be addressed over the years, to bring the data in line so that the comparisons, the reporting, the transparency can be realized. 

Senator LANKFORD. OK. We will look forward to working with 

you on that. Senator McCaskill and we do not like to lose, and so 

I can assure you we will keep pressing until we get this done, because we feel it is exceptionally important to be able to have that 

type of inventory, not only for the American people and the taxpayer but from agencies. What we hear from other agencies, they 

do not know what other agencies are doing and how to compare 

themselves and how to be able to work through the process. So it 

would be helpful within the government, and certainly outside of 

the government as well. 

Let me recognize Senator Heitkamp for any questions that she 

may have, as we are wrapping up and preparing for votes that 

have already been called, by the way, about 13 minutes ago. 
20 

1The information submitted by Mr. Rounds appears in the Appendix on page 29. 

2The information submitted by Ms. Higashi appears in the Appendix on page 94. 

3The information submitted by Mr. Nutt appears in the Appendix on page 119. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HEITKAMP 

Senator HEITKAMP. Thank you all for your willingness to serve, 

and I wish you well. We will be submitting some questions for the 

record. [Laughter]. 

Senator LANKFORD. That could not have been any easier for you. 

Senator JONES. That is a first. 

Senator HEITKAMP. I can read his mind. 

Senator LANKFORD. Any other final statements that you all 

would have, as well? 

Mr. ROUNDS. Just thank you, sir. 

Senator LANKFORD. Thank you. 

Ms. HIGASHI. No, sir. 

Mr. NUTT. Thank you. No more at this time. Thank you. 

Senator LANKFORD. The nominees have made financial disclosures and provided responses to biographical and pre-hearing questions submitted by the Committee.1 Without objection, this information will be made a part of the hearing record,2 with the exception of the financial data, which will be on file and available for 

public inspection in the Committee offices.3

The hearing record will remain open until 5 p.m. tomorrow, May 

24th, for submission of statements and questions for the record 

that we understand are coming, and we will follow up with you on 

any of those questions we have, we will get to you. 

For all three of you and your families, thank you. This is a tremendous sacrifice to be able to do public service. We understand 

that. You understand that all very well. Also, for the public service 

that you have already given, we appreciate you stepping up to continue to be able to serve the public. 

With that, this hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 3:30 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 
(21) 

A P P E N D I X 
22 

Early in her career with the U.S Attorney's Office, Ms. Higashi rotated through several sections, 

gaining experience in the Misdemeanor Trial Section, and Felony Trial Section, the Grand Jury 

Section, and the Narcotics Section. 

However, for the last fifteen years, Ms. Higashi's work has focused on the difficult work of the 

Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of 

Columbia. Ms. Higashi is currently the Section Chief of this section. 

Committee staff reached out to numerous colleagues of Ms. Higashi, and the comments were 

highly positive, with specific praise given to her intelligence and hard work; her people skills and 

leadership as a Section Chief; her ability to manage difficult cases and make hard decisions 

every day; and her humanity in dealing with the victims of crime. 

The Office of Federal Financial Management provides direction to our federal financial systems. 

The Controller coordinates the work of the Chief Financial Officers of the major federal 

agencies. The Controller also coordinates the work of Senior Real Property Officers. This 

position provides a unique opportunity to help make our federal government run efficiently and 

effectively by implementing policies that support sound budgeting, cost management, effective 

financial reporting, and "right-sizing" federal real properties. 

Frederick Nutt graduated from Virginia Tech and has spent much of his career serving in the 

federal government. Mr. Nutt has worked in both Houses of Congress, and has held several 

financial and management roles at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Millennium 

Challenge Corporation, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. 

Committee staff spoke with former colleagues of Mr. Nutt, and they speak highly of his 

professionalism and the varied experience he has gained within the federal government and how 

he could bring that understanding of different federal organizations to bear in this role. 

Staff interviewed the nominees on an array of issues, and each has thoughtfully and competently 

answered each question. 

To date, the Committee has found you to be qualified for the position you have been nominated. 

I look forward to speaking with each of you more today on your experience and 

accomplishments and how you intend to bring them to bear for the federal government and the 

District of Columbia. 

I now recognize Ranking Member Jones for his opening statement. 
23 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

Nominations of 

Emery A. Rounds, III to be Director, Office of Government Ethics 

Frederick M. Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal financial Management, 

Office of Management and Budget 

Kelly Higashi to be Associate Judge, District of Columbia Superior Court 

May23,2018 

Ranking Member Doug Jones 

Opening Statement 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you Mr. Rounds, Mr. Nutt, and Ms. Higashi, for being here today and 

congratulations on your nominations. Each of you has demonstrated a dedication to 

public service, and we appreciate your willingness to continue to serve in these 

new roles. 

Today we convene to provide advice and consent for the President's 

nominees to be Director of the Office of Government Ethics, Controller of the 

Office of Federal Financial Management, and an Associate Judge of the District of 

Columbia Superior Court. 

Ms. Higashi, as an attorney who practiced in federal and state courts for 

almost forty years, I know just how much litigants depend on having qualified, 

impartial judges on the bench. I also served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and later 

as the U.S. Attorney in Birmingham, Alabama, and I understand the difficult work 
24 

you do. I commend you on your dedication to finding justice for the most 

vulnerable among us who have been the victims of the most heinous crimes. 

Public service requires government employees to place loyalty to the 

Constitution, the laws, and ethical principles above private gain. The Office of 

Government Ethics is responsible for providing leadership and oversight of the 

executive branch ethics program, which is intended to prevent and resolve conflicts 

of interest involving Administration employees. In other words, the purpose of the 

OGE is to safeguard the public's trust in government. In the current climate of 

intense partisanship and suspicion, the importance of this role cannot be overstated. 

Created by the 1978 Ethics in Government Act in the wake of the Watergate 

scandal, the OGE was reviewed and reauthorized by Congress until2007, when its 

statutory authorization expired. Although OGE does continue to receive federal 

appropriations, reauthorization is important and provides an opportunity to 

consider whether there are improvements that can better enable the OGE to fulfill 

its mission. I hope that this Congress will see fit to reauthorize OGE before it ends 

later this year. 

There are a number of OGE reform proposals under consideration, some 

based on suggestions made by former OGE Director Walter Schaub. Having 

reviewed those proposals and given the climate we currently find ourselves in, I 

hope that they will be given serious consideration by Congress and to the extent 

that they can be done internally, by the OGE itself. Mr. Rounds, you have an 

extensive background in ethics and a deep commitment not just to public service, 

but to ethical and transparent public service. I am interested to hear how you plan 

to help the OGE navigate novel conflict of interest circumstances, whether you feel 
25 

OGE has had the tools to adequately address the issues that have recently arisen, 

and how you plan to ensure OGE's independence in doing its job. 

The Office of Federal Financial Management also has a role in protecting 

the public trust in government, specifically with regard to the effective and 

transparent use of government resources. The OFFM was established in 1990 to 

lead the Executive Branch toward better financial management and decisionmaking. Its priorities include transparency and data management, shared services, 

real property, improper payments, grants management, internal control, federal 

financial reporting, debt collection and charge cards. 

Mr. Nutt, you currently serve as Senior Adviser to the Director and Deputy 

Director of the Office of Management and Budget. In that role, you have had some 

opportunity to familiarize yourself with the OFFM since it reports to the Deputy 

Director, and you have recognized that the federal government continues to waste 

far too much money on improper payments. I look forward to hearing your 

thoughts on ways OFFM can effectively reduce this number. 

I look forward to hearing from each of these nominees. Thank you, Mr. 

Chairman. 
26 

Statement of Senator Susan M. Collins 

Hearing to consider the nomination of Emory A. Rounds III, of Maine, to be Director of 

the Office of Government Ethics 

May 23,2018 

Mr. Chairman, first, let me thank you for the opportunity to make a statement, along with 

Senator King, in support of the nomination of Emory A. Rounds III, of Arundel, Maine, to be the 

Director of the Office of Government Ethics for a term of five years. While I do not know Mr. 

Rounds personally, I am impressed with his accomplishments and I look forward to the Senate's 

consideration of his nomination to be the next Director of the Office of Government Ethics. 

The 1978 statute creating the Office of Government Ethics describes its purpose as providing 

"overall direction of executive branch policies related to preventing conflicts of interests on the 

part of officers and employees of any executive [branch] agency." OGE is responsible for 

providing direction, training, and oversight to more than 4,500 designated agency ethics officials 

across more than 130 executive branch agencies, on a host of ethics, financial disclosure, and 

conflict of interest laws, rules, and regulations. OGE also has the important responsibility of 

making sure that prospective nominees for federal office are free of conflicts of interest. 

In ensuring proper conduct, the first of 14 general principles set forth by Office of Government 

Ethics is that "Public service is a public trust, requiring employees to place loyalty to the 

Constitution, the law and ethical principles above private gain." In other words, OGE plays a 

critical role in maintaining the public's trust in its government and government employees. 

The Director of the Office of Government Ethics is a demanding job, and Mr. Rounds' resume 

speaks to his qualifications for the position. He has held numerous positions at OGE since 2009, 

most recently as associate counsel in the General Counsel's Office. He has also served as an 

ethics counsel in the White House during the George W. Bush Administration, as an ethics 

lawyer at the Department of Commerce, and as a Navy Judge Advocate for 22 years on active 

duty. 

In addition to his qualifications, Mr. Rounds' nomination has received support from the former 

Director of the OGE, Walter Shaub, an Obama Administration appointee who resigned last year, 

who has stated: "Emory is a good and decent man who has devoted his life to public service. He 

believes in the government ethics program, and he will ably lead OGE .. .l hope the Senate 

confirms Emory quickly. He's a great pick for this position." Richard Painter, former White 

House Counsel to President George W. Bush, had this to say about Mr. Rounds' nomination: 

"Great choice ... He was my deputy ... Not political- I had no idea if he was aD, R or!." 

Mr. Rounds has demonstrated a commitment to our ethics laws and carrying out the ethics 

program. He has ample experience to undertake the responsibilities of this important position, 

and the confidence of those familiar with the essential work of the OGE. I thank the Chairman 

again for the opportunity to join Senator King in introducing Mr. Rounds today, and I urge his 

approval by the members of this Committee and the full Senate. 
27 

Opening Statement of Emory A. Rounds III 

to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics 

May 23,2018 

Chairman Lankford, Ranking Member Jones, and members of the committee, I thank you 

for the opportunity to appear before you today. 

I am profoundly honored that President Trump has nominated me to be the Director of 

the Office of Government Ethics. It has been my distinct privilege to serve my country and the 

American public for more than four decades, as a career Navy officer and later as a civil servant 

and White House appointee. That I might serve further, as OGE's Director, would certainly be 

the capstone of my government career. 

I have proudly been a member of the OGE team since January 2009, and could not be 

more pleased to have- if I am confirmed an opportunity to lead the people who constitute the 

most dedicated, talented, and professional small agency staff in the Executive Branch. In context 

with the growing interest in and concerns regarding government ethics, OGE finds itself underfunded, under-staffed, over-missioned, and to a great extent under-appreciated. But, to a person, 

OGE's staff always performs above any reasonable expectations. 

If confirmed, my challenges as Director may be many, but the least among them is any 

question about OGE's staff and its ability to do its job whatever the environment. Each member 

ofOGE's staff is committed to achieving OGE's mission, whatever it takes to do so, to ensure 

that OGE continues to provide leadership and oversight of the Executive Branch's ethics 

program. This nation should be proud of their work. 

I have been a zealous supporter of the government's ethics program and its mission to 

prevent conflicts of interest; fraud, waste, and abuse; and to ensure impartiality throughout my 

career. I firmly believe that it is better to prevent ethical misconduct than to correct or punish 

violations after the fact. I strongly believe that it must be Executive Branch leaders who, by 

example, foster an ethical culture in their agencies not only by themselves acting in compliance 

with the ethics laws and rules, but also by carefully considering the appearance of their actions, 

even if permissible. The default must be on the side of "over-compliance" rather than the testing 

of any limits. In my opinion, the tone from the top is critical to fostering and maintaining a 

strong ethics culture and a positive tone requires more than mere technical compliance. 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would take on the critical duty of ensuring that the 

Executive Branch's ethics laws and rules are followed by calling upon government leaders to 

protect the integrity of government and strengthen the public's confidence in government 

decision-making. To that end, one of my immediate priorities, if confirmed, would be to 

personally meet with as many departmental and agency heads as I can, as quickly as possible, to 

convey my commitment to, and leadership of, the ethics program. I would impress upon these 

officials the critically important need for their strong ethics leadership. Further, I would commit 

to leading the Executive Branch ethics program by working with senior agency leaders, ethics 
28 

officials, and the enforcement community to prevent potential ethical lapses, resolve issues that 

currently exist, and support enforcement when prevention has failed. 

Integrity in government must not be simply aspirational. Rather, it must be our mission as 

senior leaders every day to encourage and foster a culture of government integrity, free of 

conflicts and dedicated to impartial decision-making. Without impartial and ethical decisionmaking, government leaders cannot deliver on their important promises, perform their public 

duties, or serve our country and its people. 

If confirmed, I look forward to the opportunity to lead OGE and the Executive Branch in 

this vital mission. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you once more for your consideration of my nomination. 
29 

HSGAC BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONS FOR 

EXECUTIVE NOMINEES 

1. Basic Biographical Information 

Please provide the following information. 

· : Date of.Nomlnatlon 

REDACTED 

·. uist~am/ .'

"""""' Q." .r."'· .. • ... ·ii. ·• ·. (Month/Year) N~~~ Used F'i-om (Pheck ·. . box ifestiinaie) · 

Name us&! Th(Mont~ea~) , 

(Ch~ck box if e5timate} · · 

Trey (nickname) Rounds 1951 Est X Current Est X 

~ni}g~1~~~~t~i~~~~:.¥~i%I~f.,,~h}~i;!.~·lf~Hl\if~.#;~i.mT..;~~~~3~~~\~-ffl.hf$141if.$)~1!~~1:4B)~t,~{,~~~~;;;.~~;~~-~;;{¥~·~;:~~ii:J.~rtftt-Hfl~~~~~~~Jtif~{:i:r4'$:fi;~? 

Check All That Describe Your Current Situation: 

Never Married 

0 

Married 

X 

Separated 

0 

Annulled 

0 

Divorced 

0 

Widowed 

0 
30 

. . . ' 

~· . ·m~i\ Used 1:~ <M;;;.th/Year) · · ..• 

{Ch~ck box if estimate) · 

Leslie Harriet Lambert X 1953 Est X 1973 Est X 

~;'~:tf.\'J1.fi{f/iiflftim'iliiivs£rttll}if'i!itriJJK!i·-i;~'t.•::fl§{:1,;t:;}.·;,~;:,}f?:,,·~~~::r~cM~,;·\'Ji;£!1'·!<•~•1 

. l!'lrstl!l!tme :Middle Name ' Last Name Suff'JX : .: 

Emory Rounds 

Kathleen (Kate) Avery 

Maiden name: Kathleen Anne Rounds 

Christopher Robert Douglas Rounds 

Erin Elizabeth Rounds 

Meg"'! Eileen Rounds 

2. Education 

List all post-secondary schools attended. 

· .. · Nari.eor 

-~·· 

:·· University of 

Akron 

. :::TyoeofSchoo! -~ 

· (voc::itiOt:l~ecbrtiCaYtrad~:~cbOol, School· col!OgetunivcrSityill)ilitary.oollegc; (mcnth/y"'U') 

'c'orr.Spondcn\ll>ldistailce/i:xtensiOO/onlirr .. ,(check boldf · · e.school) · · · Ostlmatel · 

Law School ... 9/1973 

, Dat<i Ended SchOol . ' 

(morith/yeru:){check box-if estimate) (-ch~ck. "present'• 

bnx I! still in s<Jhodl), 

Elt Present 

5/1976 0 

University of University E't E4t Present 

Massachusetts 9/1969 5/1973 

atAmberst 

3. Employment 

IV 

Date Awarded' 

JD 1976 

BA !973 

(A) List all of your employment activities, including unemployment and self-employment. If the 

employment activity was military duty, liSt separate employment activity periods to show each 

change of military duty station. Do not list employment before your 18th birthday unless to 

provide a minimum of two years of employment history. 

tv.pe·.of.Em·plo}'ritent · . (Acti:v~lVA!Ilta_zy.Dtity Stati_on,. National Gu8rqfR.eServe~ · U~PBS"Comrrijs~ioited Coips, · · 

· Othet !'edenil employmeri~ 

. 'State.qovet;tlment(N~ri:.· 

Federal Employin,eni), Self- :, employment, unemployment~'' . 

·:J:t'id~l-ai qont!actor!··.Non~ · Go~mei)t)lil)ployment 

.·.' (excluijitrg •g~;"ployment), 

NS:~t of YOur. 

.·~· ... Ailsigned·Dutv 

Station. . 

. Daw E~Pioymeni End¢ 

(monthiy"''')·(cbeck box ·If 

· estinuite) (check "presl;mt"'·box. 

' if still employed) 
31 

Other Federal employment US Office of Associate Washington, 1/2009 Present 

Government Ethics General DC 

Counsel 

Other Federal employment WhiteHouse Associate Washington, 6/2003 1/2009 

Counsel's Office Counsel to the DC 

President 

Other Federal employment US Department of Ethics Washington, 6/2000 6/2003 

Commerce Attorney DC 

Other Federal employment Federal Emergency Field Trainee Washington, 4/2000 (Est) 4/2000(Est) 

Management (Reserve) DC 

Agency 

Unemployed (US Navy NIA N/A Leonardtown, 8/1999 '6/2000 

retiree) MD 

Active! Military Duty , Naval Air Systems Staff Judge Patuxent 10/1997 (Est) 7/1999 (Est) 

Station Command Advocate/ River~> MD 

CDR 

Active Military Duty United States Chief, Scott Air 7/1994 (Est) 10/1997 (Est) 

Station Transportation Operational Force Base, lL 

Ccmmand Law/CDR 

I Active Military Duty Naval Legal Officer-in* Naval Base 9/1992 (Est) 7ll994 (Est) 

Station Service Office Charge/ Philadelphia, 

Detachment CDR PA 

Philadelphia 

Active Military Duty Naval Base Staff Judge Naval Base 6/1989 (Est) 9/1992 (Est) 

Station Philadelphia Advocate! Philadelphia, 

CDR PA 

Active Military Duty Office of the Judge Staff Attorney/ Alexandria. 411986 (Est) 6/1989 (Est) 

Station· Advocate General CDR VA 

(Code 63-

Management and 

Plans) 

Active Military Duty Naval Air Station NAS Judge Brunswick, 12/1984 (Est) 4/1986 (Est) 

Station Brunswiclc ME Advocate/ ME 

LCDR 

Active Military Duty Naval Legal Officer-in- Brunswick, 12/1983 (Est) 11/1984 (Est) 

Station Service Office Charge! ME 

Detachment LCDR BfU!lSwick 

Active Military Duty Naval Legal Head of Newport, RI 2/1981 (Est) 11/1983 (Est) 

Station Service Office Military 

Newport Justice!LCDR 

Active Military Duty Navy~Marine Senior Washington 7/1979 (Est) 1/1981 (Est) Station Corps Court of Commissioner/ DC 

Military Review LCDR 

Active Military Duty Naval Legal Claims Washington 211978 (Est) 7/1979 (Est) 

Station Service Office Attorney/L T DC Washington DC 

Active Military Duty Office of the Judge Legal Advisor/ Washington 3/1977 (Est) 211978 (Est) Station Advocate General LTJG DC 

(Code21-

Investigations) 

Active Military Duty USS Richard E Trairdng/L TJG Norfolk, VA 3/1977 (Est) 3/1977 (Est) 

Station Byrd 
32 

Active Military Duty Naval Justice Student'LTJG Newport,Rl 111977 (Est) 2/1977 (Est) 

Station School 

Active Military Duty Officer Student'L TJG Newport,Rl 6/1975 (Est) 7/1975 (Est) 

Station Indoctrination 

School 

Non~Govemment Blakemore, Rosen, Law Clerk Akron,OH 5/1974 (Est) 12/1976 (Est) 

Employment (part-time) &Norris 

Unemployed (Law N/A N/A Akron,OH 9/1973 (Est) 5/1974 (Est) 

Student) 

Non~Govenunent Zee Enterprises Assistant Hadley,MA 6/1973 (Est) 8/1973 (Est) 

Employment (part-time) (McDonald's Manager 

Restaurant) 

N0n-Ge>vemment University of Various jobs Amherst,MA 6/1970 (Est) 5/1973 (Est) 

Employment (part-time and Massachusetts on campus 

intermittent) 

Note; Over the course of my career (both Navy and civilian) I have had several various detail• and temporary assigmnents of varying 

lengths within the above employments- given the temporary nature of these duties, such details are not included in the list above. 

(B) List any advisory, consultative, honorary or other part-time service or positions with federal, state, or 

local governments, not listed elsewhere.' 

None 

4. Potential Conflict oflnterest 

(A) Describe any business relationship, dealing or financial transaction which you have had during the 

last 10 years, whether for yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, that could in any way 

constitute or result in a possible conflict of Interest in the position to which you have been nominated. 

None 

(B) Describe any activity during the past 10 years in which you have engaged for tbe purpose of directly 

or indireetly Influencing the passage, defeat or modification of any legislation or affecting the 

administration or execution of law or public policy, other than while in a federal government capacity. 

None 

5. Honors and Awards 

List lin scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees, civilian service citations, military medals, academic 

or professional honors, honorary society memberships and any other special recognition for outstanding 

service or achievement. 

Seven military decorations; two Meritorious Service Medals, four Navy Commendation Medals, and one Navy 

Achievement Medal 

6. Memberships 

4 
33 

List all memberships that you have held in professional, social, business, fraternal, scholarly, civic, or 

charitable organizations in the last 10 years. 

Unless relevant to your nomination, you do NOT need to include memberships in chariinble 

organizations avallable to the public as a result of a tax deductible donation of $1,000 or less, ParentTeacher Associations or other organizations connected to schools attended by your children, athletic 

clubs or teams, automobile support organizations (such as AAA), discounts clubs (such as Groupon or 

Sam's Club), or affuiity memberships/consumer clubs (such as frequent flyer memberships). 

None (current licensed as an attorney in good standing in the State of Maine, but not a member of the Maine 

State Bar Association) 

7. Political Activity; 

(A) Have you ever been a candidate for or been elected or appointed to a political office? 

No 

(B) List any offices held in or ser.vices rendered to a political party or election committee during the last 

ten years that you have not listed elsewhere. 

Non~ 

(C) Itemize all individual political contributions of$200 or more that you have made in the past five years 

to any individual, campaign organization, political party, political action committee, or similar entity. 

Please list each individual contribution and not the total amount contributed to the person or entity 

during tbe.year. 

None 

8. Publications and Speeches 

(A) List the titles, publishers and dates of books, articles, reports or other published materials that you 

have written, including articles published on the Internet. Please provide the Committee with copies of all 

listed publications. In lien of hard copies, electronic copies can be provided via e-mail or other digital 

format. 

None 

(B) List any formal speeches you have delivered during the last five years and provide the Committee 

with copies of those speeches relevant to the position for which you have been nominated. Include any 

testimony to Congress or any other legislative or administrative body. These items can be provided 

electronically via e-mail or other digital format. 

None 

{C) List all speeches and testimony you have delivered in the past ten years, except for those the text of 

whicp you are providing to the Committee. 

5 
34 

No speeches (or testimony) -only training/briefings provided on behalf of the US Office of Govermnent Ethics 

to various employees or visiting groups on various occasions: 

Participation in OGE's 2011 Conference presentations: 

- History of the Conflict of Interest Regulations (briefing, with the Acting Director) 

- Ethics Across the Three Branches (Panel Member) 

- Supplemental Ethics Regulations (Panel member) 

- OGE's OFPP/FAR/ACUS Roles (OGC's Update to Plenary Session) 

Participation in OGE's 2010 Conference presentations: 

- White House/OGE Perspective on the Transition: Past, Present, and Future (Panel Member) 

- OGE's Kennedy Center Gift Advisory- D0-09-030 (OGC's Update to Plenary Session) 

Presentations to State Department Programs as part of OGE's International Technical Assistance initiative: 

-Briefing to members of Kyrgyzstan Parliament (2012) 

- Brie'{ing to Les A spin Program (20 11) 

9. Criminal History 

Since (and including) your 18th bil::thday, has any of the following happened? 

• Have you been issued a summons, citation, or ticket to appear in court in a criminal proceeding 

against you? (Exclude citations involving traffic infractions where the fine was less than $300 and did 

nut Include alcohol or drugs.) 

No 

• Have you been arrested by any police officer, sheriff, marshal or any other type of law enforcement 

official? 

No 

• Have you been charged, convicted, or sentenced of a crime in any court? 

No 

• Have you been or are you currently on probation or parole? 

No 

• Are you currently on trial or awaiting a trial on criminal charges? 

No 
35 

o To your knowledge, have you ever been the subject or target of a federal, state or local criminal 

ihvestigation? 

No 

10. Civil Litigation and Administrative or Legislative Proceedings 

(A) Since (and including) your 18th birthday, have you been a party to any public record civil court 

action or administrative or legislative proceeding of any kind that resulted in (1) a finding of wrongdoing 

against you, or (2) a, settlement agreement for you, or some other person or entity, to make a payment to 

settle allegations against you, or for you to take, or refrain from taking, some action. Do NOT include 

small claims proceedings. 

There were a couple of past traffic accident events with injuries involving me (in 2004 or 2005) and my 

daughter (rn 2012). Neither of us were cited by law enforcement but the other car driver (in the first event) and 

the motorcyclist (in the second event) did each pursue and receive settlements from my insurance company. 

The records for the earlier event involving me are not available due to the passage of time. 

(B) In addition to those listed above, have you or any business of which you were an officer, director or 

owner ever been involved as a party of interest in any administrative agency proceeding or civil . 

litigation? Please Identify and provide details for any proceedings or civil litigation that involve actions 

taken or omitted by yon, or alleged to have been taken or omitted by you, while serving in your official 

capacity. 

No 

(C) For responses to the previous question, please Identity and provide details for any proceedings or civil 

litigation that involve actions taken or omitted by you, or alleged to have been taken or omitted by you, 

while serving in your official capacity. 

None 

11. Breach of Professional Ethics 

(A) Have you ever been disciplined or cited for a breach of ethics or unprofessional conduct by, or been 

the subject of a complaint to, any court, administrative agency, professional association, disciplinary 

committee, or other professional group? Exclude cases and proceedings already listed. 

No (currently licensed as an attorney in good standing in the State of Maine) ,. 

(B) Have you ever been fired from a job, quit a job after being told you would be fired, left a job by 

mutual agreement following charges or allegations of misconduct, left a job by mutual agreement , 

following notice of unsatisfactory performance, or received a written warning, been officially 

reprimanded, suspended, or disciplined for misconduct in the workplace, such as violation of a security 

policy? 

In 1973, while an assistant manager of a fast-food restaurant (between college graduation and Jaw school), I was 

offered a manager position at a newly-built location. I declined, explaining that I was to attend law school 

7 
36 

within the month. Within a day or so I was advised that the safe had been left open after my previous night shift 

and, although nothing was missing, that I would be let go. 

12. Tax Compliance 

(This infl)rmation will not be published in the record of the hearing ou your nomination, but it will be 

retained in the Committee's rdes and will be available for pubUc inspection.) 

REDACTED 
37 

REDACtED 

13. Lobbying 

In the past ten years, have you registered as a lobbyist? If so, please indicate the state, federal, or local 

bodies with which you have registered (e.g., House, Senate, California Secretary of State). 

I have never registered as a lobbyist. 

14. Outside Positions 

[X] See OGB Form 278. (If, for your nomination, you have completed an OGE Form 278 Executive Branch 

Personnel Public·Financial Disclosure Report, you may check the box here to complete this section and then 

roceed to the next section.) 

For the preceding ten calendar years and the current calendar year, report any positions held, whether 

compensated or not. Positions include but are not limited to those of an officer, director, trustee, general 

partner, proprietor, representative, employee, or consultant of any corporation, firm, partnership, or 

other business enterprise or any non-profit organization or educational institution. Exclude positions 

with religious, social, fraternal, or political entities and those solely of an honorary natare. 

None 

15. Agreements or Arrangements 

[X] See OGE Form 278. (If, for your nomination, you have completed an OGE Form 278 Executive Branch 

Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, you may check the box here to complete this section and then 

proceed to the next section.) 

As of the date of r.Iing your OGE Form 278, report your agreements or arrangements for: (1) continuing 

participation in an employee benefit plan (e.g. pension, 401k, deferred compensation); (2) continuation of 

payment by a former employer (including severance payments); (3) leaves of absence; and (4) futare 

employment. 

None 

Provide information regarding any agreements or arrangements you have concerning (1) future 

employment; (2) a leave of absence during your period of Government service; (3) continuation of 

payments by a former employer other than the United States Government; and (4) continuing 

participation in an employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a former employer other than United 

States Government retirement benefits. 

None 
38 

16. Additional Financial Data 

AU information requested under this heading must be provided for yourself, your spouse, and your 

dependents. (This information will not be published in tbe reeord of tbe hearing on your nomination, but 

it will be retained in the Committee's files and will be available for public inspection.) 

REDACTED 
39 

REDACTED 

SIGNATURE AND DATE 

read the foregoing Statement on Biographical and Financial Information and 

pro • ded t rein is, to the best of my knowledge, current, accurate, and complete. 

This 271

& day of February, 2018 

13 
40 

UNITED STATES OFFICE OF 

GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

REDACTED 

* --------------------------------------

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairm~ 

Committee on Homeland Security 

and Govenunental Affairs 

United Slates Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

February 14,2018 

In accordance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, 1 enClose a. copy of the 

ftilancial disclosure report filed by Emory A. Rounds; Ul, who has been nominaied by 

President Trump for the position of Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics. 

We haye. reviewed the report and have obtained advice from the agency concerning ahy 

possible conflict in light of its functions and the nominee's proposed duties. Also enclosed is an 

ethics agreement outlining the actions that the nominee will undertake to avoid conflicts of 

interest Unless a date for compqanc~ is indicated i9 the ethi.cs agreement, th~ nominee must 

fully comply within three.months of C\lhfinnation with any action specified in the ethics 

agreement. 

Based thereon, we believe thatthis nominee is in compliance with applicable laws and 

reg-pliltions governing conflicts of interest. 

Enclosures REDACTED 

Sincerely, 

DAVID 

APOL 

David J. Apol 

tlig1Wft1if!!l«<b)•tl,'.VIDAJOC 

tm:vlll,·<:>..O,$ Go'""'"""'I·""*OH'oeo o!O!mt~tttE<Iili:t.u-Dt\VlOAPOL. 

~·~}IJ.t9l<xil00.\0ill.!~~:>l9100l~IU 

D;~io.llliM:.J~lS:I7>1l·~SOO' 

Acting Director and General Counsel 

1201 NEWYORKAVENW•SUJ'l'ESOO·WASHINGTON [)C·20005 * * * * 
41 

David J, Apol 

DesignatedAgency Ethics Officja[ 

120 I :New York Ave., NW, Suite 500 

Washington,.DC29005 

Dear Mr~ A pol: 

February 13,2018 

The purpose of this letter is to describe the steps· that I will take to avoid any actual or 

appa!'entconflict of intel'estin the event thatl am confirmed for the position ofDire.ctor oftb,e 

U.S. Office ofGovernJuent Ethics. 

As req1,1ired.by iS U.S.C. § 20il(a); I will not participate personally and sUbstantially in 

any pal'ticulm: matter in which I know that I have a J;inancia] interest. directly and predictably 

affected by the matter, or in whi<:h I know that a person whose interests are imputed to n1e has a 

financial interest directly and predictably affected by the matter, unless I first obtain a written 

waiver, .pursuant to 18 U.S~C~ § 208(p)(l ), or qualify for a regulatory exemption, putsuant to 

18 U,S.C. § 208(b)(2). I understand thattlre interest~ ofthe following persons are imputed to 

me; any spouse or minor child of mine; any general partner of a partnership in. which I am a 

limited or general partner; any organization in which I serve as officer, director, trUStee, ge11eral 

pa1o!ner or employee; and any person oro:~ganizt1tion with which I am negotiating or have an 

an:angement concerning prospective employinent. · 

My spouse is employed by the Dyer Library Association in a position for which she 

receives a fixed all!lUal sa]!li'J. For a$ long as my spo.use continues to work for. the Dyer Library 

Association, I will not PJ!rdcipate personally and substantially .in any particular matter involving 

specific parties in which I know the Dyer Library Assodatlon is a party or represents a party, 

unless I am first authqrized to patjicipate, purs1,1aut to 5 C.F.R ~ 2635.502(d). 

My spouse. is a reglilar book reviewer for Kirkus Media LLC for wl1ich she is paid per 

book review. For as long as my spouse is a paid hook reviewer for KirkUs Media LLC, I will not 

participate personally and substantially in any particular matter involving specr.('ic parties in 

which l know Kirlms Media LLC is a party or represents a patty, unless I am fi'rst authorized fo 

J)lll:ticipate, pursuant to 5 C.F :R. § 2635.502(d). 

In have a managed account or otherwise use the services of an investmeqt professional 

during my appoin.tmcntli will ensure that. the account managcr<>r inv~rtent professional 

obtains my prior approval on a case• by-case basis for the purchase of any asset$ oth.er than. cash; 

cash equivalents, inve~rtment fund$ that qua,lify for the exemption at 5 C.F.R. § 2640.20 l(a), 

obligations of lhe United States, ot municipal bonds. 

i understand that as an appointee I will be requited to sign the Ethics Pledge (Exec, Otdei: 

No. 13770) and that I will be bo.und by the requirement~ and restrictions therein in addition to the 

commitments lh&ve maqe in thi11 ethics agreement 
42 

I will meet in petsou with you. during the first week ofmy service intlte positiort·of 

Dire~.tor in order to corppletethe initial ethic& briefing required unde_r 5 C.F.R. § 263$.30.5. 

Within .90 dayg of my confirmation, I will do.cument my c!.lmp!iance with this ethics agreement 

by notifYing you in writingwhe1l I have completed the steps described in. this ethics l!greeinent. 

I have been advised that this ethics agreement will be posted p.ublicly, consisient witb. 

5 U.S.C. § 55'2, on the website of the U$. Office ofOovernment Ethics with ethicsagt:eemet!ts 

of other Pre:iidential nominees who ftlepublic ftna.ncial di~closure reports, 
43 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

Pre-hearing Questionnaire 

For the Nomination of Mr. Emory A. Rounds, III to be 

Director, Office of Government Ethics 

I. Nomination Process and Conflicts oflnterest 

1. Did the President give you specific reasons why he nominated you to be the next Director 

of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE)? 

No 

2. Were any conditions, expressed or implied, attached to your nomination? If so, please 

explain. 

No 

3. Have you made any commitments with respect to the policies and principles you will 

attempt to implement as Director? If so, what are they, and to whom were such 

commitments made? 

No 

4. Are you aware of any business relationship, dealing, or financial transaction that could 

result in a possible conflict of interest for you or the appearance of a conflict of interest? 

If so, please explain what procedures you will use to recuse yourself or otherwise address 

the conflict. And if you will recuse yourself, explain how you will ensure your 

responsibilities are not affected by your recusal. 

No 

II. Background of the Nominee 

5. What specific background, experience, and attributes qualifY you to be OGE Director? 

Experience at OGE (since 2009) 

As an Associate Counsel in the General Counsel's Office, my current and past duties 

have included: working directly with agency ethics officials reviewing financial 

disclosure reports and ethics agreements for the President's nominees; reviewing for my 

final certification new entrant, annual, termination, and transactional financial disclosure 

reports (nearly 2500 reports reviewed in four years); advising on ethics laws and 

regulations, and agency waiver consultations; resolving Certificate of Divestiture 

requests; editing various policy and procedural documents; and providing support to 

OGE's legislative, international, and training programs. 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 1 
44 

As Acting Chief ofOGE's Internal Operations Division from 2013-2015, I led and 

managed OGE's administrative, human resource, procurement, and information 

technology strategic initiatives and day-to-day programs as one of OGE's four division 

heads. 

While a Special Assistant to OGE's Acting Director from 2011-2013, I developed and 

implemented agency strategies and policies with and on behalf of the Acting 

Director, in coordination with agency executive management and senior leadership; 

directed staff research and agency response to questions related to financial, 

administrative, personnel, and strategic planning; ensured the timely collection of data for 

and correct preparation by agency staff of presentations to the Director; and mentored 

OGE staff members. I also reviewed and assigned to staff attorneys questions from 

agency ethics officials, and worked closely with OGE's action officer and OGE 

leadership to assure correct and timely resolutions. 

Experience at the Office of the Counsel to the President (2003-2009) 

I was honored to serve the President while an appointee. As an Associate Counsel to the 

President, at the Special Assistant level, I personally advised and provided strategic 

counseling in a dynamic and demanding environment to other commissioned assistants to 

the President and Presidential appointees, including Cabinet and other Senate-confirmed 

nominees, regarding financial disclosure reports and responsibilities as well as standards 

of conduct, compliance, and general legal issues. I wrote and approved advisory 

opinions, ethics agreements, and disqualification statements; reviewed and drafted 

changes to major ethics legislative, regulatory, and policy proposals; and served as liaison 

to senior agency ethics officials and OGE's Director. 

As the deputy to the lead White House ethics official, 1 directly recruited and supervised 

a rotating team of up to six highly-skilled ethics professionals detailed to the Office of the 

Counsel, and was responsible for df)y-to-day office and docket management- to include 

the White House Office's financial disclosure program -as well as the production of the 

highest quality legal advice, at speed, in support of the President. I resolved and provided 

training on complex standards of conduct issues involving potential conflicts of interest, 

appearances of bias, and lobbying; gifts between employees and to the Government; 

political and outside activities; job-seeking and post-employment; and use of Government 

resources. 

Experience at the Department of Commerce (2000-2003) 

As a staff attorney in the Office of the Assistant General Counsel for Administration, I 

reviewed 800+ Presidential appointee, new entrant, and annual public and confidential 

financial disclosure reports, and advised on remedial action as needed. I advised on 

outside activities; gifts; Secretarial disqualifications; Government and political travel; 

conflicts of interest; post-employment; and awards. I coordinated Presidential appointee 

ethics packages with the White House and OGE; prepared ethics agreements and letters 

to Senators; and briefed appointees on ethics rules and the nomination process. I 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 2 
45 

managed the Department's program that provided ethics training to more than 12,000 

Department employees in over 500 sessions- and personally trained over I, I 00 

employees. 

Experience while serving in the U.S. Navy (1976-1999) 

I served in the Navy in several assignments as a command legal advisor with duties 

similar to that of a city solicitor, district attorney, and chief counsel, resolving criminal, 

tort, ethics, civil, personnel, information release, equal opportunity, aviation accident, 

international, debarment, Congressional inquiry, admiralty, and litigation issues. I 

managed ethics programs and provided staff training, reviewing over 750 financial 

disclosure reports; took pretrial and post-trial actions on hundreds of criminal cases; 

reviewed and drafted opinions on investigations into death, personal injury, and property 

loss (over !50 resulted in trials or hearings). I also drafted Navy regulations; letter 

authorizations for the President's signature; final administrative opinions; and legislation 

that Congress passed so that military tankers complied with environmental law. I have 

also acted on complex short-fused questions involving the law of armed conflict, rules of 

military engagement, freedom of navigation, and the law of the sea concerning the 

worldwide transport of people and goods by Government or commercial air, sea, and land 

carriers. 

As a manager, I directed two field legal offices and ensured that legal services were 

professional and timely; adjudicated Federal claims; wrote and signed evaluations; 

managed trial dockets to ensure timely case completion; and prepared and executed 

budgets. I supervised a field office staff of33 lawyers, paralegal professionals, and 

support personnel that provided trial, claims, legal assistance, ethics, and administrative 

law services in a five-state region, and managed a newly established law office of four 

lawyers and two paralegals. In field legal services office assignments, I supervised and 

mentored three prosecutors, four defense attorneys, and six paralegals as head of crimina! 

justice services; and led three trial attorneys, and four paralegals and court reporters, as a 

senior prosecutor. At the Naval Legal Service Command headquarters level, I rewrote 

and published the Navy's legal services operating manual; managed executive 

orientations; and briefed manpower, equipment, and space requirements. 

I also have served as an appellate counsel, legal representative, and investigator, while 

representing the Government in several assignments and when defending clients in bench 

and jury criminal trials, worker's disability proceedings, and administrative hearings. I 

served as the senior law clerk (Commissioner) to the Navy's !!-member appellate 

criminal court, reviewing over 450 trial records for legal error; researching issues and 

briefing judges; editing court opinions for content and form; and drafting 50 opinions (15 

published). I also assisted the Chief Judge's management of a 4,500 case docket, and 

supervised three law clerks. In another assignment, I was a key player on the threemember team that wrote the Navy JAG Corps' first professional conduct rules and 

enforcement procedures. I have also investigated attorney professional ethics 

misconduct. I have prosecuted felonies and misdemeanors, including major conspiracy 

cases involving fraudulent payments by disbursing clerks. I was hand-picked to be a 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 3 
46 

special prosecutor to investigate high-visibility charges against senior executives; 

intensive inquiry revealed no misconduct, and an interested Congressman was personally 

briefed. 

I. have defended clients at 40 trials and administrative boards (in a six-month period) and 

represented clients in over 250 disability hearings. I provided legal assistance to service 

members, and negotiated and settled tort and personnel claims filed against the Navy; 

investigated and prosecuted high-visibility and complex cases, serving as the preliminary 

hearing officer in felony cases that included murder (at sea), rape, and drug allegations. I 

have also served as an Inspector General team member and advisor. 

6. Please describe: 

a. Your leadership and management style. 

While I embrace the "team" concept ofleadership and management, I also believe that a 

strong leader must make the tough decisions when needed- and if confirmed as OGE's 

Director, I will do so. OGE enjoys a reputation as an elite group of experienced subjectmatter experts who are self-directed and fully-motivated to perform their assigned tasks. 

Diverse viewpoints are encouraged. Decisions need to be made after considering these 

different points of view (often, equally viable). I will lead OGE to the best decision. 

When OGE assets need to be allocated and organized, to better accomplish OGE's 

mission, I will manage to ensure the efficacy of the agency and its oversight of the 

Executive Branch's ethics program. 

b. Your experience managing personnel. 

As Acting Chief, I supervised and managed OGE's nine-member Internal Operations 

Division, which is responsible for OGE's day-to-day administrative, human resource, 

procurement, and information technology programs and strategic initiatives. 

While a Special Assistant to OGE's Acting Director, I indirectly managed OGE staff: 

directed staff research and agency response to questions related to financial, 

administrative, personnel, and strategic planning; ensured the timely collection of data 

and correct preparation by agency staff for presentations to the Director; men to red OGE 

staff members; reviewed and assigned to staff attorneys questions from agency ethics 

officials; and worked closely with OGE's assigned staff member and OGE leadership to 

assure correct and timely resolutions. 

While at the White House I directly supervised a rotating team of up to six highly-skilled 

ethics professionals detailed to the White House Counsel's Office, where I was 

responsible for day-to-day office and docket management- to include the White House 

Office's financial disclosure program- as well as the production of the highest quality 

legal advice, at speed, in support ofthe President. 

On active duty in the Navy, I supervised a field office staff of33 lawyers, paralegal 

professionals, and support personnel that provided trial, claims, legal assistance, ethics, 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page4 
47 

and administrative law services in a five-state region; managed a newly established law 

office of four lawyers and two paralegals; managed the military justice division (13 

lawyers and paralegals, providing both prosecution and defense services) within a legal 

service office; served as the lead Commissioner (law clerk) of up to three other clerks at 

the Navy's appellate criminal court; and, while the staff judge advocate (senior attorney) 

at several Navy commands, supervised and managed assigned attorneys and support staff. 

c. What is the largest number of people that have worked under you? 

While the Officer-in-Charge of the Navy's Legal Service Office Detachment in 

Philadelphia 1 supervised and managed 33 (+/-)attorneys, paralegals, and supporting 

staff members. 

7. Please briefly describe the type of work you do as OGE Associate Counsel? 

While an Associate Counsel, my current and past duties have included: working directly 

with agency ethics officials reviewing financial disclosure reports and ethics agreements 

for the President's nominees; reviewing for my final certification new entrant, annual, 

termination, and transactional financial disclosure reports (nearly 2500 reports reviewed 

in four years); advising on ethics laws and regulations, and agency waiver consultations; 

resolving Certificate of Divestiture requests; editing various policy and procedural 

documents; and providing support to OGE's legislative, international, and training 

programs. 

III. Policy Questions 

8. Please describe your view of the agency's core mission and the Director's role in 

achieving that mission. 

Through its Director, OGE provides leadership of and oversight over the Executive 

Branch ethics laws, regulations, policies, and related processes within the Executive 

Branch's ethics program. Together with the Executive Branch ethics community, 

OGE's Director's duty is to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest and impartiality 

concerns regarding government officials and employees. 

I firmly believe in and would promote the "four pillars" reflected in OGE's Strategic 

Plan: a strong and uniform ethics program; holding senior government leaders and 

employees accountable for their own as well as their agency's compliance with the 

ethics rules and programs; supporting the seamless continuity of government; and 

engaging the public. I would focus on enhanced training opportunities within and for the 

ethics community as well as opening further the window into OGE and the government's 

ethics programs to allow even more "sunshine." I would also hold OGE itself 

accountable for a strong leadership and oversight presence. 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would play the key role in ensuring that OGE's 

policies and procedures regarding the Executive Branch ethics program are clearly 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 5 
48 

articulated and readily disseminated and available to the senior ethics officials and 

government employees who rely on understanding the ethics "rules of the road" as they 

undertake their government assignments, as well as ensuring the same for citizens and 

outside groups interested in the integrity of their public servants. Two-way 

communication between the ethics community and OGE- and the OGE Director- is 

critical. OGE's communication and outreach programs are fully engaged to ensure that 

its opinions and decisions are available to all, and to ensure that OGE has an institutional 

"open door" policy for all who engage OGE for questions or want to provide input. 

The OGE Director does not have a law enforcement role. Nonetheless, if confirmed as 

Director I would play a critical role in the Executive Branch's inspector general 

programs, initiatives, and- at times- investigations. I would ensure that issues of noncompliance are fully addressed, and that the "ethics wall" stands firm. I would also 

ensure that OGE's outward-facing programs and policies, to include its mission to 

monitor agency compliance with its standards of conduct and disclosure rules, remain 

practical, relevant, and viable in times of diminishing personnel and budgetary 

resources. I would ensure that OGE's rules and mandates focus on and address 

preventing and resolving conflicts of interest. 

9. If confirmed as OGE Director, how do you plan on ensuring the independence and 

impartiality of your office? 

l;o ensure independence I would, if confirmed as OGE's Director, be steadfast and 

constant in my non-partisan, apolitical, impartial decision-making, actions, and 

recommendations. I would, as steward of the government's ethics programs, at all times 

strive to protect the integrity of the government and its individual employees. I would do 

this by way of decisional transparency and by constant as well as consistent 

communication with issue participants and stakeholders. 

If confirmed as OGE's Director I would always serve as the "honest broker" within the 

ethics community. I have the courage to take the unpopular stand or make the difficult 

and painful decision when needed to ensure that the integrity of the Executive Branch 

remains intact. I would serve perhaps as does the good doctor who advises his or her 

patient with the good as well as the bad news and as to the best treatment, however 

difficult a pill to swallow. I would be vigilant with concern that the patient would ignore 

the doctor's advice at the patient's peril, but would not waiver to ensure the viability of 

the government's ethics culture. 

10. If confirmed, what will be the immediate, highest priority issue(s) that you expect to 

address and how will you go about addressing them? 

My immediate external priority if confirmed as OGE's Director would be to personally 

meet with as many departmental and agency heads as I can, as quickly as possible. I 

would discuss with them the critically important need for their strong ethics leadership in 

their stewardship of government resources. I would explain that the ethics rules apply 

with equal force to senior government officials as well as front-line employees. I would 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 6 
49 

4nderscore the significance of a strong agency ethics program and its effect on staff 

performance. I would also explain OGE's continued commitment to support such 

efforts, as by OGE's many training offerings. 

Professional development and ethics training is a key OGE priority. There has perhaps 

never been a higher level of ethics expertise within OGE and the Executive Branch's 

ethics community as exists now. Nonetheless, there are professional skills outside an 

ethics expertise that can be enhanced, such as regards leadership, management, writing, 

presentation, and communication- this training is important within OGE as well as the 

ethics community. This can be done through available OGE training initiatives, but it 

may also be appropriate to consider training opportunities outside the government- in a 

manner that permits a compare-and-contrast experience in non-government ethics 

environments. Outside training would serve to broaden the OGE employee's perspective 

and skills as they learn new ways to promote an ethical culture. 

Many government ethics experts are leaving their government positions. It is critical, 

to maintain the high level of expertise the public has come to expect of this community, 

that newly-installed ethics advisors be fully trained to identity and resolve the many 

ethics issues that might arise across a very broad spectrum of issues. To this end, among 

my highest priorities as Director would be ensuring that ethics officials are fully trained 

in the many functional areas of the ethics regime. If confirmed as its Director, I will 

ensure that OGE continues to educate ethics officials- and the public- as to such ethicsrelated information. 

11. Statutory authorization for OGE lapsed in 2007, although it continues to receive federal 

appropriations. OGE, under the leadership of its most recent Senate- confirmed Director, 

Walter Shaub, requested no substantive changes in the reauthorization proposal 

transmitted to the !14th Congress. If confirmed, will you propose substantive reforms to 

Congress? If so, what area(s) do you believe is most in need of statutory reform? 

I have no current plans to recommend specific substantive reforms to Congress regarding 

the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA). That said, I am in favor of all three of the 

government's branches subject to the EIGA, perhaps by way of a combined working 

group, considering the branches' collective "lessons learned" over the past several years 

with the goal of strengthening the government's ethics initiatives. 

12. Mr. Shaub testified in December 2015 that "Congress left [OGE] almost no discretion in 

interpreting the statute" and that the work of OGE is entirely preventative and not 

investigatory in nature. Do you agree with this sentiment? Why or why not? 

The Ethics in Government Act (EIGA), which I believe was the focus of the former 

Director's remark during the referenced testimony, is a law which by its very terms 

requires that OGE undertake specific responsibilities and duties and that financial 

disclosure filers in turn provide specified information given described circumstances. To 

the extent that these requirements mandate OGE and filers to act and provide information 

in a given way, I concur that there is indeed very little room for any OGE interpretive 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 7 
50 

redesign of the ETGA's ethics regime. OGE has through the years strived for consistency 

-especially as regards financial disclosure requirements- through the continuity of its 

adherence to the EIGA, to ensure fairness and to further ensure that OGE and its ethics 

community remains a level playing field for any and all participants. The financial 

disclosure reporting requirements must remain constant no matter who is the filer or 

whatever the Administration. 

OGE also has been consistent in asserting that the agency otherwise does not handle 

complaints of employee misconduct, to the extent criminal statutes and the standards of 

conduct may be implicated, and has neither an investigative nor a prosecutorial mandate, 

let alone resources. Those duties are left to the pertinent inspectors general and the 

Department of Justice, as appropriate. OGE's mission through its existence as an agency 

has been and would continue to be focused on preventing conflicts of interest and 

ensuring impartiality. 

13. Mr. Shaub, frequently commented to the media on ethics issues as Director, making it 

unclear what constituted official guidance to government employees and what was 

simply rhetoric for the media. If confirmed, how will you make clear when your public 

statements constitute official guidance? 

I do not intend to make any public statements that are not official and are readily 

understood as such. It would be crystal clear to anyone that any public statement 1 make 

is official. It must be clear to OGE's audience- whether Executive Branch officials and 

civil servants, the public, or outside groups-just what is (and, at times, what is not) 

OGE's policy and procedure. To this end, l would ensure that substantive OGE policy 

and process guidance be disseminated in such a way that it is clearly identified as official 

OGE guidance (such as by an advisory on letter head). 

14. If confirmed, how would you handle disciplinary issues at OGE? 

a. How would you respond to underperforming individuals within your office and the 

agency at large? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would ensure that an underperforming individual 

would be given every opportunity to succeed. If it becomes necessary to handle a 

personnel matter as a disciplinary matter, I would ensure that OGE follows all 

appropriate procedures to hold that person accountable. 

15. Please describe how you believe the Director should interact with the Inspector General 

community? 

!fully support and would embrace OGE's excellent working relationships with the 

various Executive Branch Inspectors General (IGs). I look forward, if confirmed, to 

membership as OGE's Director on the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and 

Efficiency. I would also look forward to meeting with IGs on such cases of mutual 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee PageS 
51 

interest as from time-to-time arise, and to continuing OGE's longstanding training ofiG 

staffs. 

I see it as no coincidence that OGE's symbiotic relationship with the Inspector General 

community began at inception, by way of the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA). Both 

the EIGA and Inspector General Act came out of the same committee at about the same 

time in the post-Watergate era. !Gs are tasked- among other duties- to address fraud, 

waste, and abuse within the Executive Branch, and OGE's mission to prevent conflicts of 

interest dovetails with the IGs' missions. OGE, in its preventive role, and I if confirmed 

as its Director, would rely on the IGs' investigative and enforcement capabilities, when 

issues arise regarding employees and possible ethics infractions. OGE would continue to 

work with IGs who seek guidance regarding the various ethics laws and rules, especially 

as might affect an ongoing investigation. 

16. Please describe how you believe OGE should interact with agency Designated Agency 

Ethics Officials (DAEOs)? 

OGE's Director has leadership and oversight responsibilities over the DAEOs as well as 

rheir agencies' ethics programs. If confirmed as OGE's Director I would continue that 

oversight and leadership challenge, but in partnership - as the "senior partner" - with the 

DAEOs as we work together as a team to better prevent conflicts of interest in the 

E~ecutive Branch. 

I believe that DAEOs are critical members of the Executive Branch's ethics team, and 

constitute the senior leaders present in each agency of the Executive Branch's ethics 

mission and agency initiatives. The Executive Branch-wide ethics program is 

purposefully designed to be de-centralized, and by design relies on the DAEO- and his 

or her agency subordinate ethics advisors to execute an agency's day-to-day ethics 

program. 

To this end, I would fully support DAEOs as they seek to better perform their duties and 

responsibilities, and would ensure that there is at all times an "open door" to OGE and 

such OGE assistance and resources as may be needed, as we work together as a team to 

prevent conflicts ofinterest. If confirmed as OGE's Director I would take the overall 

lead in the promulgation of branch-wide ethics rules, policies, and procedures. This 

would ensure consistency as to the applicability and application of the standards of 

conduct to all Executive Branch employees. OGE's compliance team would regularly 

conduct program reviews of agency ethics programs to ensure DAEOs are leading 

compliant programs. OGE would continue to hold agency heads accountable if their 

ethics programs are not meeting OGE's programmatic requirements, are not providing 

necessary agency training, or are not using the many available ethics tools- such as 

OGE's e-filing system, Integrity. 

As OGE's Director I would expect that the day-to-day execution of the Executive 

Branch's rules, policies, and procedures remain the primary responsibility of each 

DAEO. DAEOs are given a large measure of independence and discretion within the 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page9 
52 

Executive Branch's ethics program, subject to OGE's leadership in its oversight mandate. 

OGE would be available to offer its advice and counsel to a DAEO when the need arises, 

as it has done over its existence. OGE would continue ifl am its Director to listen 

carefully to such concerns and recommendations a DAEO and/or the DAEO community 

may have regarding the Executive Branch's ethics initiatives. This would ensure that the 

ethics program is operating at peak efficiencies, so to better guard against conflicts of 

interest. As Director I would recognize that each agency's missions and government 

business practices- within the basic paradigm of governing- can be different as 

compared to another agency, and sometimes even within a department or agency. 

17. Protecting whistleblower confidentiality is of the utmost importance to this Committee. 

a. During your career, how have you addressed whistleblower complaints? 

I have not in my career been faced with a whistleblower complaint that I needed to 

address as a manager. As a public servant for over four decades it was my honor to 

protect the rights of any other public servant who might perceive a wrong and bring it to 

my attention. Even when I was assigned by the Navy as a special counsel to investigate a 

sailor's complaint concerning the misuse of used aircraft parts, I ensured that every 

protection was given the whistleblower as well as to the "accused" during the course of 

my inquiries. 

b. How do you plan to implement policies within to encourage employees to bring 

constructive suggestions forward without the fear of reprisal? 

I believe in an "open door" for each and every employee- this is how teamwork best 

succeeds in a small but dynamic environment of fully engaged and trained professionals 

with a complex mission. I enjoy receiving constructive feedback and would continue to 

encourage employees to speak their minds and/or voice their concerns, whatever might 

be the issue. I would personally seek to foster an environment in which there exists no 

fear of, and where there is zero-opportunity for, reprisal as to anyone who does express 

their constructive views. 

c. Do you commit without reservation to work to ensure that any whistleblower within 

OGE does not face retaliation? 

Yes 

d. Do you commit without reservation to take all appropriate action if notified about 

potential whistleblower retaliation? 

Yes 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 10 
53 

IV. Relations with Congress 

18. Do you agree without reservation to comply with any request or summons to appear and 

testizy before any duly constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed? 

Yes: OGE has so complied through its existence as an agency within the Executive 

Branch, and I agree to continue this compliance. 

19. Do you agree without reservation to make any subordinate official or employee available 

to appear and testify before, or provide information to, any duly constituted committee of 

Congress if you are confirmed? 

Yes: OGE has so complied through its existence as an agency within the Executive 

Branch, and I agree to continue this compliance. 

20. Do you agree without reservation to comply fully, completely, and promptly to any 

request for documents, communications, or any other agency material or information 

from any duly constituted committee of the Congress if you are confirmed? 

Yes: OGE has so complied through its existence as an agency within the Executive 

Branch, and I agree to continue this compliance. 

V. Assistance 

21. Are these answers your own? Have you consulted with OGE or any other interested 

parties? If so, please indicate which entities. 

The answers provided are my own answers. Any substantive consultation with OGE 

senior staff was to ensure that my responses comported with my goal to continue OGE's 

current initiatives. 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 11 
54 

Minority 

Supplemental Pre-Hearing Questionnaire 

For the Nomination of Emory Rounds, III to be 

Director, Office of Government Ethics 

I. Nomination and Conflicts oflnterest 

1. Has the President or his staff asked you to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure 

agreement? 

No 

2. Has the President or his staff asked you to make any pledge or promise if you are confirmed 

as Director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE)? 

No 

3. Please describe how you came to apply for this position and your selection process. 

I did not apply for this position. I received a telephone call from the White House 

Counsel's Office in July 2017 asking whether I would be interested in the position. 

replied that I would be interested. A short interview took place with the White House 

Counsel in mid-August 2017. I received the paperwork to be completed from the 

Presidential Personnel Office in December 2017 and I returned it to that office early in 

2018. 

II. Background of the Nominee 

4. Do you seek out dissenting views and how do you encourage constructive critical dialogue 

with subordinates? 

I have already given staff a "heads up" that - should I be con finned into the position - I 

expect to be provided the "pros" and "cons" as to matters before the Director for 

decision, and that if no "cons" are provided they would be sought out. I would ensure 

that I would not be surrounded by "yes people." Before I make any determinations as 

Director, I would expect a full discussion across the range of opinions and options. 

5. Please give examples of times in your career when you disagreed with your superiors and 

aggressively advocated your position. Were you ever successful? 

A key reason for my success through more than four decades of public service as a 

leader, manager, and attorney is my ability to successfully disagree with superiors. As a 

command attorney I was always a subordinate but also was always steadfast in giving the 

right advice and ensuring that the advice was followed, even when the commander 

disagreed. At the White House there were occasions when senior officials had "great 

ideas" that they wanted to walk by the ethics office and on multiple occasions there 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 12 
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were "lively discussions" in which I did succeed in explaining why it was not such a 

good idea if done the way desired. On one occasion a planned front lawn event was 

cancelled at the last moment given my objections. I have also had those tough 

discussions with (sometimes very senior) financial disclosure filers as to a need to recuse 

or divest given a potential conflict of interest issue. If confirmed as OGE's Director, I 

would continue to disagree with my superiors as well as anyone else, when necessary, 

and aggressively advocate my position. 

6. What would you consider your greatest successes as a leader? 

I would point to the number of younger and/or subordinate attorneys who I have 

mentored to further success, especially in the last 14 or so years. In particular, this 

includes a number of fine professionals who have been promoted to higher ranks, 

including to the Senior Executive Service. There certainly are times when I was able to 

successfully "do more with less", when I was able to move a dormant issue to 

<;ompletion, or when my goals were exceeded- but, in the end, the success of my junior 

colleagues is what stands as my greatest success over the years. To my outlook, when 

one's staff succeeds, the government and the country in turn succeed. 

7. What do you consider your greatest failure as a leader? What lessons did you take away 

from that experience? 

Perhaps my greatest failure as a young leader early in my career is the counter-point to 

my success: when I solely put my goals as a manager ahead of the career needs of the 

young professionals who relied on me for guidance and development. It is a hard lesson 

to learn, and one I did not realize until I felt that a superior had failed me; only then did I 

recognize my own shortcomings as a mentor. To this day, I would rather step aside for 

someone else to take the "plum assignment," and watch the success of that shipmate than 

seek my own glory. 

8. During your career, has your conduct as a federal employee ever been subject to an 

investigation, audit, or review by a state legal bar or any government investigative entity? If 

so, please describe the review and its outcome. 

No 

9. Have you ever received a formal performance review related to your management 

experience? If so, please list the position and describe the outcome of the review. 

I have received annual performance evaluations throughout my four-decade military 

and civil service careers- to include management assignments. These uniformly have 

been positive evaluations, often recommending promotion to higher rank with greater 

responsibilities. 

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III. Policy Questions 

Role of the Office of Government Ethics 

I 0. In your words, what is the mission of OGE, and what is the role of the Director? 

Through its Director, OGE provides leadership of and oversight over the Executive 

Branch's standards of conduct policies, processes, and programs. Together with the 

Executive Branch ethics community, OGE's Director's duty is to prevent and resolve 

conflicts of interest and impartiality concerns regarding government officials and 

employees. 

I firmly believe in and would promote the "four pillars" reflected in OGE's Strategic 

Plan: a strong and uniform ethics program; holding senior government leaders and 

employees accountable for their own as well as their agency's compliance with the 

ethics rules and programs; supporting the seamless continuity of government; and 

engaging the public. I would focus on enhanced training opportunities within and for the 

ethics community as well as opening further the window into OGE and the government's 

ethics programs to allow even more "sunshine." I would also hold OGE itself 

accountable for a strong leadership and oversight presence. 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would play the key role in ensuring that OGE's 

policies and procedures regarding the Executive Branch ethics program are clearly 

articulated and readily disseminated and available to the senior ethics officials and 

government employees who rely on understanding the ethics "rules of the road" as they 

undertake their government assignments, as well ensuring the same for citizens and 

outside groups interested in the integrity of their public servants. Two-way 

communication between the ethics community and OGE- and the OGE Director is 

critical. OGE's communication and outreach programs are fully engaged to ensure that 

its opinions and decisions are available to all, and to ensure as well that OGE has an 

institutional "open door" policy for all who engage OGE for questions or who want to 

provide input. 

The OGE Director does not have a law enforcement role. Nonetheless, if confirmed as 

Director I would play a critical role with and for the Executive Branch's inspector 

general programs, initiatives, and at times- investigations. In this way I would ensure 

that breaches of the ethics wall against non-compliance are fully addressed, and that the 

wall stands firm. I would also ensure that OGE's outward-facing programs and policies, 

to include its mission to monitor agency compliance with its standards of conduct and 

disclosure rules, remain practical, relevant, and viable in times of ever-changing 

financial instruments as well as diminishing personnel and budgetary resources. In this 

regard, I would ensure that OGE's rules and mandates focus on and realistically address 

preventing and resolving conflicts of interest. 

II. What is your philosophy on OGE's role in deterring ethical misconduct by federal 

employees? 

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In my opinion, it is better to prevent ethical misconduct than correct or punish violations 

after the fact. I would seek to ensure deterrence through strong training programs for 

ethics officials across the Executive Branch, who in turn train senior leaders through 

front-line employees. Experience teaches that most ethics violations occur out of 

ignorance and carelessness rather than focused intent; therefore, education initiatives are 

critical. It is also critical that Executive Branch leaders in tum foster an ethical culture in 

their agencies by themselves acting in compliance with the ethics laws and rules. Any err 

must be on the side of"over-compliance" rather than testing any limits. The optics of 

good behavior are often more important to a strong ethics culture than mere technical 

compliance. 

12. If confirmed, what proactive steps will OGE take to ensure compliance with executive 

branch ethics laws and rules? 

I plan to meet with agency heads and DAEOs, at their agencies, to discuss my deeply 

held belief that the agency head must provide strong "top-down" leadership in support of 

the various ethics initiatives within his or her agency. I would re-iterate that the agency 

head must personally comply with the ethics laws and standards of conduct. I would reemphasize that the agency head must also demand high ethical standards of the agency's 

senior leadership and foster an ethical culture throughout the agency. I would encourage 

that the agency's ethics programs be provided the resource support they need, as a strong 

signal that the "tone from the top" supports the agency's ethics programs and initiatives. 

As an agency, OGE would continue its commitments to agency ethics officials through 

training, advice, and counseling initiatives and would provide assistance to IGs and other 

executive branch entities. OGE senior leadership would continue to meet with DAEOs 

and IGs, one-on-one and in group sessions, to listen to their concerns and work to resolve 

systemic weaknesses in the ethics program. I would task OGE's staff to take yet another 

look at OGE's website, to determine if there are ways to better OGE's outreach 

initiatives and better educate employees as to the standards of conduct rules. 

13. What in your view is the role of the President in supporting the work of OGE, implementing 

OGE's recommendations, and ensuring compliance with executive branch ethics laws and 

rules? 

I have always been a firm believer in a "from-the-top" ethics culture. I believe that a 

President must demand high ethical standards of his or her senior leadership who in turn 

foster a strong ethical culture throughout the Executive Branch. I believe that the 

government's senior leadership must strongly support and encourage any rulemaking or 

resource requests that serve to enhance OGE and agency ethics programs. In my opinion, 

a President should take a significant leadership interest in, and be a strong supporter of, 

the various ethics initiatives within the Executive Branch. 

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14. What in your view is the role of an agency head in supporting the work of OGE, 

implementing OGE's recommendations, and ensuring compliance with executive branch 

ethics laws and rules? 

As discussed above, I firmly believe that an agency head must provide strong "topdown" leadership in support of the various ethics initiatives within his or her agency, 

personally comply with the ethics laws and standards of conduct, demand high ethical 

standards of the agency's senior leadership, and foster an ethical culture throughout the 

agency, and provide the agency's ethics programs with the resource support they need. I 

have always been a firm believer that an agency head must demand high ethical standards 

of his or her leadership team, which in turn establishes a strong ethical culture throughout 

the agency. I also believe that an agency head must take a significant leadership interest 

in, and be a strong supporter of, the various agency ethics initiatives. 

Independence 

15. Do you agree that OGE should function independently of the White House? 

Yes. OGE's Director must serve as the "honest broker" within the ethics community. 

The Director must have the courage to take an unpopular or painful stand or make a 

difficult and painful decision when needed, to ensure that the integrity of the Executive 

Branch remains intact. The Director must provide good as well as bad news, and the best 

resolution to any given set of issues. 

16. Do you believe that you can be independent from this White House and, when necessary, 

hold it accountable? 

I believe that I can serve independently from the White House if confirmed as the OGE 

Director, and I would do so to the best of my ability. I would hold accountable any 

Executive Branch employee and/or entity, as would be my responsibility under the Ethics 

in Government Act (EIGA). I have the personal integrity and strength to make the hard 

decision without regard to any personal ramifications that another might fear. If 

confirmed as OGE's Director I fully intend to use each and every tool available and 

appropriate, including transparency, to ensure that OGE best addresses such issues as 

arise and demand OGE's action. I would determine the best tool to use case-by-case, as 

circumstances warrant. 

I understand that OGE is an agency within the Executive Branch and that its Director 

does report directly to the President- but I pledge to provide honest advice and 

recommendations as an advocate for public integrity, with the full independence I can 

enjoy as a public servant of so many years. I firmly believe that OGE's mission to 

prevent conflicts of interest within the Executive Branch is and must remain one that is 

independent and politically-neutral. To act otherwise would compromise the efficacy of 

its mission and diminish the ethics community. To provide the neutral voice towards a 

correct resolution of any given issue would be one of my paramount responsibilities if 

confirmed as OGE's Director. 

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17. If confirmed, what steps will you take to ensure that you and OGE employees' work is 

independent from the Administration? 

As Director I would be the honest broker and would be steadfast and constant in 

providing impartial opinions and recommendations, as steward ofOGE and its missions. 

This would best protect the integrity of the government and its individual employees. I 

would ensure decisional transparency and communication with issue participants and 

stakeholders, the key ingredients to an agency's independence. I have served the public 

for over four decades, and I firmly believe in public service and public integrity. I would 

say "Yes" when I can and "No" when I must. 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would not advance any given Administration's policies 

that do not serve to strengthen the Executive Branch's standards of conduct policies and 

programs. I would stand guard against any attempts to lessen any ethics programs' 

viability and resolve, to ensure integrity in government. I would not be shy in my support 

for and protection ofOGE's programmatic responsibilities, and to this end I would when 

needed provide or publish advice and policies that may be politically unpopular, when 

need be. 

18. If confirmed, what would you do if the administration fails to take action against a White 

House appointee, Cabinet official, or agency head who has clearly violated the conflict of 

interest laws, the Ethics in Government Act, or the Standards of Conduct? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would use every appropriate proactive procedural and 

transparency tool necessary to ensure that Executive Branch officials are accountable to 

and comply with the conflict of interest laws, the EIGA, and the standards of conduct. 

OGE reviews the financial disclosure reports and ethics agreements of senior officials to 

discover and resolve potential issues, and works with agency ethics officials to ensure 

compliance. OGE conducts agency program reviews to maintain programmatic success. 

OGE coordinates with the IG community and the Justice Department to the extent there 

may be a violation of a criminal statute. If confirmed as OGE's Director I would also in 

an appropriate matter correspond with the agency head and/or with the White House to 

seek such action and assistance is necessary to protect and preserve the Executive 

Branch's ethical integrity. 

To this end, if confirmed as OGE's Director I would use to the fullest extent possible my 

EIGA authority to, when necessary and to the extent needed, order corrective action on 

the part of an agency and/or an employee, and require pertinent report(s) from an agency 

to ensure that appropriate action was taken. The OGE Director is prohibited by law from 

making a finding that a criminal law has been violated- ifthere is such information, the 

Director would notify the appropriate IG or the Justice Department. Nonetheless, 

regarding a matter involving an individual officer and employee, if confirmed as OGE's 

Director I intend to aggressively carry out the Director's responsibilities set out in 

subsection (b)(9) of section 402 ofthe EIGA, as enumerated in subsection (e)(2)(A) of 

section 402. When circumstances warrant, I would recommend to the employee's 

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agency head that the agency investigate a possible violation of the ethics laws and rules, 

and take any appropriate action. When the agency head has failed to act on my 

recommendation to conduct an investigation, or if it is the agency head himself or herself 

who is of concern, I would make the appropriate recommendation to, and seek action 

from, the President. Ifl order specific action to end a violation, and there is not 

compliance, then I would promptly notifY the agency head or the President, as 

appropriate. 

a. If no action is taken to address an ethics violation, will you commit to publicly 

disclosing the violation (except when doing so would undermine an ongoing 

investigation)? 

I would commit to disclose an ethics violation only when it is appropriate to do 

so. It may be appropriate under a given set of circumstances that OGE should 

(and is legally able) to properly publicly disclose its concerns, such as when there 

is a letter to an agency head or ethics official. Such correspondence may regard 

further agency inquiry into a matter, when OGE, in its supervisory role, deems 

it is necessary, such as when a potential ethics issue is currently receiving close 

media attention and public scrutiny. 

Any public disclosures by OGE while I am its Director, if confirmed, would be 

determined on a case-by-case basis, to ensure fairness and to protect individual 

rights to the extent appropriate. To the extent that unethical conduct might extend 

to criminal conduct which should be addressed by law enforcement authorities, 

OGE would maintain confidentiality. With regard to ethical conduct that extends 

to standards of conduct violations that are not criminal, OGE would continue to 

exercise the level of discretion appropriate to what is, all things considered, a 

personnel issue that is normally determined at the agency level. 

19. How would you handle disagreement with the Office of the White House Counsel regarding 

interpreting or applying ethics laws and rules? 

OGE must be the final arbiter of its own rules, and if confirmed as Director I would 

ensure that this independence remains strong, even with respect to the Office of the 

White House Counsel. OGE's decisions as to the meaning and application of an ethics 

law and rule must be the single authoritative determination, to ensure the viability of the 

Executive Branch's ethics program. This approach would foster the public's confidence 

in its government, to the extent that OGE maintains steadfast as the non-partisan honest 

broker of government ethics. 

There will be occasions when OGE and an agency may disagree as to the interpretation 

or application of an ethics rule. That is to be expected and at times encouraged, to ensure 

that the ethics rules evolve to better protect the efficacy of Executive Branch ethics 

program. If confirmed as OGE's Director I would personally discuss any disagreements 

with the White House Counsel and/or his ethics official, as I would with any other 

agency's senior ethics official. If there is no agreeable resolution, I would maintain 

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OGE's determinative position as the correct and only ruling. This would ensure the 

across-the-board integrity of the Executive Branch's ethics program. 

Management 

20. What do you consider to be the principal challenges facing management at OGE? 

The lack of sufficient resources to fully accomplish the agency's mission is perhaps the 

principal challenge facing management at OGE. 

OGE is still not reauthorized- which itself disrupts the agency's and the ethics program's 

efficacy and relevancy - and, in context with the growing interest in and concerns 

regarding government ethics, is under-funded, under-staffed, over-missioned, and to a 

great extent under-appreciated. 

Over the years OGE has done more with less. Recent events underscore that government 

ethics is no longer a "backwater" of government- to the extent that less may no longer 

be enough to permit more. Financial disclosure reports are increasingly more 

complicated and so need more attention and time-consuming review. The legal issues for 

agency attorneys are becoming more difficult and research more intense, while more 

questions are posed as the program's visibility increases. Requests for information from 

outside sources have increased exponentially. Important Congressional inquiries must be 

answered, but further re-direct resources. 

OGE's staff is dedicated to completing its mission, whatever it takes to do so- but 

OGE's management must tackle how to do more (or at least "enough") with budgets that 

do not keep pace with the ever-increasing demands on OGE. 

21. Do you consider OGE to be adequately resourced and staffed to fulfill its mission? If not, 

how would you advocate to ensure OGE has the necessary resources? 

As discussed above, I do not consider OGE sufficiently resourced and staffed. "Ethics" 

is growing as a functional area fully integrated into the fabric of governing, and OGE's 

staff and resources need to keep up. I estimate a 25% increase of its present budget to be 

necessary. To this end if I am confirmed as Director, OGE would seek White House and 

Office of Management and Budget support of an increased budgetary request. 

22. How would cuts from OGE's budget impact the agency's work to ensure ethical compliance 

throughout government? 

OGE, from my perspective, is nearly at the tipping point of having to do less with less. 

Such a dilemma could have a negative impact on the actual oversight of the Executive 

Branch's ethics programs. Further cuts could also serve to send the unfortunate and 

short-sighted message to the Executive Branch and its employees that OGE's ethics 

initiatives and programs are not as important as they should be perceived. 

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23. If confinned, do you pledge to implement recommendations made by the Government 

Accountability Office? 

Yes 

24. Are you aware of any systemic weaknesses facing OGE programs and operations? Where 

would you prioritize your attention? 

I am aware of the significant work by OGE's most recent confirmed Director to address 

any systemic issues that may have existed. I am convinced that OGE's current programs 

and operations remain systemically healthy. My concern, so my priority, is that the 

resources needed to continue OGE's strength and viability in what seems to be an everchanging ethics environment are enhanced to the extent needed. 

25. OGE recently released its strategic plan. Please describe how, under your leadership, the 

agency will: 

a. Advance a strong, uniform executive branch ethics program; 

If confirmed as OGE's Director I intend to fully embrace and enhance OGE's 

Desk Officer-Agency consultative initiatives. I would continue to support OGE's 

electronic financial disclosure system availabilities, by way of training and 

support services. I would ensure prompt responses to requests for expert 

assistance and fully support direct outreach efforts toward key stakeholders (to 

include Congress, executive branch investigative and enforcement communities, 

and OGE's international counterparts) whose activities intersect with the ethics 

program. 

If confinned, l would ensure that OGE has the necessary resources to continue to 

provide a variety of professional development opportunities, including targeted 

intensive training, distance learning technologies, and the National Government 

Ethics Summit. OGE would continue to publish legal and program advisories, to 

provide interpretive guidance on legal and program requirements. 

As Director, I would meet weekly with senior leadership within OGE and 

periodically with the Executive Branch ethics community to ensure that OGE's 

programmatic initiatives meet stakeholder needs, to the extent that resources 

allow. I would ensure that any concerns and/or recommendations that 

stakeholders might have are addressed. To the extent that resources are not 

adequate to successfully address OGE's goals, I would strongly request budgetary 

rei ief to the extent appropriate. 

b. Hold the executive branch accountable for carrying out an effective ethics program; 

If confirmed, I would periodically meet with senior leadership within the 

Executive Branch ethics community to ensure that OGE's goals and initiatives are 

understood and meet the needs of the ethics community. Program reviews would 

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be undertaken on an accelerated schedule- on a four-year cycle (or on a threeyear cycle if resource-feasible) instead of the current five-year-cycle, to ensure 

that agency programs fully protect employee and institutional integrity. I would 

seek out-of-cycle program reviews if! perceive that an agency's program is in 

distress, in a time-sensitive support role. OGE would continue to ensure that 

Executive Branch leaders confirmed by the Senate remain free of conflicts of 

interest after taking office, by way of its dynamic ethics agreement tracking 

initiatives. I would establish a "Tiger Team" ofOGE experts who would be 

readily available to assist an agency who may need immediate assistance. 

c. Contribute to the continuity of senior leadership in the executive branch; and 

If confirmed, I would ensure that OGE's Presidential transition initiatives would 

continue to be at the forefront of programmatic responsibilities. OGE's strong 

focus on the success ofthis program is well known, and would continue, to ensure 

that any future Administration is ready from day one. This is critical to ensure 

that an Administration begins its governance without the impediment of ethics 

issues and constraints regarding its senior leadership. Planning, coordination, and 

cooperation- early and often- with candidates, as well as an incoming 

Administration, is and would be critical to the success of this endeavor. As 

Director (if confirmed) I would meet with transition stakeholders, to include the 

Senate, as early as practicable, and throughout the transition, to ensure that OGE 

is meeting customer needs and OGE goals. 

d. Engage the public in overseeing government integrity. 

I would continue OGE's current transparency, communication, and outreach 

initiatives. 

I strongly believe that transparency that allows for critical outside review of 

OGE's programs and public financial disclosure documents is a key reason OGE 

exists. In my opinion, transparency promotes the public's confidence in the 

integrity of its government as it fosters necessary critical public review ofOGE's 

programs. I believe that public engagement is critically important, especially 

considering that EIGA and its various ethics mandates and regulatory progeny 

were created to ensure the public's informed confidence in its government's 

integrity, across the branches. It is critical that the public fully understands what 

action OGE recommends or takes regarding such cases which from time-to-time 

arise that rightly have the public's attention. I fully support OGE's Strategic Plan 

objectives to better refine its communication efforts across a broader spectrum 

and to make publicly available even more datasets of information. 

To this end, if confirmed as OGE's Director, I would work with OGE's staff to 

review OGE's current public engagement initiatives to learn how OGE's outreach 

can be even stronger, subject to fiscal and other resource constraints. 

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26. How would you attract and retain individuals with the necessary experience, education, 

skills, and independence to fulfill OGE's mission? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would ensure that OGE maintains its reputation as a 

good, people-friendly environment to work, notwithstanding its dynamic pace and 

professionally challenging mission. OGE has had no difficulties attracting and retaining 

top-notch professionals, and indeed has been able to "cherry pick" the very best 

individuals from the ranks of seasoned practitioners as well as recent graduates. This 

success is evident in the current OGE staff. If confirmed as OGE Director, I would also 

maintain vigilance to ensure that OGE is adequately staffed; I estimated above that a 25% 

increase of its present budget may be necessary to match staffing needs with OGE's everincreasing government footprint. To this end as Director I would seek White House and 

Office of Management and Budget support of an increased budgetary request. 

a. Based on your experience, what priority would you place on developing OGE's 

workforce and how would you emphasize continuous learning within the agency? 

Professional development and ethics training is a key OGE priority. My chief 

developmental priority would be to seek budgetary enhancement to increase 

the amount of outside training opportunities for each OGE employee. There has 

perhaps never been a higher level of ethics expertise within OGE as exists now. It 

is important to me that OGE's staff remains well-trained. 

It is also important to me that OGE's staff continue to hone their professional 

skills outside an ethics expertise, such as regards leadership, management, 

writing, presentation, and communication. It further is important that each OGE 

employee be exposed to the "practice of ethics" outside of the government. This 

would provide the employee a better breadth of knowledge, experience and 

overall understanding of"ethics" across the spectrum of institutions. 

With an enhanced budget that would increase the number ofOGE staff members, 

I would also seek to trade detailees between OGE and other agencies for crosstraining purposes, to help foster a better understanding of the application of the 

ethics rules at an agency level. 

27. What experience do you have in acquisition policy and management that would guide you in 

the role ofOGE Director? 

Under my supervision while the Acting Director ofOGE's Internal Operations Division 

from 2013-2015, a major IT Refresh Project was completed on time and within budget; a 

new agency-wide telephone system was contracted for and rolled-out, with minimum 

impact to OGE's staff customers; OGE's HVAC system for its IT data center equipment 

was contracted for and successfully installed; and OGE's IOD staff continued to work 

closely with the agency's website contractors. 

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In 2010, I attended and successfully completed the two-week long Government Contract 

Attorney's Course in residence at the Army's Judge Advocate Legal Center in 

Charlottesville, Virginia. 

28. In its agency profile and annual budget submissions, OGE has highlighted the extensive work 

it has done to streamline and standardized its procedures. If confirmed, will you focus on 

maintaining and continuing to enhance OGE's processes, including standardized procedures, 

record-keeping systems, management controls for financial accountability, etc.? 

I would focus on maintaining and continuing to enhance OGE's processes if confirmed as 

OGE's Director, as I believe that to be a core responsibility. OGE has always sought the 

better ways of doing business, to more effectively complete its mission to prevent 

conflicts of interest. I would as Director ensure that this continues to be true. As an 

agency head I would fully embrace the inherent and "top of the list" responsibility that 

OGE be able to complete its mission. This duty includes the corollary that OGE's 

mission must be accomplished in the most efficient way possible, as I would be always 

mindful of my role as a steward of the public's financial (taxpayer) support. Given my 

experience as the head ofOGE's Internal Operations Division, I am particularly sensitive 

and committed to enhancing the agency's internal processes and standardizing its 

external procedures, management controls, and record-keeping. 

29. In its agency profile and annual budget submissions, OGE has highlighted its strong and 

innovative training program for agency ethics officials. If confirmed, will you commit to 

sustaining and/or increasing OGE's ethics training program? 

Yes. Much ofOGE's success in its promotion of standards of conduct to Executive 

Branch employees has historically been, continues to be, and would remain under my 

stewardship, significantly due to OGE's world-class training programs. 

30. In recent years, OGE has managed to present at ethics conferences locally in the D.C. area 

for a fraction of the cost of its past conferences in other regions. If confirmed, will you 

commit to continuing this practice or finding comparable means to cut the cost of 

conferences? 

Yes. The low-cost with high-value success of these local conferences is evidence that 

this initiative has proven to be well-worth continuing. 

Information Technology 

31. If confirmed, what steps will you take to bolster information technology infrastructure at 

OGE? 

I would support whatever advances can be made to OGE's IT capabilities, subject to 

budgetary constraints. As a former Acting Chief ofOGE's Internal Operations Division, 

which includes overall responsibility for the agency's IT infrastructure, I am particularly 

sensitive to IT needs. OGE is currently undergoing another refresh of its IT capabilities, 

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but as technology advances so must OGE, so I would support OGE's ongoing planning as 

to both equipment and staffing needs. 

32. If confirmed, will you commit to making IT security a priority, especially the security of 

OGE's e-filing system, Integrity? 

Yes. If confirmed as Director, IT security and the safety ofOGE's electronic systems 

would continue to be one of my paramount concerns. 

33. If confirmed, will you commit to work to identify and implement reasonable executive 

branch best practices for IT security? 

Yes. If confirmed as Director, IT security and the safety ofOGE's electronic systems 

would continue to be one of my paramount concerns. 

34. If confirmed, will you commit to recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of IT experts on 

OGE's staff? 

Yes 

35. If confirmed, will you continue to allow agencies to use Integrity free of charge? 

Subject to the availability of funds, I intend to continue to allow agencies to use Integrity 

free of charge and I intend to advocate for the resources to keep it free. 

36. If confirmed, will you make it a priority to keep Integrity updated with evolving technology 

and user experience best practices? 

;Yes. I have learned first-hand, as a filer and a reviewer, the value ofOGE's Integrity 

initiatives, and it would be a top priority of mine if confirmed as Director to keep 

Integrity updated with evolving technology and user experience best practices. 

Whistleblower Protections 

37. Please describe any previous experience-in the public or private sector-with handling 

whistleblower complaints, and what steps you took to ensure those individuals did not face 

retaliation and that their claims were thoroughly investigated. 

I have not in my career been faced with a whistleblower complaint that I needed to 

address as a manager. As a public servant for over four decades it was my honor to 

protect the rights of any other public servant who might perceive a wrong and bring it to 

iny attention. Even when I was assigned by the Navy as a special counsel to investigate a 

sailor's complaint concerning the misuse of used aircraft parts, I ensured that every 

protection was given the whistleblower as well as to the "accused" during the course of 

my inquiries. 

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38. If confirmed, how will you ensure that whistleblower complaints are properly investigated 

and what specific steps will you take to ensure that OGE employees feel free to report waste, 

fraud, and abuse to senior leadership, including you, the IG, and to Congress without fear of 

reprisal? 

I believe in an "open door" for each and every employee- this is how teamwork best 

succeeds in a small but dynamic environment of fully engaged and trained professionals 

with a complex mission. I enjoy receiving constructive feedback and would continue to 

encourage employees to speak their minds and/or voice their concerns, whatever might 

be the issue. I would personally seek to foster an environment in which there exists no 

fear of, and where there is zero-opportunity for, reprisal as to anyone who does express 

their constructive views. Also, I enjoy walking OGE's corridors and talking to everyone 

on the staff, which has come to know me as a concerned person readily accessible and 

approachable. 

The watchwords would be "see something, say something;" any and all allegations of 

fraud, waste, and abuse would be swiftly and thoroughly investigated. In tum, 

whistleblower retaliation would simply not be tolerated within OGE; any such allegations 

would also be quickly and thoroughly investigated. 

Transparency 

39. As a matter of practice, OGE voluntarily posts ethics-related documents and information on 

its website. In select cases, OGE identifies the names of documents and enables the public to 

submit requests directly through its website. Please describe how you would continue to 

provide the American people with transparency by making ethics related information 

publicly available. 

I would continue OGE's current transparency, communication, and outreach initiatives. 

believe that transparency that allows for critical outside review ofOGE's programs and 

public financial disclosure documents is a key reason OGE exists. For example, public 

financial disclosure is one ofOGE's critical missions. It is critical that the public fully 

understand what action OGE recommends or takes regarding such cases which from 

time-to-time arise that rightly have the public's attention. 

40. To ensure the effective and efficient operation of the executive branch ethics program, what 

additional authorities does OGE need, if any, to collect ethics information and records, in 

particular in instances where executive branch officials are noncompliant? 

There have been recommendations recently made that OGE be granted additional 

authorities to collect information and records, such as limited subpoena power. In my 

opinion, OGE has had great success in collecting such data and information that it needs 

to meet its leadership and oversight responsibilities with its current authorities. Should 

any additional collection authorities be provided by law, OGE would use that authority as 

necessary based on the circumstances. 

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41. In your view, how important is transparency to the executive branch ethics program? 

I believe that transparency promotes the public's confidence in the integrity of its 

government as it fosters necessary critical public review ofOGE's programs. I would 

continue OGE's current strong transparency, communication, and outreach initiatives. 

42. If confirmed, what steps will you take to increase the transparency of the ethics program? 

OGE's extensive current transparency initiatives would continue if! am confirmed as 

OGE's Director. As digital media capabilities evolve so would OGE's initiatives. I 

firmly believe that the public's ability to fully understand its government and the 

Executive Branch's ethics program is vital to the public's confidence in governing 

officials. 

43. Will you commit to publicly announcing any changes in OGE's legal interpretations and 

practices, particularly those related to the resolution of conflicts of interest by presidential 

nominees? 

Yes. Viable personnel standards of conduct and conflict of interest policies and 

procedures do not work well in a vacuum or behind closed doors. A fully visible ethics 

program, to the extent practicable, that is open to public view and review is important to 

ensure consistency and public confidence in the ethics program and government actions. 

44. OGE currently posts the reports of its program reviews on its website, as well as the reports 

of follow-up reviews (i.e., follow-up action to see if agencies have implemented OGE's 

recommendations). Will you continue these practices if confirmed? 

Yes. OGE's current practices in this regard would be continued. I would also review the 

current processes with a view to enhancing these practices, to the extent practicable. 

45. OGE's prior Director adopted a policy of posting all FOIA responses online, with only a 

narrow exception for OGE's responses to individuals seeking records about themselves on 

OGE's website. Will you continue this practice if confirmed? 

Yes. OGE's current practices in this regard would be continued. I would also review the 

current processes with a view to enhancing these practices, to the extent practicable. 

46. OGE previously adopted a policy of posting ethics agreement compliance certification forms 

on OGE's website. These forms include signed certifications by Senate-confirmed appointees 

as to their compliance with their nominee ethics agreements. They also include useful details 

that allow outside watchdogs to validate aspects of their compliance. Will you commit to 

continuing these practice if confirmed? 

Yes. OGE's current practices in this regard would be continued. I would also review the 

current processes with a view to enhancing these practices, to the extent practicable. 

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47. OGE currently posts on its websites agencies' raw responses to OGE's Annual Agency 

Ethics Program Questionnaire. Will you continue this practice if confirmed? 

Yes. OGE's current practices in this regard would be continued. I would also review the 

current processes with a view to enhancing these practices, to the extent practicable. 

48. If confirmed, will you actively seek to identify new documents and data sets that OGE can 

release proactively on its website? 

Yes. OGE must be and would continue to be at the "cutting-edge" of good government 

initiatives. I would continue to seek additional ways for OGE to be proactively 

transparent, if I am confirmed. 

49. If confirmed, will you commit to undertaking efforts to collect and post each of the following 

new data sets on OGE's website? If not, why not? 

I would commit as an early priority, if confirmed, to a full review and a comprehensive 

evaluation of each of these items to consider what more OGE should collect and publish. 

I fully concur with and would support the commitments in OGE's Open Government 

Plan to make "information resources accessible, discoverable, and usable" and "to 

proactively disclose information to advance transparency, accountability, and openness." 

a. Records of Senate-confirmed appointees' initial ethics briefings, pursuant to 5 C.F.R. 

§ 2638.305; 

b. Records of Senate-confirmed appointees' new employee training, pursuant to 5 

C.F.R. § 2635.304; 

c. Records of Senate-confirmed appointees' annual ethics training, pursuant to 5 C.F.R. 

§ 2638.308; 

d. Records of White House appointees' new employee training, pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 

2635.304; 

e. Records of White House appointees' annual ethics training, pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 

2638.308; 

f. Waivers of the criminal conflict of interest law pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 208; 

g. Waivers exempting Presidential appointees from the revolving door recusal 

requirements pursuant to Executive Order 13770, section 3 (Jan. 28, 20 17); 

h. Authorizations exempting Presidential appointees from the revolving door recusal 

requirements pursuant to 5 C.F.R. §2635.502(d); 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 27 
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i. Waivers of extraordinary payment recusal obligations issued to any employee, 

pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 2635.503; 

j. Waivers of financial disclosure filing requirements, pursuant to 5 C.F.R. § 2634.205; 

k. Designations of Designated Agency Ethics Officials and Alternate Designated 

Agency Ethics Officials; and 

I. Data provided to OGE by agencies regarding their processing of public financial 

disclosure reports, pursuant to OGE Program Advisory PA-15-0 I, Section IV and 

Appendix 521. 

50. What other data sets would you consider releasing? 

I would commit as an early priority, if I am confirmed, to a continuing review and 

evaluation of such other data sets that OGE may seek and, if collected, may be amenable 

to posting. I support OGE's Open Government Plan in this regard. 

Ethics Policy 

51. During the most recent presidential transition, the possibility of presidential conflicts of 

interest was raised as a concern. Some ethics experts recommend that before a presidential 

election, presidential candidates should submit plans outlining how they would resolve their 

conflicts of interest. Do you agree with this recommendation? If not, why not? 

If confirmed, I would always advocate that- as a matter of course any candidate 

consider any potential conflicts of interest or impartiality issues that might arise upon his 

or her election. It is a matter of long-standing OGE policy that the President and the Vice 

President should conduct themselves as if they were bound by the conflict of interest laws 

and the standards of conduct. The public financial disclosure report submitted by a 

candidate to the Federal Election Commission and then to OGE provides public 

transparency into the candidate's holdings and, under my leadership if confirmed, OGE 

would stand ready to help identify, analyze, and provide candidates every opportunity to 

discuss potential conflict and impartiality issues and provide support on potential ways to 

resolve them. 

52. Do you believe privately-held companies that are owned or controlled by a single family 

present unique challenges not necessarily addressed in the existing conflict of interest laws? 

I do believe this presents unique challenges; however, most often, existing remedies 

(such as divestiture or recusal) are sufficient to resolve conflict concerns as to privatelyheld companies that are owned or controlled by a single family. OGE would, if! am 

confirmed, further consider the ramifications of such ownership challenges as regards to 

the ethics rules. 

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53. Setting aside the legal issues, do you think there are some circumstances in which an 

executive branch employee could be influenced by his/her beneficial interests in a 

discretionary trust? 

I do think that there may be some circumstances in which an executive branch employee 

could be influenced by his/her beneficial interests in a discretionary trust. This is a 

complex legal area which OGE has been studying, and further research and consideration 

may be required to ensure that any OGE determination and guidance does not have any 

unintended consequences. I fully understand the increasing interest and concern 

regarding this issue. The promulgation ofOGE guidance will be an early and top OGE 

priority ifi am confirmed- at least, perhaps, to provide a set of pertinent factors that 

ethics officials should consider when reviewing discretionary trusts on a case-by-case 

basis. 

54. Will you commit to notifYing the committee, before your confirmation hearing, as to the 

status ofOGE's study of discretionary trusts and whether OGE has consulted DOJ regarding 

this issue? 

Although I cannot provide non public information, I can highlight that OGE has publicly 

disclosed that it is studying and gathering further information on this complex question. 

a. Will you commit to studying this issue and to being transparent about its findings 

within a reasonable period of time? 

If confirmed as Director, I would continue studying this issue and would publicly 

disseminate findings once they are final. 

Ethics Pledge 

55. Executive Order 13770 rescinded Executive Order 13490 and established a new ethics pledge 

for political appointees of the Trump administration. It includes a waiver provision at section 

3. What legal standard do you read that order to establish with respect to the issuance of a 

waiver? 

Regarding questions 55 through 59: I am aware ofOGE's positions on these issues to the 

extent discussed and reflected in OGE's Legal Advisories LA-17-02 and LA-17-03; in 

the OGE Director's response to a Senate inquiry in a letter dated June 13, 2017; in a letter 

from OGE's Acting Director to Senator McCaskill dated August 7, 2017; in OGE's 

Program Advisory PA-17-02; and in OGE's "Special Review of Executive Branch 

Agency Waivers and Authorizations" in September 2017. If confirmed, I would of 

course consider any new issues or concerns regarding the Ethics Pledge as appropriate at 

that time. 

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56. Based on the Executive Order as written and any written guidance issued by the White House 

or OGE, what procedural criteria have been established that would require the President or 

his designee to deny a waiver? 

Please see my response to question 55 through 59 above. 

57. Based on the Executive Order as written and any written guidance issued by the White House 

or OGE, what substantive criteria have been established that would require the President or 

his designee to deny a waiver? 

Please see my response to question 55 through 59 above. 

58. Are Presidential appointees of the Obama administration who signed the ethics pledge under 

Executive Order 13490 subject to the 2-year post-employment recusal established in that 

order now that it has been rescinded? 

Please see my response to question 55 through 59 above. 

a. What is the legal basis for your answer? 

b. Did OGE consult with DOJ on this matter? 

59. Are any Presidential appointees of the Trump administration who signed the ethics pledge 

under Executive Order I 3490 (prior to issuance of Executive Order 13770 on January 28, 

2017) subject to the 2-year post-employment recusal established in Executive Order 13490 

now that the order has been rescinded? 

Please see my response to question 55 through 59 above. 

a. What is the legal basis for your answer? 

b. Did OGE consult with DOJ on this matter? 

c. If Trump appointees are being treated differently than Obama appointees, what would 

be the rationale? 

OGE Public Outreach 

60. OGE has issued only two formal advisory opinions in its 40-year history. The rest ofOGE's 

guidance has consisted of informal advisory opinions. However, OGE issued new regulations 

at 5 C.F.R. part 2638, which became effective as of January I, 2017. These new regulations 

clarify the process for issuing formal opinions. 

a. Why does OGE issue informal advisory opinions instead of formal ones? 

Although I cannot authoritatively speak for past or current OGE leadership, I surmise that 

over the years, it was simply more efficient and more timely for OGE to issue an 

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infonnal rather than a formal advisory opinion due to the number of considerations and 

consultations that need to be made before a formal advisory opinion may be issued. The 

following procedural steps and considerations serve to illustrate the level of difficulty: 

• In detennining whether to issue a formal advisory opinion, the 

Director must consider the uniqueness of the question and its precedential 

value; the potential number of employees who may be affected by the 

question; how often the question arises; whether there are inconsistent 

interpretations on the same question by different agencies; and the 

interests of the executive branch ethics program. 

• There are also a number of procedural steps that need to take place even 

before OGE may receive a DAEO's request for a fonnal advisory opinion. 

Once at OGE, and before OGE publishes an opinion, OGE must solicit 

written comments by posting a notice on its official Web site; consult with 

the Department of Justice, as needed; and consult with other executive 

branch officials when the Director deems necessary. 

b. If confirmed as Director, would you be willing to use the process for issuing fonnal 

advisory opinions? Why or why not? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I fully intend to use each and every tool available and 

appropriate to ensure that OGE best addresses such issues as they arise and require an 

OGE opinion. I would detennine the best tool to use on a case-by-case basis, as 

circumstances warrant. I would consider using this process in a case involving an 

eligible person when it would be appropriate to issue formal guidance. 

61. How important do you consider engagement with the general public, through outreach, social 

media, or other means, with regard to OGE's ethics program? 

I believe that public engagement is critically important, especially considering that EIGA 

was created to ensure the public's informed confidence in its government's integrity, 

across the branches. If confirmed, I would continue OGE's current transparency, 

communication, and outreach initiatives. l believe that transparency that allows for 

critical outside review ofOGE's programs and public financial disclosure documents is a 

key reason OGE exists; for example, public financial disclosure is one ofOGE's critical 

missions. It is also critical that the public fully understands what action OGE 

recommends or takes regarding cases that come to the public's attention. 

I fully support OGE's Strategic Plan objectives to better refine its communication efforts 

across a broader spectrum and to make publicly available even more datasets of 

infonnation. To this end, if confirmed as OGE's Director I would work with OGE's staff 

to review OGE's current public engagement initiatives to detennine how OGE's outreach 

can be made stronger, subject to fiscal and other resource constraints. 

a. What purpose do you believe public engagement serves for OGE? 

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Public engagement serves OGE's mission by providing the public confidence that 

policies and procedures are in place to ensure integrity in governance. OGE's 

public engagement serves the public's understanding of its government by way of 

readily-available information, and other discourse. To the extent that public 

engagement informs OGE it is most valuable, such as when OGE drafts a new 

regulation or change to a regulation after comment from many stakeholders, 

including the public. 

b. What specific steps would you take in terms of public engagement? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would continue to seek to enhance OGE's 

current transparency, communication, and outreach initiatives. 

To this end, if confirmed I would, with OGE's staff, review OGE's current public 

engagement initiatives to determine how OGE's outreach can be even stronger, 

subject to fiscal and other resource constraints. OGE has an active 

Communications Team that is fully committed to the agency's very effective 

transparency efforts. Useful information is posted and readily-available to the 

public on its website. Timely responses are provided to ever-increasing numbers 

of requests under the Freedom oflnformation Act (FOIA). OGE responds to the 

many questions and requests made to its ContactOGE email address and 

telephone line. 

One of my first priorities if confirmed as Director would be to seek further fulltime employee resources to support an enhanced Communications Team, to 

include additional trained and dedicated Public Affairs and FOIA processing staff 

members. 

62. If confirmed, will you disclose publicly any concerns you develop over unethical conduct on 

the part of senior administration officials or would you address these concerns 

confidentially? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director I fully intend to use each and every tool available as 

appropriate, including transparency, to ensure that OGE best addresses such issues as 

they arise and demand OGE's action. I would determine the best tool to use on a caseby-case basis, as circumstances warrant. 

a. Would your answer change if your efforts inside the government yielded no 

corrective action by the Administration? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would use every appropriate proactive procedural and 

transparency tool necessary to ensure that Executive Branch officials are accountable to, 

and comply with, the conflict of interest laws, the EIGA, and the standards of conduct. I 

would disclose unethical conduct to the public when it is appropriate to do so. Any 

public disclosures by OGE while I am its Director, if confirmed, would be determined on 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 32 
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a case-by-case basis to ensure fairness and to protect individual rights to the extent 

appropriate. 

OGE Program Reviews 

63. Will you commit to establishing a goal of completing one full cycle of program reviews of all 

executive branch agencies in four years? 

Yes. Program reviews would be undertaken on an accelerated four-year schedule instead 

of the current five-year-cycle to ensure that agency programs fully protect employee and 

institutional integrity. If confirmed, my goal would be to undertake program reviews on 

a three-year cycle, subject to resource limitations. 

a. If so, what proactive measures will you take, if confirmed, to ensure that you meet 

this goal? 

If confirmed, I would to the extent possible enhance the resources available to 

OGE's Compliance Division. This elite team of professionals recently completed 

its goal of reviewing all Executive Branch agencies during a five-year cycle, and 

has already begun the next cycle of reviews. If! am confirmed as Director, I 

commit to seeking White House and Office of Management and Budget support 

of an increased budgetary request that would permit OGE to increase its agency 

program review capabilities. 

b. If not, why not? 

64. If confirmed, how will you go about pushing agencies to adopt OGE's recommendations 

from program reviews and other reports or documents? 

I would, if confirmed as Director, use all of the oversight authorities available to the 

Director of OGE, including the transparency of published correspondence from me to an 

agency head. If necessary, I would ensure that OGE instigated a follow-up program 

review. This would ensure that the agency addresses OGE's concerns and 

recommendations, and would protect the overall efficacy of the Executive Branch ethics 

program. 

65. In overseeing the executive branch ethics program, how would you use data, such as the data 

OGE collects on agencies' processing of annual financial disclosure reports? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would continue OGE's efforts to use a variety of data 

sources to most effectively leverage OGE's resources to achieve compliance, Executive 

Branch agency support, and other mission-critical activities. For example, OGE currently 

uses information gathered from agency ethics official inquiries to target legal advisories 

and training resources. 

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If confirmed, I would ensure that OGE's data stakeholders are thoroughly considering the 

collected data to assess ways in which OGE may better streamline its current processes. I 

commit to participating in the review of this data as well, to the extent practicable, to gain 

an up-close and hands-on perspective. Raw data can sit as simply numbers without 

attention; OGE's staff is well-versed in reading this data and the story that it tells. My 

OGE experience teaches that the agency's staff is particularly talented at understanding 

this data for application in the real-world, and I would encourage these efforts. 

66. Will you commit to finding new ways to collect standardized data from agencies, compare 

that data across the executive branch, and use that data to make decisions regarding the 

executive branch-wide ethics program (e.g. decisions about which agencies need program 

reviews, which agencies are underperforming, which agencies are excelling and may have 

best practices to share, and what trends or deficiencies are emerging across the executive 

branch)? 

Yes 

a. If so, how will you accomplish that goal if you are confirmed? 

1 fully embrace and would strongly support OGE's initiatives and goals regarding data 

collection as set out in the agency's Annual Performance Plan of February 2018. Current 

data is critical to OGE for monitoring agency compliance with ethics program 

requirements and compliance with officials' ethics commitments. OGE is continuously 

seeking new and innovative ways to collect more (and better) data- I would foster and 

encourage these initiatives to the extent personnel and budgetary constraints permit. If 

confirmed, I would seek to enhance OGE's data collection resources and data analysis 

teams, and would seek White House and Office of Management and Budget support of an 

increased budgetary request that would permit OGE to increase its data collection and 

review capabilities. 

Patriot Legal Defense Fund 

67. OGE recently approved a vehicle, the Patriot Legal Expense Fund (Patriot Fund), that 

appears to allow for the possibility that outside gifts or monetary contributions can be 

funneled to federal employees who have incurred or are incurring legal fees arising from 

their cooperation with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. 

Regarding questions 68 through 71: I am aware ofOGE's current position on these issues 

to the extent discussed and reflected in information posted on OGE's website; in a letter 

to Congress in April 20 18; and in a release shared with media outlets. As reflected in 

these materials, OGE does not approve legal defense funds and has a limited role in 

providing technical assistance on proposed funds to ensure that federal employees could 

receive disbursements from the fund without violating the executive branch ethics laws 

ll!1d rules, including the gift rules. Within these limitations, if confirmed, I would of 

course consider any new issues or concerns regarding the Patriot Fund as appropriate at 

that time. 

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a. Did you personally participate in the development or OGE's review of the Patriot 

Fund? If so, please describe your role. 

I did not personally participate in the development or OGE's review of the Patriot 

Fund. I did attend a general staff meeting, during which pros and cons oflegal 

defense funds were discussed. 

68. Ethics experts have raised concerns that, because there are multiple potential recipients, 

distributions from the Patriot Fund can be manipulated to influence witness testimonies in 

connection with the Russia investigations. 

Please see my response to questions 68 through 7labove. 

a. Do you agree that the charter for the Patriot Fund differs from the template acting 

Director Apol posted online in August 2017? 

69. The fund's charter ostensibly prohibits consideration of the content of a witness's disclosures 

to investigators when making distributions from the fund to help individuals with their legal 

fees, but the fund is structured in a way that would make it impossible for Congress, OGE, 

agency ethics officials, or anyone else to monitor whether the Patriot Fund is making or 

withholding distributions based on the content of communications with the Special Counsel. 

Even if distributions are ultimately not made based on such communications, the perception 

that this is possible may influence witnesses who fear financial devastation as a result of 

legal fees. 

Please see my response to questions 68 through 71 above. 

a. If confirmed as OGE Director, how would you ensure that recipients of the Patriot 

Fund have not accepted a donation from a prohibited source? 

b. What happens in the event that a donor verbally tells the Patriot Fund's manager that 

the donation is being given because of the employee's position? 

c. Why does the charter for the Patriot Fund prohibit such donations only when the 

donor makes this statement in writing, while the template OGE posted online in 

September prohibits such donations whether the statement is made verbally or in 

writing? 

d. What discussion surrounded the decision to strike the word "verbally"? 

70. Given that the Patriot Fund permits donations from prohibited sources and allows for the 

creation of separate sub-accounts for different recipients, do you believe it is possible for 

OGE to monitor whether any employees are accepting impermissible gifts or monetary 

contributions? 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 35 
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Please see my response to questions 68 through 71 above. 

a. Former OGE Director Walter Shaub recently wrote in the LA Times that, "For legal 

purposes, any bad money taints the whole fund because money is fungible: Every 

dollar the fund accepts from a questionable source and pays to a nongovernmental 

beneficiary frees up a dollar for those who do work for the government." Do you 

agree with Shaub's assessment? 

71. If confirmed as OGE Director, how would you ensure that the Patriot Fund does not, in 

practice, reward employees whose testimony is favorable to the President and shun those 

who testimony is unfavorable to him? 

Please see my response to questions 68 through 7labove. 

72. Will you commit to reviewing the charter of the Patriot Fund and reporting back to the 

committee, before your confirmation hearing, as to your views on whether the fund can be 

modified to bring it into compliance with OGE's historical practices regarding legal defense 

funds? 

I would commit to reviewing recent past OGE issuances and activities to the extent that I 

would need, as Director, to make new determinations based on previously made policy 

and processes. I would ensure that OGE maintains the level playing field as a non-biased 

flrbiter which exists to prevent conflicts of interest. Of course, the extent to which 

employees may have reasonably relied on OGE's current interpretations would be a 

factor. 

Congressional Relations 

73. What role do you believe Congress should play in ensuring compliance with executive 

branch ethics Jaws and rules? 

Congressional oversight of the Executive Branch ethics program is important to ensure 

that the ethics laws that Congress has passed and any related rules are effective and are 

being complied with by ethics officials and ethics programs, as well as by agency 

employees. Recent history illustrates Congressional interest in OGE's activities, as well 

as OGE's firm commitment to cooperate with Congress and its oversight responsibilities, 

including testimony from OGE's Director. 

74. If confirmed, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request for 

information from the Ranking Member of any duly constituted committee of the Congress? 

l reiterate my sincere belief in full communication with any legislator, and if confirmed 

as OGE's Director would do so to the extent reasonable and appropriate. OGE has so 

complied through its existence as an agency within the Executive Branch, and I agree to 

continue this practice. 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 36 
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75. If confirmed, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request for 

information from members of Congress? If directed by the administration to systematically 

ignore oversight requests from minority members of Congress, will you comply? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director I commit to reply to reasonable requests for information 

from any member of Congress. OGE has so complied through its existence as an agency 

within· the Executive Branch, and I agree to continue this practice, whether requests are 

from majority or minority members. 

76. If confirmed, do you commit to take all reasonable steps to ensure that you and your agency 

comply with deadlines established for requested information? 

Yes 

77. If confirmed, do you commit to protect subordinate officials or employees from reprisal or 

retaliation for any testimony, briefmgs or communications with members of Congress? 

Yes 

78. If confirmed, will you direct your staff to fully and promptly respond to Freedom of 

Information Act requests submitted by the American people? 

Yes 

79. If confirmed, will you ensure that political appointees are not inappropriately involved in the 

review and release of Freedom oflnformation Act requests? 

Yes 

I, Emory A. Rounds III, hereby state that I have read the foregoing Pre-Hearing Questionnaire 

and Supplemental Questionnaire and that the information provided therein is, to the best of my 

knowledge, current, accurate, and complete. 

This third day of May, 2018 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page37 
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Senator Heidi Heitkamp 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Emory Rounds 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23, 2018 

1. In your testimony, you noted that a critical component of fostering and maintaining 

a strong ethics culture within the Executive Branch come through leadership lead 

by example. I couldn't agree more. You also indicated in your pre-hearing 

questionnaire that you would use every appropriate proactive procedural and 

transparency tool necessary to ensure officials are held accountable and comply 

with ethics rules and regulations. 

a. In your view, what are the negative ramifications that could occur if 

individuals in Executive Branch leadership positions do not comply with 

ethics regulations? 

In my view, strong Executive Branch senior leadership support of, and adherence 

to, the ethics laws and rules is critical to the accomplishment of each agency's 

mission and the overall work of government. It must be every senior leader's goal 

each day to encourage and foster a culture of government integrity, free of 

conflicts and dedicated to impartial decision-making. Experience teaches that 

decision-making that is free from ethical lapses best enables government leaders 

to deliver on their important promises, perform their public duties, and serve our 

country and its people without unnecessary distractions and inefficiencies. With 

impartial and ethical decision-making, government leaders can have confidence 

that the tough decisions they make as public servants warrant the public's full 

confidence. 

b. Could you briefly elaborate on the tools and authorities that you would 

consider using to encourage officials to comply with ethics rules and 

regulations? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would use to the fullest extent possible my 

authority under the Ethics in Government Act and other authorities to carry out 

OGE's full range of responsibilities, including promulgating and maintaining 

enforceable standards of ethical conduct; overseeing a financial disclosure system 

designed to detect and resolve cont1icts of interest; issuing regulations and 

guidance to provide uniformity and clarity of requirements; reviewing agency 

ethics programs and senior leaders' ethics agreement certifications to ensure 

compliance with their ethical commitments; providing training and resources so 

that ethical violations can be avoided; conducting outreach to the general public 
81 

and making key ethics documents available so that citizens can hold their 

government accountable. And, if those efforts fail and ethical lapses occur, as 

necessary, I would recommend corrective action on the part of an agency andJor 

an employee and require pertinent report(s) from an agency to ensure that 

appropriate action was taken. 

With the enhanced resources that I would request, if confirmed, OGE could better 

undertake all of this important work. For example, if sufficiently resourced and 

staffed, OGE would be able to provide more training for senior leaders and ethics 

officials, and would offer more educational tools that ethics officials may use to 

train their agency employees. These efforts go to the heart ofOGE's mission to 

prevent conflicts of interest and ensure impartiality in government decisionmaking. In addition, with enhanced resources, OGE may be able to increase 

accountability by increasing the frequency of its review of agency ethics 

programs from the current five-year cycle to a four-year cycle (or a three-year 

cycle, subject to resource limitations). Increasing OGE's resources for its 

transparency efforts would also contribute to improved ethics compliance to the 

extent that the public, media, NGO stakeholders, and employees can see, and 

thereby better understand, OGE's overall oversight initiatives. 

c. If those tools and authorities are unsuccessful in getting an official to comply 

with ethics regulations, what steps would you consider taking? 

If I am confirmed as OGE Director and face a lack of compliance with the ethics 

rules by an official, I would use transparency, recommendations of corrective 

action, referrals, and notification to the President, as necessary and appropriate 

given the specific circumstances, to gain compliance. 

Although the OGE Director is prohibited by law from making a finding that a 

criminal law has been violated, if OGE became aware of information that 

suggested a violation, if confirmed as Director, I would notify the appropriate IG 

or the Justice Department. Regarding a matter involving an individual officer or 

employee, if confirmed as OGE's Director, I would aggressively carry out the 

Director's responsibilities under the Ethics in Government Act (set out in 

subsection (b )(9) of section 402, as enumerated in subsection ( e )(2)(A) of section 

402). 

When circumstances warrant, I would recommend to the employee's agency head 

that the agency investigate a possible violation of the ethics laws and rules, and 

take any appropriate action. If the agency head fails to act on my recommendation 

to conduct an investigation, or if it is the agency head who is of concern, I would 

make the appropriate recommendation to, and seek action from, the President. If I 

order specific action to end a violation, and there is not compliance, then I would 

promptly notify the agency head or the President, as appropriate. Finally, I would 

also use transparency with regard to OGE's actions, as appropriate, to encourage 

compliance with the ethics laws and rules. 
82 

d. Do you believe that the tools and authorities granted to the Office of 

Government Ethics are adequate to ensuring compliance? 

I believe that OGE currently has the tools and authorities it needs to prevent and 

resolve conflicts of interest and impartiality concerns regarding Executive Branch 

officials and employees. If confirmed, I would study proposed reforms with 

OGE's senior leadership and provide technical assistance to Congress, as 

requested and as appropriate. I currently have no plans for OGE to propose 

specific substantive reforms to Congress regarding the Ethics in Goverrunent Act. 

I would support an initiative for all three of the government's branches to 

consider the branches' collective "lessons learned" over the past several years 

with the goal of strengthening each branch's ethics initiatives and authorities 

under the Ethics in Goverrunent Act. 

2. In your pre-hearing questionnaire, you indicated that you would have the courage 

to take the unpopular stand or make a difficult decision to ensure that the integrity 

of the Executive Branch remains intact. 

a. In a general sense, what sorts of stances or decisions could you perceive as 

being unpopular or difficult to make? 

My experience teaches that the most unpopular and difficult decisions are 

generally those that affect an employee's ability- or inability- to retain or obtain 

a financial interest while undertaking his or her official duties. There are many 

times when an ethics advisor may consider an employee's question- such as 

whether a gift may be accepted, whether a financial instrument may be kept or 

purchased, whether an outside position may be retained or taken, whether an 

event may be attended personally or officially, and so on and allow the 

employee to do so. There are many times, however, when an ethics advisor, the 

Designated Agency Ethics Official, or OGE's Director must consider the facts 

and circumstances of a given request or matter and deny the request. For example, 

in cases when, based on his or her job duties and reported financial interests, a 

President's prospective nominee may not retain an asset or position, but must 

divest or resign in consideration of the ethics laws and rules, we must say "No." 

3. In your pre-hearing questionnaire and during the staff interview, you noted that 

you would rely on the IGs' investigative and enforcement capabilities when issues 

arise regarding employees and possible ethics infractions. 

a. Could you elaborate on how you plan to engage and collaborate with 

relevant IGs? 

I fully support and would embrace OGE's excellent working relationships with 

the various Executive Branch Inspectors General (IGs). 
83 

I look forward, if confirmed, to membership as OGE's Director on the Council of 

the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency and to meeting with IGs on 

such cases of mutual interest as from time-to-time arise, as well as continuing 

OGE's longstanding training ofiG staffs. As part of my plan to meet with agency 

heads as soon as possible, if confirmed, I hope to incorporate a meeting with the 

agency IG to ensure and facilitate future communication. 

b. Do you see opportunities to improve the Office of Government Ethic's 

engagement and coordination with IGs? How so? 

If I am confirmed as OGE's Director, I would meet with OGE's senior leadership 

team to consider whether there are any further or additional opportunities to 

improve OGE's engagement and coordination with IGs. At this point, it seems 

that OGE and the IG community currently enjoy a strong working relationship. 

Certainly, as a member on the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and 

Efficiency, if confirmed, I would promote OGE' s readiness to assist the IG 

community, to the extent resources permit. I believe that it is vital that the ethics 

and IG communities work together to ensure the integrity of the Executive 

Branch's personnel and programs. 

OGE's symbiotic relationship with the IG community began at inception, by way 

of the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA). Both the EIGA and Inspector General 

Act came out of the same committee at about the same time in the post-Watergate 

era. IGs are tasked- among other duties to address fraud, waste, and abuse 

within the Executive Branch, and OGE's mission to prevent conflicts of interest 

dovetails with the IGs' missions. OGE, in its preventive role, and I, ifi am 

confirmed as OGE's Director, would continue to rely on the IGs' investigative 

and enforcement capabilities when issues arise regarding employees and possible 

ethics infractions. If I am confirmed, OGE would continue to work with IGs who 

seek guidance regarding the various ethics laws and rules, especially as might 

affect an ongoing investigation. 
84 

Senator Claire McCaskill 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Emory Rounds 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23, 2018 

QUESTIONS 

COOPERATION WITH CONGRESS 

Q: If confirmed, will you ensure that you and your staff cooperate with oversight 

requests issued by the relevant ranking members? 

Yes. OGE has so complied through its existence as an agency within the Executive 

Branch, and I agree to continue this practice. 

THE STATE OF THE FEDERAL ETHICS PROGRAM 

Q: You have stated that a 25% budget increase is necessary for OGE to meet its 

increased workload. What does it mean for OGE's ongoing work and the federal 

ethics program if the agency does not get a significant budget increase? 

If I am confirmed as Director, I would ensure that OGE's core mission to prevent 

conflicts of interest in the Executive Branch remains the agency's top priority, budgetary 

constraints notwithstanding. Over the years OGE has done more with less, but currently, 

resources are stretched very thin. Financial disclosure reports are increasingly more 

complicated and need more attention and time-consuming review. Agency program 

reviews should be undertaken more often. The legal issues for agency attorneys are 

becoming more difficult and require more intense research. Requests for information 

from outside sources have increased exponentially, and more questions are posed as the 

program's visibility increases. Important Congressional inquiries must be answered, but 

further redirect resources. 

If OGE is not provided a budget increase, the following initiatives would not be possible, 

although ifl am confirmed as OGE's Director, I would advocate strongly both to provide 

adequate resources for current initiatives and to institute improvements vital to long-term 

success. For example, if confirmed, I would seek to increase the frequency of OGE's 

program reviews of agencies and departments by increasing staff and resources for the 

compliance team. If confirmed, I would seek to enhance OGE's outreach to its 

constituent agencies by increasing the number of desk officers and by establishing "tiger 

teams" that could quickly be assigned to an agency program that requires additional 

assistance. If confirmed, I would seek to ensure that OGE's financial disclosure e-filing 
85 

system -Integrity- remains technically viable in the face of its popularity and growth as 

well as technical advances, and that this program is fully available to its Executive 

Branch agencies. If confirmed, I would seek to enhance OGE's public affairs and 

transparency initiatives through additional staffing and tools. 

OGE's staff is dedicated to completing its mission, whatever it takes to do so- but 

OGE's leadership must challenge budgets that do not keep pace with the ever-increasing 

demands on OGE. 

Q: If confirmed, how will you work with Designated Agency Ethics Officials (DAEO) 

and Alternate DAEOs to support OGE's work? 

OGE's Director has leadership and oversight responsibilities over the DAEOs as well as 

their agencies' ethics programs. If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would continue that 

oversight and leadership role, but in partnership- as the "senior partner"- with the 

DAEOs as we work together as a team to better prevent conflicts of interest in the 

Executive Branch. 

I believe that DAEOs are critical members of the Executive Branch's ethics team. Each 

DAEO is the senior agency leader responsible for his or her agency's ethics initiatives in 

execution of the Executive Branch's ethics mission. The Executive Branch-wide ethics 

program is purposefully designed to be de-centralized, and relies on the DAEO and his 

or her agency subordinate ethics advisors to execute an agency's day-to-day ethics 

program. 

To this end, I would fully support DAEOs as they seek to better perform their duties and 

responsibilities, and would ensure that there is at all times an "open door" to OGE and 

such OGE assistance and resources as may be needed, as we work together as a team to 

prevent conflicts of interest. If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would take the overall 

lead in the promulgation of branch-wide ethics rules, policies, and procedures. This 

would ensure consistency as to the applicability and application of the standards of 

conduct to all Executive Branch employees. OGE's compliance team would regularly 

conduct program reviews of agency ethics programs to ensure DAEOs are leading 

compliant programs. OGE would continue to hold agency heads accountable if their 

ethics programs are not meeting OGE's programmatic requirements, are not providing 

necessary agency training, or are not using the many available ethics tools such as 

OGE's e-filing system, Integrity. 

As OGE's Director I would expect that the day-to-day execution of the Executive 

Branch's rules, policies, and procedures remain the primary responsibility of each 

DAEO. DAEOs are given a large measure of independence and discretion within the 

Executive Branch's ethics program, subject to OGE's leadership in its oversight 

mandate. OGE would be available to offer its advice and counsel to a DAEO when the 

need arises, as it has done over its existence. OGE would continue, if I am its Director, 

to listen carefully to such concerns and recommendations a DAEO and/or the DAEO 

community may have regarding the Executive Branch's ethics initiatives. This would 
86 

ensure that the ethics program is operating at peak efficiencies, to better guard against 

conflicts of interest. As Director I would recognize that each agency's mission and 

government business practices- within the basic paradigm of governing- can be 

different as compared to another agency, and sometimes even within a department or 

agency. 

Q: If confirmed, how will you work with Inspectors General to support OGE's work? 

I fully support and would, if confirmed, embrace OGE' s excellent working relationships 

with the various Executive Branch Inspectors General (IGs). I look forward, if confirmed, 

to membership as OGE's Director on the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity 

and Efficiency. I would also look forward to meeting with IGs on such cases of mutual 

interest as from time-to-time arise, and to continuing OGE's longstanding training of IG 

staffs. 

I see it as no coincidence that OGE's symbiotic relationship with the Inspector General 

community began at inception, by way of the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA). Both 

the EIGA and Inspector General Act came out of the same committee at about the same 

time in the post-Watergate era. IGs are tasked among other duties- to address fraud, 

waste, and abuse within the Executive Branch, and OGE's mission to prevent conflicts of 

interest dovetails with the IGs' missions. OGE, in its preventive role, and I, ifi am 

confirmed as OGE's Director, would rely on the IGs' investigative and enforcement 

capabilities, when issues arise regarding employees and possible ethics infractions. OGE 

would continue to work with IGs who seek guidance regarding the various ethics laws 

and rules, especially as might affect an ongoing investigation. 

IMPROVING FEDERAL ETHICS COMPLIANCE 

Q: What, in your view, are steps that OGE can take to improve ethics compliance by 

executive branch employees? 

If! am confirmed as Director, one of my first priorities would be to challenge OGE's 

senior leadership to propose any steps that OGE should undertake to even further 

enhance ethics compliance by Executive Branch employees, within existing resources. 

In my view, it is a well-informed workforce that will best serve to improve the ethics 

culture of, and compliance by, Executive Branch employees. With the enhanced 

resources that I plan to request if confirmed, OGE will be able to provide more training 

for senior leaders and ethics officials, as well as provide more educational tools ethics 

officials may use to train their agency employees. 

Also, as part of these education efforts, I plan to meet with agency heads and DAEOs to 

discuss my belief that the agency head must provide strong "top-down" leadership in 

support of the various ethics initiatives within his or her agency. I would re-iterate that 

the agency head must personally comply with the ethics laws and standards of conduct. I 

would reemphasize that the agency head must also demand high ethical standards of the 
87 

agency's senior leadership and foster an ethical culture throughout the agency. I would 

encourage that the agency's ethics program be provided the resource support it needs, as 

a strong signal that the "tone from the top" supports the agency's ethics program and 

initiatives. 

In my view, in addition to education, both the review of agency ethics programs (to 

strengthen the programs and hold agencies accountable for the ethics services they are 

providing to their employees) and transparency initiatives are effective ways to improve 

compliance. If confirmed as Director, I plan to request enhanced resources for both of 

these areas. With additional resources, OGE could increase its program review schedule 

from the current five-year cycle to a four-year cycle (or a three-year cycle, subject to 

resource limitations). OGE's continued transparency efforts also contribute to improved 

ethics compliance to the extent that the public, media, NGO stakeholders and employees 

can see, and thereby better understand, OGE's overall oversight initiatives. 

Under my leadership, if confirmed, OGE also would continue its commitments to agency 

ethics officials through training, advice, and counseling initiatives and would provide 

assistance to IGs and other executive branch entities. OGE senior leadership would 

continue to meet with DAEOs and IGs, one-on-one and in group sessions, to listen to 

their concerns and work to resolve any systemic weaknesses in the ethics program. I 

would task OGE's staff to take yet another look at OGE's website, to determine if there 

are ways to improve OGE's outreach initiatives and better educate employees as to the 

standards of conduct rules. 

Q: What, in your view, are steps that agency heads can take to improve ethics 

compliance by executive branch employees? 

An agency head is the leader of the overall ethics program in the agency. He or she 

should fully embrace and support his or her agency's ethics program, by way of 

compliance with the ethics laws and rules, by fostering an ethical culture, by setting high 

standards that other officers and employees must meet (and exceed), and by supporting 

the agency's ethics program with sufficient resources and visibility. The ethics office 

should be neither literally nor figuratively in some back corridor, but must have a "seat at 

the table" in every way. 

Q: What, in your view, are steps that the President can take to improve ethics 

compliance by executive branch employees? 

Similarly, in my view, a President is a critical part of the overall Executive Branch ethics 

program and "top-down" ethics culture. Presidential leadership of the ethics program 

involves complying with all applicable ethics laws and rules, fostering a strong ethical 

culture for the Executive Branch, setting high standards that other Executive Branch 

officers and employees must meet (and exceed), holding senior leaders accountable for 

ethical conduct, and supporting Executive Branch ethics programs with sufficient 

resources and visibility. A President's significant leadership interest in, and his or her 

strong support of, the various ethics initiatives within the Executive Branch will serve to 
88 

ensure that no Executive Branch ethics office is either literally or figuratively in some 

bureaucratic back corridor, but instead has a "seat at the table" in every way. 

Q: What, in your view, are steps that Congress can take to improve ethics compliance 

by executive branch employees? 

Congress should reauthorize OGE. Congress should also provide OGE and agency ethics 

programs with sufficient ongoing appropriations to support and enhance their important 

work of ensuring the integrity of, and impartiality in, government decision-making. 
89 

Senator Thomas R. Carper 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Emory Rounds 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23, 2018 

1. Ethics and the Presidential Transition 

Earlier this year, I worked with Senator Warren and Congressman Cummings to 

introduce the "Transition Team Ethics Improvement Act." The bill would take a 

series of steps to enhance the ethics requirements that govern presidential 

transitions. One of the provisions of the bill requires presidential candidates to 

develop and release transition team ethics plans. 

Please share your vision for OGE's role in the presidential transition process. Do 

you believe that there are areas where Congress should consider making reforms to 

OGE's role? 

If I am confinned as Director, I would be fully committed to OGE' s strategic goal 

relating to its preparations for future Presidential elections and transitions. As provided in 

its Strategic Plan for 2018-22, OGE would be an active participant in federal transition 

planning efforts, collaborate with other transition stakeholders, update necessary 

resources (to include its e-filing financial disclosure system), publish advisories on 

relevant topics, and provide training to federal ethics officials and other transition 

stakeholders on transition-related topics. OGE would also coordinate with Presidential 

candidate transition ofJ1cials regarding financial disclosure reporting and potential 

conflict issues. 

One of my early goals, if confirmed as Director, would be to task OGE's senior 

leadership and transition stakeholders with reviewing OGE's transition efforts in light of 

the most recent transition. I would seek recommendations as to what more OGE could do 

to ensure an even more et1icient and smoother Presidential transition. These 

recommendations would serve to inform any recommendations OGE may have in the 

future. 

Do you believe that making ethics a higher priority in presidential transitions will 

help new administrations inoculate against potential conflicts of interest? 

Yes. 
90 

Senator Gary C. Peters 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Emory Rounds 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23, 2018 

1. The work of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) has always been critical, and I 

share your concern that OGE needs additional resources and staffing. If confirmed, how 

do you plan to advocate for an increase in OGE's resources? Have you 

communicated with anyone at the White House or at the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) about OGE's budget and staffing challenges? How would you 

proceed if you were dealing with a White House and OMB that were antagonistic to 

your efforts? 

If confirmed as OGE's Director, I plan to personally advocate OGE's need for increased 

resources directly to the appropriate White House and OMB officials. In my current role 

and as a nominee, I have not communicated with anyone at the White House or at OMB 

about OGE's budget and staffing challenges. If met with reluctance, I would persevere 

using the appeal process and personal advocacy to continue to insist on funding that fully 

supports OGE's stewardship of the Executive Branch's ethics program. 

2. In January 2017, President Trump issued Executive Order 13 770 requiring all political 

appointees to sign an Ethies Pledge as a condition of their employment. The executive 

order appears to allow the President or the White House Counsel to issue waivers to the 

Ethics Pledge in secret. By all accounts, for months the White House appeared to resist 

efforts to disclose these secret waivers, and OMB Director Mulvaney even signed a letter 

questioning OGE's authority to collect them. The waivers were only made public after 

the concerted effort of the OGE Director and pressure from Congress. You have 

underscored the importance of transparency and public disclosure with respect to the 

executive branch ethics program. On September 21, 2017, OGE issued a Program 

Advisory requiring all executive agencies to provide copies to OGE of any waivers 

issued to covered employees at the time they are issued. Will you commit that, if 

confirmed, you will maintain this policy and ensure that agencies are complying 

with the requirement to provide waivers to OGE? Will you further commit that, if 

confirmed, OGE will continue to publish the certification of ethics agreement 

compliance forms for Senate-confirmed appointees on the OGE website? 

Yes, to both questions. If confirmed as OGE's Director, I would exercise OGE's plenary 

authority under the Ethics in Government Act to collect such information and records as 

are necessary to perform OGE's oversight authority, including waivers. I would also 

continue OGE's current practice of posting certification of ethics agreement compliance 

forms tor Senate-confirmed appointees on OGE's website. 
91 

3. You have expressed support for OGE's Open Government Plan and "to proactively 

disclose information to advance transparency, accountability, and openness." At this 

time, there are a number of ethics-related documents that are not currently collected or 

posted on the OGE website for public viewing. There are also occasions when this 

information is not memorialized in writing, including authorizations issued pursuant to 5 

CFR § 2635.502 allowing employees to participate in certain matters where their 

impartiality may be questioned, as well as records from agencies allowing employees to 

accept outside gifts. If confirmed, what efforts will you undertake to proactively 

collect and post previously unpublished information on the OGE website in the 

interest of transparency? 

OGE must be, and would continue to be, at the "cutting-edge" of good government 

initiatives. I fully support OGE's strategic goal of engaging the public in overseeing 

government integrity by informing the public about OGE and the Executive Branch 

ethics program and making ethics information publicly available. Toward those efforts, I 

would continue to seek additional ways for OGE to be proactively transparent, if I am 

confirmed. To this end, I would commit as an early priority, if! am confirmed, to a 

continuing review and evaluation of such other data sets that may be amenable to posting. 

I also fully support OGE' s efforts to better refine its communication efforts to assist the 

public in knowing what documents are available, where they can access them, and how 

the documents help them play their part in overseeing government integrity. If confirmed 

as OGE's Director, I would work with OGE's senior leadership to review OGE's current 

public engagement initiatives to determine how OGE's outreach can be made stronger, 

subject to fiscal and other resource constraints. 

4. Former OGE Director Shaub and Acting Director Apol have both, at times, taken strong 

and creative action in order to uphold the integrity of the executive branch ethics program 

and a culture of ethical compliance. For example, Acting Director Apol recently sent a 

public letter to the Designated Agency Ethics Official at the Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) raising concerns about EPA Administrator Pruitt's pattern of unethical 

behavior. To what extent are you prepared to take new or creative actions, or make 

official statements in novel ways, in support of the ethics program when you identify 

behavior where it is appropriate to do so? To what extent do you believe that the 

OGE Director should be a public figure? Do you believe it is appropriate for the 

OGE Director to raise public awareness about unethical behavior in the executive 

branch, even unethical behavior by senior officials? 

I intend to use a variety of tools as Director, if! am confirmed, to communicate official 

statements. It would be clear to OGE's many audiences- whether Executive Branch 

officials and civil servants, the public, or outside groups -what is official OGE guidance, 

policy, and data. I would ensure that substantive OGE policy and process guidance is 

disseminated in such a way that it is clearly identified as official OGE guidance. 

OGE' s Director provides leadership and oversight of the Executive Branch ethics 

program and initiatives. To this extent, OGE's Director should play a visible role in 
92 

promoting Executive Branch ethics initiatives. If confirmed as Director, I would conduct 

outreach and increase transparency as necessary to strengthen the Executive Branch 

ethics program. 

5. You have stated repeatedly that a culture of ethics in government must start from the top 

down. At the same time, President Trump's network of business holdings, from which he 

has not divested, has created opportunities for conflicts of interest that may be outside the 

scope of the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA) as currently written. Do you believe 

OGE has done what it can within the scope of its current authorities to address the 

President's conflicts of interest? Do you believe OGE has the tools it needs to 

meaningfully address the President's conflicts of interest? Will you commit to 

working with Congress to strengthen the EIGA and provide additional authorities 

to OGE as appropriate? 

In my opinion, OGE has been steadfast in executing its mission to prevent conflicts of 

interest of the officers and employees in the Executive Branch using the authority granted 

by the Ethics in Government Act. If confirmed as Director, I would work with OGE's 

senior leadership to assess the need for additional authorities. I also would support an 

initiative for all three of the government's branches to consider the branches' collective 

"lessons learned" over the past several years with the goal of strengthening each branch's 

ethics initiatives and authorities under the Ethics in Government Act. 
93 

Opening Statement of Kelly A. Higashi 

Nominee to be an Associate Judge of the District of Columbia Superior Court, May 23, 2018 

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committee. It is a great honor to be 

here today and I thank you for considering my nomination to be a Judge of the Superior Court of the 

District of Columbia. I would like to recognize the leadership of the Honorable Eleanor Holmes 

Norton, and of the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission, chaired by the Honorable 

Emmet Sullivan, and thank them for recommending me to the White House. I thank the President 

for nominating me for this position. I would also like to recognize and acknowledge D.C. Superior 

Court Chief Judge Robert Morin, who is present today, for his leadership and encouragement. 

I am immeasurably grateful for the support and inspiration of my colleagues, family, and 

friends, many of whom are here with me today. The United States Attorney for the District of 

Columbia, Ms. Jessie Liu, an exemplary leader of the Office, as well as many of my present and 

former colleagues, are here today, including Mr. Channing Phillips, the beloved former U.S. 

Attorney who preceded Ms. Liu. I am joined by my law enforcement partners from the Federal 

Bureau oflnvestigation and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department who serve on the FBI's Child 

Exploitation Task Force. Many close friends, including one from my childhood days in California, 

who traveled from far away, are here today. I would like to introduce my family to you: my life 

partner, Mr. John Marsh, and our children, Mary Marsh, a freshman at Columbia University, and 

Riley Marsh, a 9'h grader at the School Without Walls in D.C. They, along with my 14-year-old 

nephew, Taro Zimmerman, of New York City, are my greatest sources of support and inspiration. I 

would also like to acknowledge the love and support I have received from my two sisters, and to 

acknowledge my parents, Robert and Kiyo Higashi, who were unable to travel here from California, 

but who truly wished they could be here. My mother, who was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, 

and who, during World War II, spent several years in internment camps for Japanese Americans, is 

especially proud that I have had the privilege as an Assistant United States Attorney to seek truth 

and justice within our legal system, and that if! am fortunate enough to be confirmed, that I will 

contribute to the D.C. Superior Court's mission to provide equal access to justice for all people. 

Although I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the District of Columbia is my 

home. I moved here in 1990 to attend law school at the George Washington University School of 

Law, and I never left. I then had the good fortune to serve as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable 

Frederick H. Weisberg of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, who has been a role model 

and mentor to me throughout my career. After my clerkship, I was sworn in as an Assistant U.S. 

Attorney in the District of Columbia, where I have served the citizens of the District as a prosecutor 

for the past 23 y, years. It would be a privilege and an honor for me to continue my public service, 

and my commitment to the citizens of the District of Columbia, as an Associate Judge of the 

Superior Court. 

Thank you again for considering my nomination and I look forward to answering your 

questions. 
94 

REDACTED 

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR NOMINEES TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS 

COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

I. BIOGRAPHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION 

1. Full name (include any former names used). 

Kelly Ann Higashi 

2. Citizenship (if you are a naturalized U.S. citizen, please provide proof of your 

naturalization). 

I am a citizen of the United States .of America. 

3. Current office address and telephone number. 

United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia 

555 Fourth Street, N.W., Rm. 10-403 

Washington, D.C. 20530 

(202) 252-7282 

4. Date and place of birth. 

February I, 1962; Los Angeles, California 

5. Marital status (if married, include maiden name of wife, or husband's name). List 

spouse's occupation, employer's name and business address(es). 

I am not married, however, l have a domestic partner, John Marsh, Special Agent, 

Computer Forensic Examiner at United States Attorney's Office for the District of 

Columbia, 555 Fourth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20530. 

6. Names and ages of children. List occupation and employer's name if appropriate. 

I do not have children, but my domestic partner and I have joint custody of his two 

children, Mary Marsh (18 years old) and . REDACTED 

7. Education. List secondary school(s), college(s), law scbool(s), and any other 

institutions of higher education attended; list dates of attendance, degree received, 

and date each degree was received. Please list dating back from most recent to 

earliest. 

George Washington University School of Law, Washington, D.C., Sept. 1990- May 

1992; J.D. received in 1992. 
95 

Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans, Louisiana; August 1989- May 1990; no 

degree received. 

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; January 1981- May 1984; B.A. 

degree received in December 1988. 

Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; August 1979- December 1980; no degree 

received. 

Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan; September 1983- December 1983; no degree 

received. 

International Christian University, Mitaka-Shi, Tokyo, Japan; June I 983- August 1983; 

no degree received. 

University of California, Los Angeles, CA; June 1980- August 1980 and June 1982 -

August 1982; no degree received. 

Westlake School for Girls (now Harvard-Westlake School), Los Angeles, CA; August 

1976-June 1979; high school diploma received in June 1979. 

8. Employment record. List all jobs held since college, other than legal experience 

covered in question 16, including the dates of employment, job title or description of 

job, and name and address of employer. Please list dating back from most recent to 

earliest. If you have served in the US military, please list dates of service, rank or 

rate, serial number, and type of discharge received. 

May 1991-August 1991 

Shearman and Sterling 

599 Lexington Ave. 

New York, New York l 0022 

Summer Associate 

July 1990- August 1990 

Chaffe, McCall 

11 00 Poydras St. 

New Orleans, Louisiana 70163 

Summer Associate 

May 1990-July 1990 

McGlinchey Stafford 

601 Poydras St. 

New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 

Summer Associate 

2 
96 

September 1987 - August 1989 

Kiyo Higashi Gallery 

8332 Melrose Ave. 

Los Angeles, California 90069 

Art Gallery Assistant 

September 1987- August 1989 

Robert T. Higashi Accountancy Corporation 

8332 \12 Melrose Ave. 

Los Angeles, California 90069 

Administrative Assistant; Bookkeeper 

August 1984 - August 1987 

University of Pennsylvania 

Office of Undergraduate Admissions 

1 College Hall 

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 

Admissions Officer 

9. Honors and awards. List any scholarships, fellowships, honorary degrees, academic 

or professional honors, honorary society memberships, military awards, and any 

other special recognition for outstanding service or achievement. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Association, Harold J. Sullivan Award (20 16) 

FBI-Washington Field Office Service Award (2016) 

United States Marshals Service Certificate of Appreciation (2014) 

FBI-Washington Field Office Service Award (2014) 

U.S. Attorney's Award for Superior Supervisory Performance (2013) 

FBI-Washington Field Office Service Award (2012) 

Metropolitan Police Department, Youth Investigations Division Certificate of 

Appreciation (2012) 

U.S. Attorney's Award for Excellence in Management (201 I) 

U.S. Park Police Award (2007) 

U.S. Attorney's Award for Creativity and Innovation (2002) 

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U.S. Attorney's Special Achievement Award, (1999) 

U.S. Attorney's Justice for Victims of Crime Award (1998) 

U.S. Attorney's Special Achievement Award (1998) 

U.S. Attorney's Special Achievement Award (1996) 

10. Business relationships. List all positions currently or formerly held as an officer, 

director, trustee, partner, proprietor, agent, representative, or consultant of any 

corporation, company, firm, partnership, or other business enterprise, or 

educational or other institution. 

None. 

11. Bar associations. List all bar associations, legal or judicial-related committees, 

conferences, or organizations of which you are or have ever been a member, and 

provide titles and dates of any offices which you have held in such groups. 

Superior Court of the District of Columbia Domestic Violence Rules of Procedure 

Advisory Committee 

Member, 2009-2017 

Children's Justice Act Taskforce 

Member, 20 16 - present 

D.C. Children's Advocacy Center Multi-Disciplinary Team 

Member, 2003 -present 

D.C. Sexual Assault Response Team 

Member, 2003 -present 

12. Other memberships. List all memberships and offices currently and formerly held 

in professional, business, fraternal, scholarly, civic, public, charitable, or other 

organizations, other than those listed in response to Question 11. Please indicate 

whether any of these organizations formerly discriminated or currently 

discriminates on the basis of race, sex, or religion. · 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Association, District of Columbia 

Member, 2004- present (intermittent) 

D.C. Works 

Volunteer Tutor and Big Sister, 1993- 1998 

Volunteer Board Member, 1995-1998 

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Cesar Chavez Public Charter School 

Volunteer Tutor, 1998-2000 

Asian American L.E.A.D. 

Volunteer Mentor/Big Sister, 2007-2008 

PGPool 

Member, 2008- present 

Sport and Health Club 

Member, 2016 -present 

To my knowledge, none of the organizations listed above formerly discriminated or 

currently discriminates based on race, sex or religion. 

13. Court admissions. List all courts in which you have been admitted to practice, with 

dates of admission and lapses in admission if any such memberships have lapsed. 

Please explain the reason for any lapse in membership. Please provide the same 

information for any administrative bodies which require special admission to 

practice. 

District of Columbia, admitted in May 1995. 

Maryland, admitted in December 1993 (inactive). 

New York, admitted in December 1993. 

On October 24, 2009, I was placed on suspended status for the New York State Bar due 

to non-payment of dues; I was reinstated on March 22, 2018. In the late 1990's, I 

requested in writing that my memberships to the Maryland and New York State Bars be 

converted to inactive status or terminated, as I had been a member of the District of 

Columbia Bar and was practicing there. In July 2017, when completing my application 

for the judicial position in D.C. Superior Court, I inquired to verify the date of the change 

in my status. I learned that while my membership status in the Maryland State Bar was 

converted to inactive, my request to the New York State Bar was never processed. Thus, 

my membership was suspended on October 24, 2009, due to non-payment of dues. Upon 

learning this information, I submitted the applicable registration form and paid the back 

dues in their entirety, and followed the required steps to apply for reinstatement. On 

March 22, 2018, after finding that my lapse in payment of dues was the result of a 

legitimate oversight, and that no client was prejudiced, as I have never practiced law in 

New York, my membership was reinstated, therefore, f am currently active and in good 

standing. There have otherwise been no lapses in my memberships. 

14. Published writings. List the titles, publishers, and dates of books, articles, reports, 

or other published material you have written or edited. 

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None. 

15. Speeches. List the titles of any formal speeches you have delivered during the last 

five (5) years and the date and place where they were delivered. Please provide the 

Committee with four ( 4) copies of any of these speeches. 

None. 

16. Legal career. 

A. Describe chronologically your law practice and experience after graduation 

from Jaw school, including: 

(1) Whether you served as a law clerk to a judge, and if so, the name of 

the judge, the court, and the dates of your clerkship; 

From September 1992 to September 1994, I served as a judicial law clerk 

to the Honorable Frederick H. Weisberg, Superior Court of the District of 

Columbia. 

(2) Whether you practiced alone, and if so, the addresses and dates; 

I have not practiced alone. 

(3) The dates, names, and address of law firms, companies, or 

governmental agencies with which you have been employed. 

September 1994 -present 

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia 

555 4th Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20530 

B. Describe the general character of your law practice, dividing it into periods 

with dates if its character has changed over the years. 

From 1992- 1994, I served as the judicial law clerk to the Honorable Frederick 

H. Weisberg, Superior Court of the District of Columbia. During those two years, 

Judge Weisberg served as the Presiding Judge of the Criminal Division of the 

Court, and therefore, carried a full docket comprised entirely of criminal matters. 

I reviewed pretrial and post-conviction motions, conducted legal research, and 

drafted orders ruling on those motions. I responded to numerous and varied 

inquiries addressed to Judge Weisberg through telephone calls and written 

correspondence. I attended each trial and assisted Judge Weisberg by conducting 

legal research on issues which arose during the course of the trial, and assisted 

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with drafting jury instructions and verdict forms. 

From 1994 to 2000, I served as an Assistant United States Attorney rotating 

through various sections of the Office, including the Misdemeanor Trial Section, 

the Felony Trial Section, and the Grand Jury Section, which are all part of the 

Superior Court Division. I also completed a rotation in the Narcotics Section, 

which is a part of the federal Criminal Division of the Office. In 1997, I was 

selected for a senior position in the Sex Offense Section, and handled a caseload 

of some of the most serious sexual offenses committed on child and adult victims. 

From 2000 to 2003, I was selected to serve as the Deputy Chief and later, the 

Chief, of the Misdemeanor Trial Section of the Superior Court Division. During 

that period, I appeared in court on a daily or almost-daily basis to supervise the 

newest AUSAs in our Office in misdemeanor bench trials and other proceedings 

in the Superior Court. 

In 2003, I was selected to serve as the Deputy Chief and later, the Chief, of the 

Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section, a position which I currently hold. 

For many years, my direct first-line supervision of cases focused on felony cases 

involving domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, and human trafficking, 

prosecuted in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Since 2011, when a 

reorganization of the U.S. Attorney's Office shifted the prosecution offederal 

child exploitation, human trafficking, and sex offender registration violation cases 

in the U.S. District Court from a general crimes section to the Sex Offense and 

Domestic Violence Section, my direct first-line supervision of cases has included 

those cases as well. 

C. Describe your typical former clients and describe the areas of practice, if 

any, in which you have specialized. 

During my time at the U.S. Attorney's Office, my client has been the United 

States of America. My practice area has been entirely in criminal law, and I have 

focused on a variety of issues, including domestic violence, sexual abuse, and 

human trafficking. 

D. Describe the general nature of your litigation experience, including: 

(1) Whether you have appeared in court frequently, occasionally, or not 

at all. If the frequency of your court appearances has varied over 

time, please describe in detail each such variance and give applicable 

dates. 

From 1994 to 2000, while I served as an Assistant United States Attorney 

in various sections of the Office, I appeared in court on a daily or almostdaily basis. I handled a full case load of cases and I was responsible for all 

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phases of litigation in my cases except for post-conviction appeals. I was 

sole counsel in the vast majority of my cases. 

From 2000 to 2003, while I served as Deputy Chief and Chief of the 

Misdemeanor Trial Section, I appeared in court on a daily or almost-daily 

basis to supervise the newest AUSAs in our Office in misdemeanor bench 

trials and other proceedings in the Superior Court. 

From 2003 to the present, as Deputy Chief and Chief of the Sex Offense 

and Domestic Violence Section, I appear in court frequently as the firstline supervisor of numerous felony cases involving domestic violence, 

child abuse, sexual abuse, human trafficking, child exploitation, and 

violations of the sex offender registration laws. 

(2) What percentage of these appearances was in: 

(a) Federal courts (including Federal courts in D.C.); 

For an 8-month period in 1996, when I was assigned to the Federal 

Narcotics Section of the Office, 100% of my court appearances 

were in the United States District Court for the District of 

Columbia. 

From 2011 to the present, approximately 30% of my appearances 

in court in a supervisory capacity have been in the United States 

District Court for the District of Columbia. 

(b) State courts of record (excluding D.C. courts); 

0% 

(c) D.C. courts (Superior Court and D.C. Court of Appeals only); 

From 1994 to 20 II, all of my court appearances were in the 

Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 

From 2011 to the present, approximately 70% of my appearances 

in court in a supervisory capacity have been in the Superior Court 

of the District of Columbia. 

(d) other courts and administrative bodies. 

0% 

(3) What percentage of your litigation has been: 

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(a) civil 

0% 

(b) criminal 

100% 

( 4) What is the total number of cases in courts of record you tried to 

verdict or judgment (rather than settled or resolved, but may include 

cases decided on motion if they are tabulated separately). Indicate 

whether you were sole counsel, lead counsel, or associate counsel in 

these cases. 

I have tried approximately 50 cases to verdict or judgement. I was sole 

counsel in the majority of the cases, and co-counsel or second-chair in 

approximately 15 of them. 

(5) What percentage of these trials was to 

(a) a jury; 

60% 

{b) the court (include cases decided on motion but tabulate them 

separately). 

40% 

17. Describe the five (5) most significant litigated matters which you personally 

handled. Provide citations, if the cases were reported, or the docket number and 

date if unreported. Give a capsule summary of the substance of each case and a 

succinct statement of what you believe was of particular significance about the case. 

Identify the party/parties you represented and describe in detail the nature of your 

participation in the litigation and the final disposition of the case. Also state as to 

each case, (a) the date of representation; (b) the court and the name ofthe judge or 

judges before whom the case was litigated; and (c) the name(s) and address(es) and, 

telephone number(s) of co-counsel and of the principal counsel for the other parties. 

1. United States v. James Barnes, Superior Court Criminal No. 1997 FEL 5518, Judge 

Michael Rankin. I was sole counsel for the United States. Dates of representation: March 

1997 -May 1998. 

On March 26, 1997, the victim accepted a ride from the defendant. Instead of borrowing 

his parents' car as promised, the defendant forced the victim into a mobile home parked 

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in the backyard. The defendant raped the victim and threatened to kill her when she 

fought back. He strangled her and severely beat her until some of her teeth were knocked 

out and her eyes were swollen shut. He did not let her leave until the morning. The 

defendant, who was on parole for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old child and also raped 

another woman in the same mobile home in a separate incident close in time to the rape 

on March 26, 1997. The grand jury indicted the defendant for both rapes, and the trial of 

the March 26, 1997 rape proceeded first. After a jury trial, the defendant was found 

guilty of First Degree Sexual Abuse, Kidnapping, and Aggravated Assault and was 

sentenced to two life terms plus 40 months to 1 0 years. The case was a significant 

prosecution for our office, as it was one of the earlier convictions for First Degree Sexual 

Abuse with Aggravating Circumstances, under the revised sexual abuse laws, which 

increased the statutory maximum penalty for sexual assaults when one or more 

aggravating factors are present. 

Oru>osing Counsel 

Claudia Crichlow 

[Then at the D.C. Public Defender Service] 

D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings 

441 Fourth StreetN.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20001 

(202) 442-9094 

2. United States v. Robert Morris Simms, Superior Court Criminal No. 1997 FEL 

5382, Judge Patricia Wynn. I was sole counsel for the United States. Dates of 

representation: June 1997- May 1999. 

On June 26, 1997, a 15-year-old girl was asleep in bed when the defendant, a 50-year-old 

friend of the family, climbed a ladder to the girl's third-floor bedroom window and 

sexually assaulted her. The defendant initially met the family several years earlier when 

he was hired as a handyman, but he became such a trusted friend that he sometimes 

picked up the children from school, had his own set of keys, and was given the code to 

the alarm system. The defendant "groomed" the victim, giving her money and gifts, and 

emotionally isolated her from her parents by becoming her closest confidant. The 

defendant initiated sexual contact with the victim, eventually engaging in sexual 

intercourse with her on a regular basis from age 12 to 15. The defendant was on parole 

for Rape and Armed Robbery in Virginia. The defendant was convicted at a jury trial of 

First Degree Sexual Abuse and was sentenced to 12 to 36 years in prison. This was one of 

the first trials involving PCRISTR DNA analysis, which eventually replaced a previously 

used method that required larger amounts of biological material to obtain results. 

Preparing for testimony of the DNA analysts in this case required a significant amount of 

time, effort, and training to understand a scientific method that was new and unfamiliar to 

most A US As at the time. 

Opposing Counsel 

Thomas Heslep 

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419 Seventh St., N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20004 

(202) 628-0293 

3. United States v. Ronnie Jenkins, 870 A.2d 27 (D.C. 2005), Superior Court 

Criminal No. 1998 FEL 7056, Judge Ronna Beck. I was sole counsel for the 

United States in proceedings before the Superior Court. Dates of representation: 

September 1998 -August 1999. 

On September 28, 1998, a 7-year-old girl was sexually molested by her mother's live-in 

boyfriend in their apartment, and her 12-year-old brother walked in on the assault and 

immediately told his mother what he had just seen. The defendant then took the boy into 

his bedroom and violently beat him by placing a pillow over the boy's head and 

repeatedly punching him, slamming the boy's head into the ground with each blow. The 

following morning, police were called by the children's grandmother. Subsequently, the 

7-year-old girl disclosed the abuse, confirming what her 12-year-old brother had 

witnessed. On February 4, 1999, after a jury trial, the defendant was found guilty of First 

Degree Cruelty to Children and Second Degree Child Sexual Abuse. On August 16, 

1999, the defendant was sentenced to an aggregate term of 8 to 24 years in prison. On 

appeal, the conviction was affirmed in all respects except that the D.C. Court of Appeals 

remanded the case to the trial court for further findings with respect to a correction in the 

court reporter's official transcription of the jury poll. The D.C. Court of Appeals later 

affirmed the trial court's denial of a subsequently-filed post-conviction motion in an 

unpublished memorandum opinion and judgment. 

Opposing Counsel 

Christopher Swaby 

[Then with the D.C. Public Defender Service] 

The Swaby Law Firm 

17837 First Ave., #520 

Normandy Park, Washington 98148 

(206) 212-6752 

4. United States v. Efrain Ramirez, 877 A.2d 1040 (D.C. 2005), Superior Court 

Criminal No. 1999 FEL 4290, Judge Russell Canan. I was sole counsel for the 

United States in the first trial before the Superior Court, which resulted in a hung 

jury. I was co-counsel in the re-trial before the Superior Court. Dates of 

representation: February 1999 -May 2000. 

On February 8, 1999, the victim, a 21-year-old student at George Washington University, 

was attacked in her own apartment by a workman in the building as she was getting ready 

to go to her economics class. The defendant used a ruse to gain entry to her apartment, 

telling her that he had to check on a water leak. After locking the door, he asked the 

victim if she would go on a date with him. The victim repeatedly refused, but gave him 

her name and phone number on a piece of paper in an attempt to placate him. When the 

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105 

defendant refused to leave and the victim tried to open the door, the defendant became 

violent, throwing her to the ground, punching her, strangling her, biting her, and pulling 

her hair out. When she grabbed a kitchen knife in self-defense, he grabbed the knife from 

her and injured both of them. The defendant still attempted to rape the victim, but 

eventually gave up and left, taking much of the blood-stained evidence with him. The 

victim was taken to the hospital, and the defendant fled the following day to a small town 

in New York, where he was arrested over four months later under an assumed identity. 

The first trial resulted in an acquittal on the Burglary count, and in a hung jury as to the 

remaining charges. At the re-trial, the defendant testified that he and the victim had a 

prior sexual relationship, and that he had given her $100 after each prior encounter, but 

that on the day of the incident, he only gave her $50, which angered her, resulting in the 

violent exchange which left them both injured. On February 22, 2000, after a jury trial, 

the jury hung on Assault with Intent to Commit First Degree Sexual Abuse, and found the 

defendant guilty of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon. On May 19,2000, the defendant 

was sentenced to 40 months to lO years in prison. The conviction was affirmed on 

appeal. 

Co-Counsel for re-trial 

Whitney Ellerman 

[Then at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia] 

Ellerman Enzinna PLLC 

1050 Thirtieth St., N.W. 

Washington, D.C. 20007 

(202) 753-5553 

Opposing Counsel 

Jonathan Rapping 

[Then with the D.C. Public Defender Service] 

Harvard Law School 

1563 Massachusetts Avenue 

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 

(617)495-3109 

Karen Pita-Loor 

[Then with the D.C. Public Defender Service] 

Boston University School of Law 

765 Commonwealth Avenue 

Boston, Massachusetts 02215 

(617) 353-3131 

5. United States v. James Willis, Superior Court Criminal No. 2002 FEL 5280, 

Judge Henry Greene. I was co-counsel for the United States for the first trial, 

which resulted in a hung jury. I was sole counsel for the re-trial, which resulted in 

a conviction. Dates of representation: July 1997- October 1999. 

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106 

During the summer of 1997, the victim, a 13-year-old girl, was living with her great-aunt, 

her 12-year-old cousin, and other relatives in Southeast Washington, D.C. The defendant, 

the former boyfriend of the great-aunt, was a close friend of the family and had lived in 

their household intermittently for several years. By 1997, the defendant had become a 

surrogate grandfather to the children, and was present in their home almost every day. On 

July29, 1997, the defendant entered the victim's bedroom while she was asleep. He 

awakened her and told her to lie on the floor and pull her pants down. He then pulled his 

pants down and sexually assaulted her. The victim's 12-year-old cousin, who was still 

awake, walked into the darkened bedroom and discovered the defendant, naked from the 

waist down, lying on top of the victim. The defendant immediately jumped up and 

pretended to be watching the television. The 12-year-old cousin awakened the great-aunt, 

who confronted the defendant. The defendant started yelling at the cousin, telling him to 

stop lying, which frightened the children. The victim, stunned and frightened, falsely 

denied to her great-aunt that the defendant had sexually assaulted her. After the defendant 

left the house, the victim disclosed that the defendant had sexually abused her that night 

and on numerous prior occasions, usually while the family was asleep. She said that the 

defendant would regularly give her money and candy, and that she was afraid to tell 

anyone. Preparing for trial involved significant preparation of two traumatized child 

witnesses, for whom it was extraordinarily difficult to testify in public about extremely 

private and humiliating events. The government additionally presented the testimony of 

two medical experts. The first trial ended with a hung jury. At the re-trial, the defendant 

was found guilty of Second Degree Child Sexual Abuse with Aggravating 

Circumstances, and he was sentenced to five to fifteen years in prison. 

Co-Counsel Cfor first trial) 

Gary H. Collins 

[Then at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia] 

BNP Paribas 

787 Seventh A venue 

New York, NY 10019 

(212) 841-3000 

Opposing Counsel 

Dorsey G. Jones 

6924 8'h Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20012 

(202) 291-1771 

18. Describe the most significant legal activities you have pursued, including significant 

litigation which did not proceed to trial or legal matters that did not involve 

litigation. Describe the nature of your participation in each instance described, but 

you may omit any information protected by the attorney-client privilege (unless the 

privilege has been waived). 

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As Chief of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section, I have directly supervised 

the most complex and significant cases involving sexual abuse, domestic violence, and 

human trafficking in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. My direct 

supervision has included interviewing traumatized victims and witnesses and presenting 

their testimony to the grand jury. One such significant case was a five co-defendant case 

that was one of the most prolonged violent and high-profile investigations of stranger 

sexual assaults the U.S. Attorney's Office has prosecuted. Right as the summer was 

beginning in 2006, a series of 5 gunpoint attacks of tourists on the National Mall from 

May through July gripped the region and focused national attention on this city and on 

what law enforcement was doing to solve the crimes and prevent future attacks on this 

sacred national space. 

When one of the attacks resulted in the brutal gunpoint rape and sexual assault of a 17-

year-old girl by two men, and the beating of her teenage male companion, the public's 

fear, the focus on the case by government officials at all levels, and scrutiny by the media 

rose to an even higher level. In all, there were twelve victims in five separate incidents, 

all of whom were forced at gunpoint to the ground by multiple assailants, and robbed. 

Four of the female victims were sexually assaulted (one of whom was raped, as described 

above), and another four of the victims were a family of tourists, including two children 

under the age of 12. The case was assigned to two AUSAs, and I was the first-line 

supervisor on the case. I conducted the interview of the 17-year-old rape victim along 

with the lead detective, and I presented the testimony of the child victims to the grand 

jury. I reviewed and edited pleadings, and made decisions about charging, pleas, and 

sentencing allocutions. After an extremely intense investigation during which we worked 

for virtually the entire summer without a weekend off, where none of the 12 victims was 

able to identify their assailants, and where forensic testing of evidence collected from the 

rape victim yielded no DNA evidence, the investigation team ended up getting a break 

when the defendants started using the stolen credit cards and made internet purchases. 

Eventually, all five assailants were identified and arrested. We obtained the cooperation 

of one of the defendants, which resulted in guilty pleas by all of the defendants. The lead 

defendant, who was only 17 years old at the time of the offenses, was sentenced to 41 

years in prison. I, along with my two colleagues who were the prosecutors of record, 

received special recognition from the United States Park Police for our exhaustive work 

on the case. 

In 20 ll, I led the successful transition to the SODV Section of all federal cases involving 

child exploitation, human trafficking, and sex offender registration violations; and sexual 

assaults, domestic violence, and child abuse occurring on U.S. government property 

overseas. We have been extremely successful at bringing more cases and obtaining more 

convictions in these federal cases since they have been handled in the SODV Section. 

The specialized group of prosecutors I supervise received an Attorney General's A ward 

in 20 16 for their outstanding investigation and prosecution of these federal cases, 

working hand in hand with the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force. We have worked 

with the extraordinarily talented Task Force Officer who serves as an undercover in these 

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investigations, many of which have resulted in the identification of hands-on child sexual 

abusers in other jurisdictions, and successful prosecutions were subsequently brought in 

those jurisdictions. Our involvement in each of these investigations, whether they 

resulted in a case prosecuted in D.C. or in another jurisdiction, amounted to a record 

number cases generated by any single district in which children have been rescued from 

sexual abuse and exploitation. 

19. Have you ever held judicial office? 

No. 

If so, please give the details of such service, including the court(s) on which you 

served, whether you were elected or appointed, the dates of your service, and a 

description ofthe jurisdiction of the court. Please provide four (4) copies of all 

opinions you wrote during such service as a judge. 

A. List all court decisions you have made which were reversed or otherwise 

criticized on appeal. 

20. Have you ever been a candidate for elective, judicial, or any other public office? If 

so, please give the details, including the date(s) of the election, the office(s) sought, 

and the results of the election(s). 

No. 

21. Political activities and affiliations. 

• List all public offices, either elected or appointed, which you have held or sought as 

a candidate or applicant. 

None. 

• List all memberships and offices held in and services rendered to any political party 

or election committee during the last ten (10) years. 

None. 

• Itemize all political contributions to any individual, campaign organization, political 

party, political action committee, or similar entity during the last five (5) years of 

$50 or more. 

None. 

22. To your knowledge, have you ever been investigated, arrested, charged, or convicted 

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109 

(include pleas of guilty or nolo contendere) by federal, State, local, or other law 

enforcement authorities for violations of any federal, State, county, or municipal 

law, other than for a minor traffic offense? If so, please provide details. 

No. 

23. Have you or any business of which you are or were an officer, director or owner 

ever been a party or otherwise involved as a party in any other legal or 

administrative proceedings? If so, give the particulars. Do not list any proceedings 

in which you were merely a guardian ad litem or stakeholder. Include all 

proceedings in which you were a party in interest, a material witness, were named 

as a co-conspirator or co-respondent, and list any grand jury investigation in which 

you appeared as a witness. 

No. 

24. Have you ever been disciplined or cited for a breach of ethics for unprofessional 

conduct by, or been the subject of a complaint to any court, administrative agency, 

bar or professional association, disciplinary committee, or other professional group? 

If so, please provide the details. 

No. 

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II. POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST 

1. Will you sever all connections with your present employer(s), business firm(s), 

business association(s), or business organization(s) if you are confirmed? 

Yes. 

2. Describe all financial arrangements, deferred compensation agreements, or other 

continuing dealings with your law firm, business associates, or clients. 

None. 

3. Indicate any investments, obligations, liabilities, or other relationships which could 

involve potential conflicts of interest. 

My domestic partner, Mr. John Marsh, is a Special Agent for the United States 

Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. He is a certified computer forensic 

examiner. In that capacity, he conducts forensic analyses of digital devices (primarily 

computers, digital storage devices, and cell phones), and sometimes is called as a witness 

to testify in court. He is also sometimes an affiant for search warrants and arrest 

warrants. Ifl am fortunate enough to be confirmed as an Associate Judge ofthe Superior 

Court of the District of Columbia, this might present potential conflicts if he were to 

serve as a witness in a case or an affiant for a search or arrest warrant for a case over 

which I would preside. In such cases, I would consult and abide by the applicable District 

of Columbia Code of Judicial Conduct and any other relevant canons and statutes to 

ensure that I would avoid or resolve any potential conflict of interest. 

4. Describe any business relationship, dealing, or financial transaction which you have 

had in the last ten (10) years, whether for yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as 

an agent, that could in any way constitute or result in a possible conflict of interest 

other than while in a federal government capacity. 

None. 

5. Describe any activity during the last ten (10) years in which you have engaged for 

the purpose of directly or indirectly influencing the passage, defeat, or modification 

of legislation or affecting the administration and execution of law or public policy 

other than while as a federal government employee. 

None. 

6. Do you have any plans, commitments, or agreements to pursue outside employment, 

with or without compensation, during your service as a judge? If so, explain. 

No. 

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7. Explain how you will resolve any potential conflicts of interest, including any that 

may have been disclosed by your responses to the above items. Please provide three 

(3) copies of any trust or other relevant agreements. 

If the issue of a potential conflict of interest is raised by a litigant, I would resolve it on a 

case-by-case basis pursuant to the District of Columbia Code of Judicial Conduct and any 

other relevant canons and statutes. 

8. If confirmed, do you expect to serve out your full term? 

Yes. 

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112 

ill. FINANCIAL DATA 

All information requested under this heading must be provided for yourself, your spouse, and 

your dependents. (This information will not be published in the record of the hearing on your 

nomination, but it will be retained in the Committee's files and will be available for public 

inspection.) 

REDACTED 
113 

IV. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA REQUIREMENTS 

Supplemental questions concerning specific statutory qualifications for service as a judge in the 

courts of the District of Columbia pursuant to the District of Columbia Court Reform and 

Criminal Procedure Act of 1970, D.C. Code Section I I !50 1 (b), as amended. 

1. Are you a citizen ofthe United States? 

Yes. 

2. Are you a member of the bar of the District of Columbia? 

Yes. 

3. Have you been a member of the bar of the District of Columbia for at least five (5) 

years? Please provide the date you were admitted to practice in the District of 

Columbia. 

Yes. I was admitted to the bar of the District of Columbia on May 5, 1995. 

4. If the answer to Question 3 is "no" -

A. Are you a professor oflaw in a law school in the District of Columbia? 

B. Are you a lawyer employed in the District of Columbia by the United States 

or the District of Columbia? 

C. Have you been eligible for membership in the bar of the District of Columbia 

for at least five (5) years? 

D. Upon what grounds is that eligibility based? 

5. Are you a bona fide resident of the District of Columbia? 

Yes. 

6. Have you maintained an actual place of abode in the greater Washington, D.C. area 

for at least five {5) years? Please list the addresses of your actual places of abode 

(including temporary residences) with dates of occupancy for the last five (5) years. 

August 2017- present 

!REDACTED 

September 2010 -July 2017 

23 
114 

REDACTED 

7. Are you a member of the District of Columbia Commission on Judicial Disabilities 

and Tenure or the District of Columbia Judicial Nominating Commission? 

No. 

8. Have you been a member of either of these Commissions within the last 12 months? 

No. 

9. Please provide the committee with four (4) copies of your District of Columbia 

Judicial Nomination commission questionnaire. 

See attached. 

24 
115 

AFFIDAVIT 

I< "ll=t Ht j4Sh;' being duly sworn, hereby states that.!;elshe has read 

and signed the foregoing Statement on Biographical and Financial Information and that the 

infum1ation provided therein is, to the best of l!ts/her knowledge, current, accurate, and 

complete. 

-;lj .......... 

, / :.1/-.:~··. / ~.;'f p~;· .. :'/y 

:;;! "' ' ("' ·.' 

. \ St_;I;!fB.pPoD and SWORN TO before me 2016. 

If*, <" ' : · .. >,.~· ............. ··~,_.: 

····~or~~~- ~ 
116 

Response of Kelly A. Higashi 

Nominee to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia 

to the Written Question of Ranking Member Claire McCaskill 

1. The Superior Court handles a broad range of trial matters and unfortunately an 

increasing backlog of cases. Currently, the Superior Court is understaffed by nine 

judges with other announced retirements expected later this year. The 

Administration bas been nominating individuals to fill these Associate Judge 

vacancies, but this Committee bas not advanced five such nominees pending before 

us even after several months. 

Given these vacancies, what challenges do you foresee as a new judge entering into 

an already strained Court? 

Response: If confirmed, I expect that I may be responsible for a larger case load, and that 

I may be called upon to handle additional assignments on an ad hoc basis, as may be 

necessary for the Court to fulfill its responsibilities. If confirmed, I will commit to 

handling these responsibilities and to work cooperatively with the Court's leadership, 

fellow judges, and staff in any way necessary to deal with the shortage of judicial 

officers. 
117 

Statement of Frederick M. Nutt 

Nominee for Controller, Office of Management and Budget 

United States Senate 

Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

May23,2018 

Good afternoon Chairman Lankford, Ranking Member Peters, Members of the Committee, it is 

an honor to appear before you today as the Administration's nominee for Controller in the Office 

of Management and Budget. 

I would like to thank the President for nominating me to this position and I'd like to thank 

Director Mulvaney and Deputy Director for Management Weichert in supporting my 

nomination. 

I would also like to thank my father, Tom Nutt, who is sitting behind me, for being a great father. 

I come from a family with a long commitment to public service. My grandfather served in the 

Iowa House of Representatives, my grandmother was a school teacher and principal, my father 

served 30 years in the United States Navy and I have nearly 22 years offederal service as a civil 

servant. After my father's Navy career, my family began farming just 50 miles west of 

Washington, DC. It was there that I learned how farming was a way of life and a business; a 

small business subject to factors outside of the farmer's control such as weather, pestilence, and 

economic decline. I also learned about the importance of being responsible, reliable and 

consistent. 

Years later, my family decided to try our hand at oyster farming in Reedville, Virginia. The 

Chesapeake Bay's oyster population had been depleted due to overharvesting and other 

ecologi<;al problems. We built a business that produced nearly 600,000 oysters per year, which 

in addition to providing a food source, filter the Bay's water and reduce the undesirable and 

excessive algae bloom. 

These experiences in farming and oyster aquaculture introduced me to the role that government 

plays in the everyday lives of the American people. While farming, we interacted with the 

USDA's Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service and with oyster 

farming, we interacted with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, and the state marine resources commission. These experiences gave me an 

appreciation for the role government plays in our daily lives and how dependent we are for 

timely and effective interaction with government agencies. 
118 

After college, I started my first professional job working as a cost analyst for a defense 

contractor. Several years later, I worked in the House of Representatives tracking appropriations 

riders which were important to the Speaker. For the last 15 years, I have worked in management 

at Federal agencies: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the Millennium Challenge 

Corporation; and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. At these agencies lied efforts to 

track appropriations, modernize, replace and consolidate financial systems, and modernize 

business systems to improve agency management and achieve savings. My experience leading 

management professionals in the Federal community taught me that many agencies face the 

same management issues regardless of size. 

At a time when the American people are accessing information instantaneously and ordering 

food and transportation services over their smart phones, the Federal government needs to 

modernize and transform the way it operates to be more effective at delivering the mission, to be 

more customer service oriented to the citizens, and to be good stewards of public assets. 

In workirig to develop solutions for management problems, I've learned how to work with 

stakeholders with a variety of competing interests and I've learned that improving management 

in an agency is more than buying new systems. It's about changing the minds of your peers and 

getting them to adopt bold new ideas. Without the support of internal stakeholders, failure is 

often a likely outcome. 

My experience has given me the knowledge, insight, and desire to lead efforts to address 

systemic problems including transforming financial management across government. My 

temperament and ability to convene people with a variety of interests, allows me to lead agency 

stakeholders to support new solutions. My practical experience has given me a holistic 

understanding of Federal financial systems and how they interact with other systems. I 

understand the life-cycle of a Federal dollar from appropriation to disbursement. 

My strong interest in improving Federal financial systems across government allows me to work 

across the "silos" within agencies in the areas of information technology, procurement, and 

performance management to bring efficiency and transparency to government. 

My appreciation for the role government plays in our daily lives; - the need for more efficient 

and effective government services; - improved transparency, and my experience in working in 

financial management, - has prepared me to address the issues facing financial management 

today. 

Thank you again Chairman Lankford, Ranking Member Peters, and Members of the Committee 

for your time and for the opportunity to appear before you today. 

I would be glad to take any questions you have. 
119 

REDACTED 

HSGAC BIOGRAPHICAL QUESTIONS FOR 

EXECUTIVE NOMINEES 

1. Basic Biographical Information 

Please provide the following information. 

1 
120 

Never Married 

Xo 

Married Separated 

2 

Annulled Divorced 

0 

Widowed 

0 
121 

N/A 

2. Education 

List all post-secondary schools attended, 

Virglnln 

Tecll 

University Septt9XJ 

Etl 

3 

June 1987 o I 

Est ['t"('SCPI 

0 

Est Prl"cnt 

B.S. June 

1987 
122 

3. Employment 

(A) List all of your employment activities, including unemployment and self-employment. 

If the employment activity was military duty, list separate employment activity periods to 

show each change of inilltary duty station. Do not list employment before your 18th 

birthday unless to provide a minimum of two years of employment history. 

Non-Government 

Employment Manager 

4 

d,VA 

October lOll E:tt 

ESI 

Nonmtnr 1994::~ 
123 

Non-Govenunent Citizens for a Sound Research Washing! Est X E>IX July J99J.o Oc1obcr 1994o Employment Economy Assistant on, DC 

Federal Employment U.S. Department of Special Wnshingt 'Erto £>10 

Commerce Assistant on, DC fcbruury 19M J~anutry 1993 

Non-Government Jaycor Technical Inventory Spring fie EstXo EstX;:l 

M:u·ch 1918 febru:arr 1989 Employment Services, Inc. Manager ld, VA 

Non-Government Vredenburg, Inc. Budget Reston, E1rXo UtXo Septcml1u 1987 M:~.rth 1988 Employment Assistant VA 

{B) List any advisory, consultative, honorary or other part-time service or positions with 

federal, state, or local governments, not listed elsewhere. 

4. Potential Conflict of Interest 

(A) Describe any business relationship, dealing or financial transaction which you have had 

during the last 10 years, whether for yourself, on behalf of a client, or acting as an agent, 

that could In any way constitute or result In a possible conflict of interest ln the position to 

which you have been nominated. NONE. 

(B) Describe any activity during the past 10 years in which you have engaged for the 

purpose of directly or Indirectly influencing the passage, defeat or modification of any 

legislation or affecting the administration or execution of law or public policy, other than 

while in a federal government capacity. NONE. 

5. Honors and Awards 

5 
124 

List all scholarships, feUowships, honorary degrees, civilian service citations, military 

medals, academic or professional honors, honorary society memberships and any other 

special recognition for outstanding service or achievement. NONE. 

6. Memberships 

List all memberships that you have held in professional, social, business, fraternal, 

scholarly, civic, or charitable organizations In the last 10 years. 

Unless relevant to your nomination, you do NOT need to include memberships in 

charitable organizations available to the public as a result of a tax deductible donation of 

$1,000 or less, Parent-Teacher Associations or other organizations connected to schools 

attended by your children, athletic clubs or teams, automobile support organizations (such 

as AAA), discounts clubs (such as Groupon or Sam's Club), or affinity 

memberships/consumer clubs (such as frequent flyer memberships). 

Grand Lodge of Virginia 1992 to present Master Mason 

Ml Cannel Lodge No. 133 

Warrenton, VA 

BMW Car Club of America 200

1

1 to present Member 

Antique and Classic Boat Society Sept. 2015 to present Member 

Americim Radio Relay League January 2015 to present Member 

7. Political Activity 

(A) Have you ever been a candidate for or been elected or appointed to a political office? 

6 
125 

Name Of:Offii!e 

N/A 

(B) List any offices held in or services rendered to a political party or election committee 

during the last ten years that you have not listed elsewhere. 

NRCC 

John McCain for 

President 

Mitt Romney for 

President 

Campaign Volunteer 

Campaign Volunteer 

Campaign Volunteer 

Get Out The Vote effort 

Get Out The Vote effort 

Get Out The Vote effort 

October/November 

2006 

October/November 

2008 

October/November 

20!2 

(C) Itemize all indivld~al political contributions of $200 or more that you h~ve made in the 

past five years to any individual, campaign organization, political party, political action 

committee, or similar entity. Please list each individual contribution and not the total 

amount contributed to the person or entity during the year. 

·.· · ~ N!!in) of ReCipient 

Mitt Romney for President 1000.00 2012 

NRCC 1000.00 2012 

Mitt Romney for President 1500.00 2012 

Mitt Romney for President 2500.00 2012 

7 
126 

Allen West for Congress 500.00 2012 

Rob Wittman for Congress 500.00 2012 

Republican Party of Virginia 500.00 2014 

Ed Gillespie for Senate 500.00 2014 

Rob Willman for Congress 500.00 2014 

Fairfax County Republican Commiuce 500.00 2014 

Jeb Bush/Right to Rise PAC 2500.00 2015 

Republican Party of Virginia 1000.00 2015 

Jeb Bush for President 2700.00 20!5 

Scott Lingamfelter for Delegate (Virginia) 500.00 2015 

Margaret RJnsone for Delegate (Virginia) soo.Jo(?) 2015 

Republican Party of Virginia 2500.00 2016 

Rob Wittman for Congress 1500.00 2016 

Tom Garrett for Congress 1000.00 2016 

Tom Garrett for Congress 250.00 2017 

8. Publications and Speeches 

(A) List the titles, publishers and dates of books, articles, reports or other published 

materials that you have written, Including articles published on the Internet. Please provide 

8 
127 

the Committee with copies of all listed publications. In lieu of hard copies, electronic copies 

can be provided via e-mail or other digital format • 

. Title· 

(B) List any formal speeches you have delivered during the last five years and provide the 

Committee with copies of those speeches relevant to the position for which you have been 

nominated. Include any testimony to Congress or any other legislative or administrative 

body. These items can be provided electronically via e-mail or other digital format • 

. · tTiti~rrllpic · 

N/A 

(C) List all speeches and testimony you have delivered in the past ten years, except for 

those the text of which you are providing to the Committee. 

NIA 

9. Criminal History 

Since (and including) your 18111 birthday, has any of the following happened? 

Have you been issued a summons, citation, or ticket to appear in court in a criminal proceeding against you? 

(Exclude citations involving traffic infractions where the fine was less than $300 and did not include alcohol or 

drugs.) NO. 

Have you been arrested by any police officer, sheriff, marshal or any other type of law enforcement official? 

NO. 

Have you been charged, convicted, or sentenced of a crime in any court? NO. 

Have you been or are you currently on probation or parole? NO. 

Are you currently on trial or awaiting a trial on criminal charges? NO. 

9 
128 

• To your knowledge, have you ever been the subject or target of n federal, stale or local criminal investigation'! 

NO. 

If the answer to any of the questions above Is yes, please answer the questions below for 

each criminal event (citation, arrest, investigation, etc.). If the event was an investigation, 

where the question below asks for information about the offense, please offer information 

about the offense under investigation {if known). 

A) Date of offense: N/A 

a. Is this an estimate (Y es!No ): 

B) Description of the specific nature ofthe offense: 

C) Did the offense involve any of the following? 

I} Domestic violence or a crime of violence (such as battery or assaull) against your child, dependent, 

cohabitant, spouse, former spouse, or someone with whom you share a child In common: Y~s I No 

2) Fireanns or explosives: Yes I No 

3) Alcohol or drugs: Yes I No 

D) Location where the offense occurred (city, county, state, zip code, country): 

E) Were you arrested, summoned, cited or did you receive a ticket to appear as a result of this offense by any 

police officer, sheriff, marshal or uny other type oflaw enforcement official:. Yes I No 

I) Name of the law enforcement agenc~ that arrested/cited/summoned you: 

2) Location of the Jaw enforcement agency (city, county, state, zip code, country): 

F) As a result of this offense \vere you charged, convicted, currently awaiting trial, and/or ordered to appear in 

court in a criminal proceeding against you: Yes I No 

l) If yes, provide the name oftbe court and the location of the court (city, county, state, zip code, 

country): 

2} If yes, provide all the charges brought against you for this offense, and the outcome of each charged 

offense (such as found guilty, found not-guilty, charge dropped or"nolle pros," etc).lfyou were found 

guilty of or pleaded guilty to a lesser offense, list separately both the original charge and the lesser 

offense: 

3) If no, provide explanation: 

G) Were you sentenced as a result of this offense: Yes I No 

H) Provide a description of the sentence: 

I) Were you sentenced to imprisonment for a tenn exceeding one year: Yes I No 

10 
129 

J) Were you incarcerated as a result oflhat sentence for not less than one year: Yes/No 

K) If the conviction resulted in imprisonment, provide the dates that you actually were incarcerated: 

L} If conviction resulted in probation or parole, provide the dates of probation or parole: 

M) Are you currently on trial, awaiting a trial, or awaiting sentencing on criminal charges for this offense: Yes I 

No 

N) Provide explanation: 

11 
130 

10. Civil Litigation and Administrative or Legislative Proceedings 

(A) Since {and Including) your 18th birthday, have you been a party to any public record 

civil court action or administrative or legislative proceeding of any kind that resulted in (1) 

a finding of wrongdoing against you, or (2) a settlement agreement for you, or some other 

person or entity, to make a payment to settle allegations against you, or for you to take, or 

refrain from taking, some action. Do NOT include small claims proceedings. 

(B) In addition to those listed above, have you or any business of which you were an officer, 

director or owner ever been involved as a party of interest in any administrative agency 

proceeding or civil litigation? Please identify and provide details for any proceedings or 

civil litigation that involve actions taken or omitted by you, or alleged to have been taken or 

omitted by you, while serving in your official capacity. 

{C) For responses to the previous question, please identify and provide details for any 

proceedings or civil litigation that involve actions taken or omitted by you, or alleged to 

have been taken or omitted by you, while serving in your official capacity. None. 

11. Breach of Professional Ethics 

(A) Have you ever been disciplined or cited for a breach of ethics or unprofessional conduct 

by, or been the subject of a complaint to, any court, administrative agency, professional 

association, disciplinary committee, or other professional group? Exclude cases and 

proceedings already listed. 

12 
131 

:AC:tiowCom~lalnt 

· J5suel!llnill ted 

(B) Have you ever been fired from a job, quit a job after being told you would be fired, left 

a job by mutual agreement following charges or allegations of misconduct; left a job by 

mutual agreement following notice of unsatisfactory performance, or received a written 

warning, been offi~lally reprimanded, suspended, or disciplined for misconduct in the 

workplace, such as violation of a security policy? NO. 

12. Tax Compliance 

(This information will not be published in the record of the hearing on your nomination, 

but it wUI be retained in the Committee's files and will be available for public inspection.) 

REDACTED 
132 

REDACTED 

13. Lobbying 

In the past ten years, have you registered as a lobbyist? NO. If so, please indicate the state, 

federal, or local bodies with which you have registered (e.g., House, Senate, California 

Secretary of State). N/A 

14. Outside Positions 

None. 

14 
133 

Xo See OGE Form 278. (If, for your nomination, you have completed an OGE Form 278 

Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, you may check the box here to 

complete this section and then proceed to the next section.) 

For the preceding ten calendar years and the current calendar year, report any positions 

held, whether compensated or not. Positions include but arc not limited to those of an 

officer, director, trustee, general partner, proprietor, representative, employee, or 

consultant of any corporation, firm, partnership, or other business enterprise or any nonprofit organization or educational institution. Exclude positions with religious, social, 

fraternal, or political entities and those solely of an honorary nature. 

SeeOGE 

Form278 

15. Agreements or Arrangements 

Xo See OGE Form 278. (If, for your nomination, you have completed an OGE Form 278 

Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, you may check the box here to 

complete this section and then proceed to the next section.) 

As of the date of filing your OGE Form 278, report your agreements or arrangements for: 

(1) continuing participation In an employee benefit plan (e.g. pension, 40lk, deferred 

compensation); (2) continuation of payment by a former employer (including severance 

payments); (3) leaves of absence; and (4) future employment. 

15 
134 

Provide information regarding any agreements or arrangements you have concerning {1) 

future employment; {2) a leave of absence during your period of Government service; (3) 

continuation of payments by a former employer other than the United States Government; 

and (4) continuing participation in an employee welfare or benefit plan maintained by a 

former employer other than United States Government retirement benefits. 

Status!nd Term§ !![Alll: Agreement l2.!!.li ~r Arral!~em~nt Parties (month/year) 

N/A 

! 

! 

l 

16. Additional Financial Data 

All information requested under this heading must be provided for yourself, your spouse, 

and your dependents. (This information will not be published in the record of the hearing 

on your nomination, but it will be retained in the Committee's files and will be a vall able for 

public inspection.) · l I 

REDACTED 
REOAClEO 

SIGNATURE AND DATE 

hereby state that I have read the foregoing Statement on Biographical and Financial Information and that the in

1rovided therein is, to the best of my knowledge, current, accurate, and complete. 

7 

5" S.e-rr!ewt.her t 7 

rhis dayof ,20 

23 
136 

UNITED STATES OFFICE OF 

GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

REDACTED 

·---- * ----·-----------------

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Committee on 1-lorneland Security 

arid Goven'lmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 205 I 0 

Dear Mr.. Chainnan: 

September 10, 20-17 

In Mcordanoe wlth the Ethics in Government Act of1978, I enclose a copy of the 

financial disclosure rep011 filed by Frederick Martin Nutt, who has been nominated by 

President Trump l'or the position ofController, Office <>f Federal Financial Managemeni, Office 

of Management atid Budget. 

We have reviewed the report and have obtained advic'e from the agency concerning any 

po~sible contlict.in 11ght of its functions and the nominee'.s propo·se<:J duties. Also enclosed is an 

ethics agreement outlining the actions that the nominee will undertake to avoid conflicts of 

interest Unless a date fOr compHance is i.ndicated in the ethics agreemen~. the nominee must 

fully coltlply within tlwee months of confirmation with ahy action specified in the ethics 

agreement. 

Based thereon, we believe that this nominee' is in compliance with applicable laws and 

regulations governing conflicts of interest. 

Sincerely, 

David J. Apol 

Enclosures REDACTED Acting Directol' and General Counsel 

1201 NEWYORKAVENW·SUITF.SOO•WASHJNGTON DC·2000S * * * * 
137 

Yasaman Sutton 

Alternate Designated AgencyEthios Officjal 

Office. ot'Mamigement and Budget 

72~ 17111 Street, NW 

Washington; DC 205.03 

Dear Ms. Sutton: 

September 6, 2017 

Tht~ purpose ofJnis Jetter is to desqribe the steps that r wilL take to avoid any actual or 

apparent conflicfofinterest in the evtmt thnt I am conflnned for the position of Controller of the 

Office of Federal FinanCial Managc;ment, Office of Managcmcn(and Budget, 

As required by 18 U:S.(;. § 208(a), I will not participate pet:Sonally nnd substantinlly in 

any particular.maitet in which l know that I haw a financial interest directly .and predictatily 

affected by the matter; or in which. I know that a person Whose interests are imputed to me has a 

financinl interest directly and predictably affected by the matter; .unless I firstqbtain a written. 

waiver, pursuant to 18 u.s.c. § 208(b)(l), or qualify for a regulatory exemption, pursuant to 

18 U.S. C. § '208(11)(2). l understand that the interests ofthef<ill~wing persons are imputed to 

me: llJIY spouse Of minl>rcnild ofmine; any general partner ofa partnership iil which l!iin a 

limitec:t or general partnen .any organization in which 1 serve as officer, director, trustee, general 

partner or employee; and any person or organization \vith which I am negotiating or have an 

arrangement con~ing prospective emplo)llllent. 

Upon copfirmation, I will resign from ltlY position with BGM Services, Inc. For a period 

df one year.after my resignation from BGM Services, Inc., .I wilt. not participate personally and 

substantially in at:ty particular matter involving specific parties in which.! know that BGM 

Services, Inc. is a party or represents a party; unless l am tirsta,uthotized to participate, pursuant 

to 5 C.F.R. § 2635502(d). . 

My father and. I are owners of Reedville Ent~rprises LLC arid Rl,!edvHle Oysters LLC. 1 

do. nofhave 110 active role in any oftheseentities. I w!ll continue to have a financial interest ln 

each of ihese entities, but I will not provide services material to the. production of income to any 

ofthese entities. Instead, I will receive only passive investmentincmne from them. I will riot 

participate personally and substantially in any particular matter that to my knowledge has a direct 

and predictable effect. on !he finnneral interests.ofany of these entities, unless I first .obtain a 

written waiver, pursuant to 18 U.S.C~ § 208{b)(l). 

I Will rr1eet in person with yoq during the first week of my service. in the p<!$ition of 

Coritr.oller ofthe Office of Federal Financlol Management in ~rder to complete the initi!il ethics 

briefing required under 5 C.F.R. § 2638,305. Within 90 da)lli ofmy ~:onfinnntion,I wilh!lso 

docunumt my compliance with this ethics agreement by noiitylng you in writing when I have 

completed the steps described in this ethics agreement. 
138 

Iflhave a managed account or otherwise use the services of an investment professional 

during my ;~ppointment, l will ensure that the account manager or investm.ent prpfelisional 

obtains my prior approval ort a oase-by·Ci!Se b~ls.for the purchase o.fany assets other than caSh, 

cash equivalents,invi:llit'nfli;it fun(!s that qualifY for the exemption·ntS C~F.R. § 2640,2(H(a), or 

obligations ofth.eUnited States. 

I understand thnt .as an appointee r will be required to sign the Ethics Pledge (Ex;ec. Order 

no, 13770) and that I wilt ,be bound by the requirements and restrictions therein in addition to the 

commitmt;nts.Jhave made in this, ethics agreement. 

t have been advised that this ethic.s agreement will be po~ted publi~ly; co.nsistent with 

5 U.s.c. § 552, on the website of the U.S. Office of.Oovetmnent Ethics with ethics agreements 

of other Presidential nominees who file public. financial disclosure reports. 

Sincert:ly, 

/F~rickMartin ~~fr Nutt 
139 

UNITED STATES OFFICE OF 

GOVERNMENT ETHICS 

REDACTED 

* ---------------------------------------

The Honorable Ron Johnson 

Chairman 

Committee on Homeland Security 

and Governmental Affairs 

United States Senate 

Washington, DC 20510 

Dear Mr. Chairman: 

October \9,2017 

By letter dated September, 10, 2017, the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) transmitted 

to the Committee the financial disclosure report of Frederick Ma1tin Nutt in connection with his 

nomination for the position of Controller) Office of Federal fjnancial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget. Enclosed are a letter from the Office of Management and Budget and 

a letter from Mr. Nutt supplementing his financial disclosure report. 

We have reviewed this additional submission and have also obtained advice from the 

Office of Management and Budget concerning any possible conflict in light of its functions and 

the nominee's proposed duties. Based on the infonnation provided, OGE continues to believe 

that Mr. Nutt is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations goveming conflicts of 

interest. 

Sincerely, 

David J. Apol 

Acting Director and General Counsel 

Enclosures REDACTED 

1201 NEW YORK AVE NW ·SUITE 500 ·WASHINGTON DC • 20005 * * * * 
140 

Y asaman Sutton 

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503 

Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official 

Office of the General Counsel 

Office of Management and Budget 

725 17th Street, NW 

Washington, D.C. 20503 

October 17,2017 

David J. Apol 

Acting Director and General Counsel 

U.S. Office of Government Ethics 

1201 New York Avenue, Suite 500 

Washington, D.C. 20005-3017 

Dear Mr. Apol: 

Enclosed please find an amendment made by Mr. Fred Nutt to his original 278e. This 

amendment, signed by Mr. Nutt on October 17, 2017, identifies his ownership interest in 

Morningstar of Catlett LLC on the day he filed the 278e. Mr. Nutt filed his 278e on May 2, 

2017. On May 8, 2017, Mr. Nutt's interest in Morningstar of Catlett LLC and its assets were 

transferred to his Father and placed into a revocable trust. Mr. Nutt has no present financial 

interest in the assets of that trust. In addition, to be sure, he is not a trustee of that (or any other) 

trust. 

Based on my review of Mr. Nutt's OGE Form 278e and these amendments, it is my opinion that 

the report is complete and discloses no conflicts of interest under applicable laws and 

regulations. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach me at 202-395-7535. 

Very Respectfully, 

·-[o~~\.Ci!.._~-aJm:::) 

Y asaman Sutton 

Assistant General Counsel and 

Alternate Designated Agency Ethics Official 

Enclosure (as stated) REDACTED 
141 

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs 

Pre-hearing Questionnaire 

For the Nomination of Frederick M. Nutt to be 

Controller- Office of Federal Financial Management 

Office of Management and Budget 

I. Nomination Process and Conflicts of Interest 

l. Did the President give you specific reasons why he nominated you to be the next 

Controller., Office of Federal Financial Management (OFFM) at the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) {hereinafter referred to as "Controller")? (ANSWER) 

No. 

2. Were any conditions, expressed or implied, attached to your nomination? If so, please 

explain. (ANSWER) No. 

3. Have you made any commitments with respect to the policies and principles you will 

attempt to implement as Controller? If so, what are they, and to whom were the 

commitments made? (ANSWER) No. 

4. Are you aware of any business relationship, dealing, or financial transaction that could 

result in a possible conflict ofinterest for you or the appearance of a conflict of interest? 

If so, please explain what procedures you will use to recuse yourself or otherwise address 

the conflict. And if you will recuse yourself, explain how you will ensure your 

responsibilities are not affected by your recusal. (ANSWER) I am not aware of any 

conflicts and went through a thorough review with the OMB Alternate Ethics Official 

and the Office of Government Ethics. 

11. Background of the Nominee 

5. What specific background, experience, and attributes qualify you to be Controller? 

(ANSWER) I have over 15 years of Federal management experience including financial 

management in the Office of the CFO at the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

Office of the Vice President for Administration and Finance at Millennium Challenge 

Corporation and the Office of the Vice President for Management and Administration at 

the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. This experience includes enhanced 

financial management systems, transitioning an agency's payroll system to a shared 

service provider, assessing business systems requirements and acquiring new financial, 

business and reporting systems. 

6. Please describe: 

a. Your leadership and management style. (ANSWER) My leadership style is 

professional and respectful, offering constructive criticism and encouragement to 

staff. I prefer to delegate tasks and provide feedback in a positive way. I believe that 

a happy staff will be a productive staff and look for opportunities to keep them 

motivated and connected to the mission. 

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b. Your experience managing personnel. (ANSWER) I have managed both Federal 

employees and contractor personnel. 

c. What is the largest number of people that have worked under you? (ANSWER) The 

largest number of people working under me would be seven Federal employees and 

approximately 60 contractor personnel. 

7. 3 J U.S.C. § 504 requires that the President appoint a Controller who possesses 

"demonstrated ability and practical experience in accounting, financial management and 

financial systems .... "Please describe your ability in these areas. (ANSWER) My 

experience in accounting, financial management and financial systems includes: 

Conducting analysis on agencies' accounting and financial management systems, 

developing and gathering requirements for the acquisition of new systems, evaluating 

shared services provided by other Federal agencies, migrating an agency to a new payroll 

provider. While at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Overseas Private 

Investment Corporation, I lead the annual effort to formulate budgets for the managemenl 

functions of the agency and worked on a daily basis with the finance and accounting staff 

on execution, requisitioning, committing and obligating funds and conducting reviews to 

address unliquidated balances and undelivered orders. 

8. The statute also requires that the Controller possess "extensive practical experience in 

financial management in large governmental or business entities." Please describe your 

experience managing the finances of a large entity. (ANSWER) While at the 

Environmental Protection Agency I worked in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer 

and supported the budget planning process, working with component offices on their 

budget requests, the President's Management Agenda priorities of Improved Financial 

Management and Budget and Performance Integration. I worked on the transfer of the 

Environmental Protection Agency's payroll from an internal system to a shared service 

provider. I also identified, tracked and reviewed the status of congressional earmarks in 

the agency's appropriations. 

III. Role of the Controller 

9. Please describe your view of OFFM's core mission and the Controller's role in achieving 

that mission. (ANSWER) The mission of OFFM is to support improved and transparent 

financial management and reporting and reduce waste, fraud and abuse. The Controller's 

role is to facilitate necessary policy and guidance to the agencies so to improve their 

reporting and to advance policies to improve effectiveness and efficiency in financial 

management. 

l 0. In your opinion, is OFFM currently fulfilling its financial management policy 

responsibilities? If not, what would you do differently as Controller? (ANSWER) Yes, 

I think the office has a highly professional, well-motivated team. 

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II. How do you view your role as Controller with respect to the CFO Council? (ANSWER) 

The Controller is the chair of the CFO Council and serves as leader and facilitator of the 

forum where CFOs, their deputies and staff are able discuss financial management issues 

and collaborate and develop common solutions. If confirmed, I would see my role to 

lead the council to develop solutions with the agencies and work with policy officials to 

implement appropriate solutions, legislative or otherwise. 

12. IV. Policy Questions 

Management 

13. What do you believe are the most pressing internal and external challenges currently 

facing OFFM? Which challenges will you prioritize and what do you plan to do to 

address each of those challenges? (ANSWER) It think the office would be more effective 

if we made a stronger effort to collaborate with the other management functions. The 

recently announced President's Management Agenda will require improved collaboration 

to modernize govenunent and make it more efficient and effective. 

14. In your view, what are the highest priorities in both urgency and importance for 

enhancing Federal financial management? Why? (ANSWER) There are improvements 

to be made in the areas of improper payments, data standardization and transparency, IT 

cost transparency and shared services. If confirmed, I would make these my priority 

areas under the President's Management Agenda. The names of these cross agency 

priority goals are Results Oriented Accountability for Grants, Getting Payments Right, 

Data as a Strategic Asset, and Sharing Quality Services). Addressing these areas would 

result less waste, better information leading to improved decision-making, more efficient 

use of resources and more efficient and effective government. 

15. What measurements would you use to determine whether your office is successful? 

(ANSWER) If confirmed, I would focus on all these priorities and ensure the measures 

of success are realized. For example, I would focus on the reduction in monetary loss 

due to improper payments and the reduction in the number of improper payments due to 

administrative errors and incomplete or processing errors. 

16. OMB is expected to have an important role in developing and implementing the 

President's Management Agenda. 

a. If confirmed as Controller, you will be involved in the execution of President 

Trump's March 13,2017 Executive Order on reorganizing government. The previous 

Controller, David Mader, said that Trump's reorganization plan gives an opportunity 

for "career executives to put forward their own bold plans on how to make delivery of 

the mission better." Do you agree with former Controller Mader's assessment of the 

reorganization process? (ANSWER) I have not been briefed on the details of any 

reorganization plans, however Yes, I agree. This is a key tenet of the President's 

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Management Agenda that the agencies, including civil service employees, can 

propose solutions to improve customer service, efficiency and effectiveness of 

government programs. 

b. What role do you foresee for OFFM in the development and implementation of 

reorganization plans? (ANSWER) I have not been in any meetings regarding 

reorganization and cannot speak to the specifics of any plans. 

c. What statutory changes do you believe will be necessary in order to properly 

implement an effective modernization and reorganization? {ANSWER) I have not 

been in any meetings or discussions regarding reorganization plans. 

17. How would you handle employee disciplinary issues within the OFFM? (ANSWER) If 

confirmed, the only direct report I would have would be the Deputy Controller. Ifl had a 

problem with the Deputy Controller, I would discuss the issue(s) with this person and if 

need be have a meeting with the appropriate Human Resources staff. 

a. How would you respond to underperforming employees within the OFFM? 

(ANSWER) Except for the Deputy Controller, I would expect the Deputy Controller 

to address any staff management issues consistent with Federal personnel policy and 

as needed appropriate Human Resources staff. 

b. Please explain your views on putting an employee on paid administrative leave 

pending an investigation or disciplinary action. Under what circumstances, if any, do 

you believe that might be appropriate? (ANSWER) I would anticipate that might be 

appropriate if an investigation had to be conducted and the employee needed to be 

removed from the office/workplace while an investigation was conducted by Human 

Resources or the Office of General Counsel, whichever is appropriate. 

18. What role, if any, should OFFM play in ensuring agency collaboration and greater 

sharing of data helpful for curbing waste and fraud? If con finned how do you plan to 

carry out this role? (ANSWER) If confirmed, I would direct OFFM staff to work with 

agencies to identify institutional, statutory and other roadblocks to allow agencies access 

to databases which would reduce or eliminate waste and fraud. Also by leveraging data 

as a strategic asset and improving spending transparency would also help reduce waste 

and fraud. I would direct OFFM to work with agencies to identify solutions (legislative 

or otherwise) to address improper payments and work with appropriate committees and 

staff to implement them. 

19. Do you agree with the importance of publicly disclosing the Federal government's 

performance goals and the results achieved? (ANSWER) Yes, reporting to the public is 

critical to transparency which is necessary to maintaining taxpayer support for Federal 

programs. 

20. Protecting whistleblower confidentiality is of the utmost importance to this Committee. 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page4 
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a. How do you plan to implement policies within the OFFM to encourage employees to 

bring constructive suggestions forward without the fear of reprisal? (ANSWER} I 

would tell staff of the importance of following the Whistleblower Act and have a 

presentation on the act and how an employee would report a violation. 

b. Do you commit without reservation to work to ensure that any whistleblower within 

OFFM does not face retaliation? (ANSWER) Yes. 

c. Do you commit without reservation to take all appropriate action if notified about 

potential whistleblower retaliation? (ANSWER) Yes. 

21. Sec. I 122 of Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of2010 

(GPRAMA} instructs OMB to "issue guidance to ensure that such information is 

provided in a way that presents a coherent picture of all Federal programs, and the 

performance of the Federal government as well as individual agencies." The statute also 

states that the standards set for transparency and frequency of updates are the minimum. 

a. If confirmed, what steps will you take to ensure that disclosures to the public are 

provided in a coherent and easily accessible manner? (ANSWER) I would direct that 

the information be presented in a direct and intuitive way that results in a user 

friendly experience. 

b. If confirmed, would you support OMB using its website to provide transparency and 

accountability to the public, including beyond the statutorily required minimums if 

necessary for coherence and comprehensiveness? (ANSWER) Yes, I am very 

supportive of using an appropriately designed website to improve transparency and 

accountability. 

Improper Payment, Pelformance. and Transparency 

22. Of the 24 agencies included in the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act), only 

9 were reported by their inspectors general as compliant with the Improper Payments 

Elimination and Recover Act of2010 (IPERA). What steps will you take as Controller to 

ensure that all agencies comply with improper payments laws? (ANSWER) I understand 

that Improper Payments is an important issue and if confirmed by the Senate, I would 

make reducing the monetary loss and the number of improper payments to be one of my 

top priorities. 

a. The 15 CFO Act agencies that were noncompliant with IPERA accounted for $132 

billion of the $136.7 billion in improper payments in fiscal year 2015. Other than 

improving IPERA compliance, what steps will you take to reduce improper payments 

at these 15 agencies? (ANSWER) If confirmed, I would work to improve IPERA 

compliance. 

23. From 2010 to 2013, total annual improper payments dropped from $121 billion to $106 

billion. However, the improper payment rates rose sharply over the last 3 years of the 

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Obama Administration, totaling over $I 44 billion in 2016. What lessons can be learned 

from the declining improper payments at the beginning of the decade, and what steps can 

be taken to ensure that improper payments are reduced over time? (ANSWER) I 

understand that each year a different number of agencies were included in the aggregate 

number of agencies, each with their own different mission oriented programs, conducting 

their own improper payment projections, and using data from different fiscal years, and 

that over the years, agencies became better as identifying improper payments. All of 

these factors contribute to the improper payment numbers we have seen. If confirmed, I 

would make reducing improper payments one of my top my priorities. 

24. Prior to the Obama Administration, improper payments were not identified or recorded in 

a manner that allows us to compare them to previous years. However, we do know that 

over the course of his presidency, close to $1 trillion was paid by the Federal government 

to the wrong recipient, in the incorrect amount, for an improper purpose, or for purposes 

that were not adequately documented. What initiatives of the previous administration 

will you incorporate into your strategy to reduce improper payments and which will you 

abandon? (ANSWER) If confirmed by the Senate, I would focus on stopping improper 

payments from being made in the first place. I would also focus on the programs with the 

largest improper payments resulting in monetary Joss first, and I would abandon 

aggregating data across agencies and their programs as this do not help policymakers 

address the problems with improper payments. 

25. The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of2014 (DATA Act), was a priority 

for the Committee during the 113'11 Congress. Key implementation deadlines are 

approaching. What steps will you take to ensure that the DATA Act implementation 

stays on track? If confirmed, I would work with the agencies to make sure that they are 

submitting required data on time. 

26. The Committee has worked to pass the Taxpayer's Right to Know Act for several years 

now. The legislation attempts to link the funding information required by the DATA Act 

with performance information. What is your opinion of the Taxpayer's Right to Know 

Act? (ANSWER) I am very supportive of improving transparency in government 

activities and would like to learn more about the specific provisions in this act. 

Real Property 

27. What do you believe are the principal obstacles that the Federal government faces in the 

management of and, where appropriate, disposition of Federal real property? 

(ANSWER) Federal real property is not managed or valued adequately and agencies are 

not incentivized to properly manage their real property. 

28. In 2012, then-Controller Danny Werfel issued a memorandum implementing Executive 

Order M-12-12 Section 3: Freeze the Footprint. While the savings associated with the 

Freeze the Footprint policy were later questioned, the effort did succeed in pausing the 

government's expansion of its real property footprint. Will you commit to continuing 

efforts to reduce the Federal real property footprint? (ANSWER) Yes. 

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a. What changes, if any, do you believe are appropriate to the "Reduce the Footprint" 

initiative? (ANSWER) I'm not familiar with the specific details to be able to make 

recommendations to changes in the policy at this time. 

29. In December 2016, the Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act (P.L. 114-578) was signed 

into law, which establishes a Public Buildings Reform Board to identify and sell excess 

real property. What steps are you currently taking to ensure the full implementation of 

this legislation? (ANSWER) I understand that the Public Buildings Reform Board 

currently has no chair, nor members. What additional steps will you take in the future? 

(ANSWER) When the board has a chair and enough members to establish a quorum, I 

would look forward to working with them. 

30. What, if any, refonns would you suggest to expedite the process for disposing of excess, 

underutilized, or surplus real property? (ANSWER) I'm not familiar enough with the 

specific details to comment on this, but if confirmed, would look forward to learning 

more about this subject 

31. Do you believe that new legislative authority is necessary to make it easier for Federal 

agencies to better manage their real property holdings? If so, what sort of legislation 

would address this need? (ANSWER) I'm not familiar enough with the details to suggest 

that new legislation is required at this time, but if confirmed by the Senate, I would 

recommend to the President that the board be stood up, and per FAST A, work with the 

board to identify potential assets for disposal/sale. 

32. What do you see as the appropriate role of the Federal Real Property Council in Federal 

real property management? (ANSWER) I sec the role of the Federal Real Property 

Council to elevate Federal real property issues at the agencies to better manage their real 

property assets. 

Government Accounlability Office (GAO) High Risk List 

33. Every two years GAO releases a list and report on the most critical issues facing the 

United States Government. Success at remediating the items on the list requires sustained 

leadership commitment and constant communication with the Comptroller General. If 

confirmed, will you commit to regular interaction with the Comptroller General and 

GAO staff on the High Risk List? (ANSWER) Yes. 

34. This year, the U.S. Census was included on the High Risk List due escalating costs, 

delays, and a lack of attention to GAO's recommendations by previous Census Director 

Thompson. Will you commit to prioritizing the financial management of this important 

national program and to working with the Commerce Department CFO to improve 

financial management at the Census Bureau? (ANSWER) Yes. 

Financial Management Systems 

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35. What is your view of the government's current financial reporting requirements? 

(ANSWER) The current financial reporting requirements force the agencies to go 

through a rigorous process resulting in improved financial management. I understand 

there are some concerns that the process is overly burdensome. 

a) Would you support any revisions to OMB Circular A-136, Financial Reporting 

Requirements? (ANSWER) Yes, if confirmed, I would be open to consider making 

changes to the A-136, Financial Reporting. 

b) If so, what are they? If not, why not? (ANSWER) I would consider changes that make 

the reporting less burdensome, more transparent and useful to the public without 

degrading the quality that the current process has produced. 

36. The Obama Administration emphasized the importance of having appropriate risk 

management processes and systems to identify challenges early, to bring them to the 

attention of Agency leadership, and to develop solutions. As part of this effort, OMB 

updated Circular A-123 in July 2016, to adopt a more integrated risk management 

structure. The updated Circular A-123 requires Agencies to implement an enterprise risk 

management capability coordinated with the strategic planning and strategic review 

process established by the GPRA Modernization Act, and the internal control processes 

required by the Federal Managers' Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) and GAO's Green 

Book. 

a. Do you support the integrated approach detailed in Circular A-123? lfnot, please 

explain your view on the appropriate approach to ensuring agencies maintain 

appropriate risk management practices. (ANSWER) Yes, I support the enterprise risk 

management approach in A-123. 

37. A recent GAO report found that DATA Act reporting across the Federal government has 

serious problems with data accuracy, completeness, and consistency. In particular, 

r.eported records of award payments were very often inconsistent with agency data. What 

is your view of the appropriate approach to improving the quality of data reporting under 

the DATA Act? (ANSWER) Yes, l am aware that there are data quality issues with 

DATA Act reporting. If confirmed, I would work with the appropriate staff and agencies 

to make improvements in the quality and timeliness of the data. 

38. OFFM plays an important role in coordinating Federal grant administration. Do you 

believe that any changes are appropriate in the current limits on administrative cost 

recovery for grant recipients? (ANSWER) I understand that there has been interest in 

capping indirect costs on federal grants and that parts of the grants recipient community 

have voiced their concern. I would have to work to familiarize myself further on the 

issue. 

V. Relations with Congress 

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39. Do you agree without reservation to comply with any request or summons to appear and 

testify before any duly constituted committee of Congress if you are confirmed? 

(ANSWER) Yes. 

40. Do you agree without reservation to make any subordinate official or employee available 

to appear and testify before, or provide information to, any duly constituted committee of 

Congress if you are confirmed? (ANSWER) Yes. 

41. Do you agree without reservation to comply fully, completely, and promptly to any 

request for documents, communications, or any other agency material or information 

from any duly constituted committee of the Congress if you are confirmed? (ANSWER) 

Yes. 

VI. Assistance 

42. Are these answers your own? (ANSWER) Yes. Have you consulted with OMB or any 

other interested parties? (ANSWER) ) Yes. I have consulted with members ofOMB's 

Management, Legislative Affairs and General Counsel staff in addition to OPIC's Human 

Resources Office to seek clarification on the technical aspects of some of these questions. 

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Minority 

Supplemental Pre-hearing Questionnaire 

For the Nomination of Frederick Nutt to be 

Controller of the Office of Federal Financial Management- Office of Management and 

Budget 

I. Nomination Process and Conflicts of Interest 

I. Has the President or his staff asked you to sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure 

agreement? (ANSWER) No. 

2. Has the President or his staff asked you to pledge loyalty to the President or the 

Administration? (ANSWER) No. 

3. During your tenure have you asked any Federal employee or potential hire to pledge 

loyalty to the President, Administration, or any other government official? (ANSWER) 

No. 

11. Background of Nominee 

4. Do you seek out dissenting views and how do you encourage constructive critical 

dialogue with subordinates? (ANSWER) Yes, I do seek out different views and I think 

it's helpful hear alternate views to better understand an issue. 

5. Please give examples of times in your career when you disagreed with your superiors and 

aggressively advocated your position. (ANSWER) I was put in charge of an office 

which was not following a consistent policy. Were you ever successful? (ANSWER) 

Yes, I made my case to various senior leaders and sought their support for my position. 

6. Please list and describe examples of when you made difficult choices that you thought 

were in the best interest of the country. (ANSWER) In the previous example, I thought 

that a consistent policy, which was recognized across government was for the overall 

benefit of the country and the agency I worked at. 

7. What would you consider your greatest success as an employee at OMB? (ANSWER) 

During my time at OMB the work that! have put into the cross agency priority (CAP) 

goals has been my greatest success. My effort has resulted in CAP goals for addressing 

improper payments, improving transparency in IT spending, and improving 

accountability in grants. 

8. What would you consider your greatest failure as an employee at OMB? What lessons 

did you Jearn from that experience? (ANSWER) As with coming to any new 

organization there is a period of getting to know the organization, the people and the 

culture. I had to face some challenges in getting to know how OMB works and how to 

accomplish tasks in a busy environment, and this was further complicated by having the 

deputy controller retire during this period. 

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9. In July 2017, you began working at OMB as a senior advisor to the OMB Director. 

a. Please describe your current role and responsibilities as Senior Advisor at OMB. 

(ANSWER) My role has been to advise the Deputy Director for Management and the 

Director on policy matters relating to financial management, financial reporting, real 

property, grants and Federal assistance. 

b. Please provide a Jist of your direct reports and those individuals to whom you directly 

report. (ANSWER) As a senior advisor, I have no direct reports. I report to the 

Deputy Director for Management. 

c. Have you received any guidance regarding compliance with the Federal Vacancies 

Reform Act? If so, please describe what guidance you have received. (ANSWER) I 

have not received any guidance regarding the Federal Vacancies Act. 

d. Have you received copies of delegation of authorities applicable to the position of 

Controller or to your current position as Senior Advisor to the OMB Director? 

(ANSWER) No. 

e. Please explain what specific tasks assigned to the Controller that you are barred from 

performing in your current capacity as Senior Advisor. Please explain what steps 

OMB has taken to ensure that you and OMB staff comply with these limitations. 

(ANSWER) I report to and advise the Deputy Director for Management and do not 

issue any directives, memoranda, or guidance. 

III.Accountabilitv 

24. During your career as a Federal employee, have you ever used a personal email account 

or device to conduct official government business? (ANSWER) No. 

a. If so, please list in what government positions you have used a personal email 

account or device to conduct official government business. (ANSWER) Not 

applicable. 

b. If you used a personal device, please describe your general practice for doing so, and 

what specific steps you have taken to ensure that Federal records created using 

personal devices and accounts were preserved. (ANSWER) Not applicable. 

c. During your tenure as a Federal employee or member of the beachhead team, have 

you used a smartphone app including, but not limited to, WhatsApp, Signal, Confide, 

and others that support encryption or the ability to automatically delete messages after 

they are read or sent, for work-related communications? If so, please indicate which 

application, when it was use, how often and with whom. (ANSWER) Not 

applicable. 

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25. What is your assessment of the oversight work performed by the IGs over the past 

decade? What do you view as the greatest challenges facing the IG community? What do 

you see OMS's role in addressing these challenges? (ANSWER) I am very supportive 

of the role the IG community performs in the Executive Branch. I'm not aware of 

particular challenges. 

26. During your career, has your conduct as a Federal employee ever been subject to an 

investigation or audit by an Inspector General, Office of Special Counsel, Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission, Department of Justice, or any other Federal 

investigative entity? If so, please describe the investigation or audit and its outcome. 

(ANSWER) My conduct as a Federal employee has never been subject to investigation 

or audit by any Federal investigative entity. 

When I was a managing director atOPIC, an employee who worked for me was charged 

with three instances of misconduct. As a result, I recommended that OPJC remove him 

from employment. The employee appealed the action to the Merit Systems Protection 

Board and filed an EEO complaint against OPIC, alleging discrimination on the basis of 

race and religion. I participated as a witness and provided information to OPJC in these 

two matters. OPIC has since settled the matters with the employee. 

27. During your career as a Federal employee, have you ever declined to implement 

recommendations made by CIGIE, the Office of Government Ethics, the Office of 

Special Counsel or the Government Accountability Office? (ANSWER) No. If so, please 

describe the recommendations that were made and your reasoning for not implementing 

them. 

28. If con finned, do you pledge to implement recommendations made by CIGIE, the Office 

of Special Counsel and the Government Accountability Office? (ANSWER) Yes. 

29. Please describe any prior experience you have working with whistleblowers and what 

steps you would take, if confirmed, to ensure that your employees feel comfortable 

reporting waste, fraud, and abuse without fear of reprisal? (ANSWER) I have never 

worked with a whistleblower. I am supportive of the role whistleblowers play in the 

Executive Branch. 

IV. Relations with Congress and the Public 

30. If confirmed, how will you make certain that you will respond in a timely manner to 

Member requests for information? (ANSWER) I will prioritize responses to Member 

requests for information. 

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31. If confirmed, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request for 

information from the Ranking Member of any duly constituted committee of the 

Congress? (ANSWER) Yes. 

32. If confirmed, do you agree without reservation to reply to any reasonable request for 

information from members of Congress? (ANSWER) Yes. If you are directed to ignore 

requests from minority members, will you comply? (ANSWER) I will reply to any 

reasonable request from minority and majority Members of Congress. 

33. If confirmed, do you commit to protect subordinate officials or employees from reprisal 

or retaliation for any testimony, briefings or communications with Members of Congress? 

(ANSWER) Yes. 

34. If confirmed, will you ensure that your staff will fully and promptly provide information 

and access to appropriate documents and officials in response to requests made by the 

Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Congressional Research Service? 

(ANSWER) Yes. 

35. If confirmed, will you agree to work with representatives from this Committee and the 

GAO to promptly implement recommendations for improving OMB's operations and 

effectiveness? (ANSWER) Yes. 

36. If confirmed, will you direct your staff to fully and promptly respond to Freedom of 

Information Act requests submitted by the American people? (ANSWER) Yes. 

37. If confirmed, will you ensure that political appointees are not inappropriately involved in 

the review and release of Freedom of Information Act requests? (ANSWER) Yes. 

38. If confirmed, will you keep this Committee apprised of new information if it materially 

impacts the accuracy of information your agency's officials have provided us? 

(ANSWER) Yes. 

V. Assistance 

39. Are these answers completely your own? If not, who has provided you with assistance? 

(ANSWER) Yes. I have consulted with members ofOMB's Management, Legislative 

Affairs and General Counsel staff in addition to OPIC's Human Resources Office to seek 

clarification on the technical aspects of some of these questions. 

40. Have you consulted with OMB or any other interested parties? If so, please indicate 

which entities. (ANSWER) Yes, I have consulted with members ofOMB's 

Management, Legislative Affairs and General Counsel staff in addition to OPIC's Human 

Resources Office to seek clarification on the technical aspects of some of these questions. 

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I, hu/e..-r:cA M bLdthereby state that I have read the foregoing Pre-Hearing 

Questionnaire and Supplemental Questionnaires and that the information provided therein is, to 

the best of my knowledge, current, accurate, and complete. 

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Page 14 
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Senator James Lankford 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Frederick Nutt 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; 

Kelly Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; 

and Frederick N utt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, 

Office of Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23,2018 

1) The Administration released infrastructure priorities last year, and among them was a 

section emphasizing the need to divest unneeded properties in a more timely and 

efficient manner. Though some of this timely and efficient divestment may need to be 

addressed through statutory change, what can be done at OMB to streamline and 

speed some of the process along? 

(ANSWER) The Administration is committed to divesting unneeded properties to 

save taxpayer dollars and improve the efficiency of the federal real property portfolio. 

The Reduce the Footprint policy and the National Strategy for the Efficient Use of 

Real Property are successfully driving the divesiture of unneeded properties. The 

Administration is working to improve agencies' long-term planning capabilities to 

fully identify assets for divesture in a timely manner. It has fully implemented all the 

requirements of the Federal Property Management Reform Act of2016 and the 

agencies have developed the recommened disposition actions required under the 

Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of2016 to drive divestiture as well. 

2) In line with this property disposal effort, the Army Corps has been directed to 

evaluate all of their assets to determine which are central to their mission and which 

are unneeded several years ago in the Water Resources Development Act. This study 

will likely go through OMB before being released. Can you commit to working 

collaboratively with the Army Corps to help Congress relieve some of the burden 

brought on by these holdings? 

(ANSWER) I understand the Administration policy is to dispose of property that 

agencies no longer require to carry out their missions. If confirmed I would look 

forward to working with the Army Corps on relieving burden associated with these 

holdings. 

3) As you know, the Federal Asset Sale and Transfer Act (FAST A) became law in 

December of2016. It is my understanding that the civilian FAST A board has not yet 

been appointed, possibly in part because GSA has had limited success to solicit 

recommendations on high value properties that can be disposed of. The success of 
156 

FAST A relies on agency cooperation. What efforts do you believe OMB should take 

to ensure that agencies are taking their role in this process seriously? 

(ANSWER) I know of no relationship between the high value property 

recommendations the Adminstration has received from the agencies and the status of 

the Public Buildings Reform Board created by FAST A. The processes of identifying, 

assessing, and reviewing high value properties is ongoing within the Administration 

and at this time it is premature to characterize the results. 

4) DATA Act for Government-wide Financial Management: Now that the DATA Act of 

2014 has required agencies to report their spending information as open data, using a 

single, searchable format, how will your office use that data to inform governmentwide financial management? 

(ANSWER) As of this month, agencies have completed their first full year of DATA 

Act Reporting, which has continued to improve for each quarter. Further, this spring 

OMB released the President's Management Agenda which prioritizes Data, 

Accountability and Transparency, with a Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal on 

"Leveraging Data as a Strategic Asset". As this reporting continues to mature, we are 

working with agencies based on the results of OIG and GAO reports to improve their 

internal controls over DATA Act reporting and to provide reasonable assurances over 

these controls in their annual assurance statement. At the same time, we are actively 

exploring new ways that this data can be used to inform Federal financial 

management policy more broadly. For example, we are beginning to explore whether 

this data could be useful in better managing IT spending, and also whether we can 

begin to connect this spending data to other open data sets that provide information 

about results. 

I look forward to exploring this issue with you and the Committee further. 

5) Grants Modernization and Presidential Management Agenda: You are one of the three 

federal executives responsible for the Administration's goal of "Results-Oriented 

Accountability for Grants," published as one of the Cross-Agency Priority Goals in 

the President's Management Agenda. The first step toward that goal is creating a 

single, searchable data format for the core information reported by federal grantees, 

just as the DATA Act mandated for the core spending information reported by 

agencies. When the Controller and the Treasury Department created the DATA Act 

format, the Controller's office published proposed data fields for spending 

information, before finalizing them, so that transparency advocates and spending 

leaders could comment. Will you so the same with grant information and publish the 

proposed grant data fields before they are finalized? 
157 

(ANSWER) As reflected in the Cross-Agency Priority goal action plan, the CAP goal 

leaders recognize the need to solicit stakeholder feedback and input on all three 

strategies, including the development of a comprehensive taxonomy for core grants 

management data standards. By the end of this year, the CAP goal leaders expect to 

have more detailed information on how formal stakeholder feedback will be solicited 

and will consider the lessons learned under DATA Act implementation and other 

similar efforts as formalizing the outreach strategy. The core capabilities that are 

informing the data standards are already available online at: 
158 

Ranking Member Claire McCaskill 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Frederick Nutt 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23, 2018 

QUESTIONS 

COOPERATION WITH CONGRESS 

Q: If confirmed, will you ensure that you and your staff cooperate with oversight requests 

issued by the relevant ranking members? 

(ANSWER) Yes, if confirmed, I would look forward to working with the Members of the 

Committee on answering their requests. 

Q: Based on your prior experience, how do you plan to work with Congress to address 

improper payments across the federal government? 

(ANSWER) If confirmed, and as a goal leader for the Getting Payments Right CAP goal, 

my intent would be to continue to prioritize preventing monetary losses to the 

government. In addition, I am aware of a new improper payments bill, S.2948 which you 

recently introduced and was referred to HSGAC. If confirmed I look forward to working 

with you and the committee on this legislation. I also look forward to working 

collaboratively with Congress, GAO, the Inspectors General community, and the Chief 

Financial Officers Council to focus on the prevention of improper payments. I am 

committed to finding lasting solutions to put improper payment rates on a declining path 

and look forward to working with Congress to achieve this goal. 

IMPROPER PAYMENTS 

Tmproper payments by the federal government have been a problem for a number of years, and 

OFFM has the responsibility for coordinating federal agency efforts to combat the problem. 

Q: What do you regard as the best measure of success in OFFM's efforts to reduce improper 

payments? 

(ANSWER) I believe the best measure of success is reducing the amount of monetary 

loss to the government. Since each program which makes payments is structured 

differently, I would focus at the program level and prioritize those programs with the 

greatest monetary loss. The most accurate way to assess whether the Government is 
159 

making progress is by reviewing the changes in the individual program improper 

payment estimates over time. In addition, I also believe the changes in program monetary 

loss estimates is a key metric to track. 

Q: You have said that you do not support calculating and publishing a govermnent-wide 

improper payments rate. Why not, and what alternative do you propose for promoting 

transparency about improper payments? 

(ANSWER) My concern with the aggregated number is that it does not lend itself to 

addressing the root causes each agency faces. Focusing on program level improper 

payment estimates is a more accurate method and allows OMB to develop policy aimed 

at preventing improper payments. The publication of a government-wide rate is 

misleading due to the wide array of statistical methods used by programs. In addition, the 

years represented in each individual program estimate vary, which causes 

misrepresentation when aggregated to represent a fiscal year govermnent-wide rate. The 

number and composition of the agencies reporting changes from year to year; by 

aggregating, one agency's success at reducing improper payments can be obscured by 

another agency's poor performance. My proposal for promoting transparency is to 

continue to publish the improper payment rates for each agency on the 

paymentaccuracy.gov website. It is my understanding that the Office of Federal 

Financial Management posts improper payment data, including rates for all programs 

which are required by law on www.paymentaccuracy.gov. This site has a new chart 

engine which promotes transparency in the posted data by allowing the public to visually 

display improper payment data in easy to read charts and graphs. 

GOVERNMENT REORGANIZATION 

Q: During your tenure at OMB, have you been involved in the development of the 

President's Management Agenda? 

(ANSWER) Yes, and I am a Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal leader on three of the 

CAP goals: Getting Payments Right; Results Oriented Accountability for Grants; and 

Improving Outcomes through Federal IT Spending Transparency. 

Q: Do you expect OFFM to play an important role in this forthcoming reorganization? What 

do you expect OFFM's role to be? 

(ANSWER) The Administration has a strong vision for improving and modernizing the 

Federal Government and recognizes that no single channel of action can accomplish this 

task alone. The President's Management Agenda (PMA) Jays out a broad framework for 

strengthening our ability to deliver mission outcomes, provide excellent service, and 

effectively steward taxpayer dollars on behalf of the American people and explicitly 

notes reorganization is one of multiple tools for achieving this transformation. OFFM 

will support these closely connected efforts in all appropriate ways. 

2 
160 

REAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT 

The Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act established a Public Buildings Reform Board to 

identify and sell excess federal real property. The act was signed into law in December of2016. 

Q: Has the Board been established? 

(ANSWER) The Board has not been established as of May, 2018. 

Q: If not, when do you expect that the Board will be established? 

(ANSWER) The Administration is working to identify individuals with the appropriate 

experience and credentials to serve on the Board. I understand the Board could not be 

established absent the required budget appropriation, and that the required budget 

appropriation was not provided until March, 2018. 

3 
161 

Senator Thomas R. Carper 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Frederick Nutt 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23, 2018 

1. DOD Financial Auditing 

This committee has for years pressed for strong accounting and auditing standards so that 

federal agencies understand how the money is spent, and agencies can ensure that federal 

dollars are spent appropriately. One federal agency has yet to conduct a clean financial 

audit: the Department of Defense. 

If confirmed, how do you plan on ensuring that the Department of Defense meet not only 

the requirements of law, but basic accounting standards and eventually have a clean 

financial audit? 

(ANSWER) If confirmed, I will work with the Department of Defense to ensure it is able 

to implement its Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness (FIAR) Plan as it conducts 

its first full financial statement audit for FY 2018. In addition, I will work with the DOD 

Chief Financial Officer as he develops audit remediation plans and moves from being 

able to conduct an audit, to being able to address auditor recommendations, and to 

ultimately getting a clean opinion. 

I understand that an issue arose in the recent past pertaining to DOD's accounting and 

reporting of property, plant, and equipment (PP&E). Because the existing Federal 

Accounting Standards Advisory Board (F ASAB) accounting standards did not address 

some PP&E circumstances unique to DOD, over the past year F ASAB issued additional 

guidance that will help DOD and can also be applied to other agencies, if needed. This 

guidance consists of a standard on August 4, 2016, and a technical release on April 10, 

20 17. F ASAB is currently working on additional guidance to address other issues unique 

to DOD and unaddressed in existing standards. 

If confirmed, I will work to ensure that any additional F ASAB guidance needed is issued 

and I will also work to ensure that any necessary updates to OMB's Circular A-136, 

Financial Reporting Requirements, are made in a timely manner. In addition, I will work 

with the Department of the Treasury's Bureau of Fiscal Service, as necessary, to ensure 

that DOD's financial information is properly reflected in the Government-wide Financial 

Report. 

2. GAO High Risk List 
162 

Each new Congress, the GAO issues its High Risk report, highlighting areas across 

government which may be susceptible to fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement. One 

criterion that GAO uses to remove an issue from the list is sustained leadership 

commitment. I believe OMB can play a critical role in this regard. 

If confirmed, how do you plan to work with GAO to address issues on this list? 

(ANSWER) I understand that for more than ten years, OMB has regularly convened 

meetings between senior leadership at GAO and agencies identified on the high-risk list 

to discuss status updates and drive progress on addressing the identified risks. If 

confirmed, I plan to continue this practice by focusing on the financial management 

issues that are on the high-risk list and participating in the high risk program portfolio 

review meetings with the OMB Deputy Director for Management, agency leaders, and 

GAO. I will also remain committed to improving and supporting the Federal 

government's management of real property, DoD's efforts to achieve audit, and Medicare 

and Medicaid's efforts to prevent improper payments, all of which are included in the 

GAO high-risk list. 

Are there issues on the list that you think are within striking distance of being removed? 

(ANSWER) OMB issued guidance in April2018 (M-18-15) requiring agencies to submit 

to OMB an update on issues identified on GAO's High Risk list. As part of the update, 

agencies will be providing an assessment of when the agency anticipates being able to 

address or partially address these areas with GAO. OMB will be actively reviewing these 

assessments from agencies throughout the summer and meeting with agencies in the 

coming months, to discuss next steps for achieving progress in addressing these issues. 
163 

Senator Heidi Heitkamp 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Frederick Nutt 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23,2018 

1. I want to ask you a few questions about the Federal Agency Reorganization effort and the 

President's Management Agenda. When the President announced the agency 

reorganization effort in March of 2017, he said in part: 

"This order requires a thorough examination of every executive department and agency 

to see where money is being wasted, how services can be improved, and whether 

programs are truly serving American citizens. " 

Then, on March 20,2018, the Administration released its Presidential Management 

Agenda. In the intro to the Agenda, the document lays out it goals: 

" ... A long-term vision for modernizing the Federal Government in key areas that will 

improve the ability of agencies to deliver mission outcomes, provide excellent service, 

and effectively steward taxpayer dollars on behalf of the American people." 

a. Do those two goals sound strikingly similar to you? 

(ANSWER) The Administration has a strong vision for improving and modernizing the 

Federal Government and recognizes that no single channel of action can accomplish this 

task alone. The President's Management Agenda (PMA) lays out a broad framework for 

strengthening our ability to deliver mission outcomes, provide excellent service, and 

effectively steward taxpayer dollars on behalf of the American people and explicitly 

notes that reorganization is one of multiple tools for achieving this transformation. The 

graphic below, which appears in the PMA, underscores this connection: 
164 

Tools for Transformation 

• Regulatory Reform 

• Government Reorganization 

• IT Modernization Centers 

ofExceltern::-e 

~ Technology Modernization Fund 

• Workforce Fund 

Transformational 

Opportunities 

• Coordination with Congress 

• Pubiicfprivate partnerships 

• New incentive structures 

* 

Time 

2. During your recent staff interview, you talked about how one of your key focuses during 

your recent work as a Senior Advisor at OMB was on the President's Management 

Agenda. However, you also said you had not been briefed on the Agency Reorganization 

plans and couldn't comment on that initiative. 

a. In your current role as a Senior Advisor at OMB, do you believe that OMB 

sees these as two separate initiatives? Why or why not? 

(ANSWER) The President's Management Agenda explicitly recognizes 

reorganization as one of multiple tools that the Administration will use to advance 

its important work to strengthen mission, service, and stewardship on behalf of 

Americans. These two initiatives are closely connected, mutually reinforcing, 

and fully aligned. 

b. Is it a good idea that these are two separate initiatives? 

(ANSWER) These two initiatives arc closely connected, mutually reinforcing, 

and fully aligned in strengthening mission, service, and stewardship on behalf of 

Americans. 

c. Should OMB take steps to coordinate between these two initiatives? If so, 

what steps should they take? 

(ANSWER) These two initiatives are closely connected, mutually reinforcing, 

and fully aligned in strengthening mission, service, and stewardship on behalf of 

Americans. 
165 

d. If confirmed to a leadership position within OMB, what steps will you 

commit to taking to ensure that there is not duplication of effort between the 

ongoing Agency Reorganization effort and the President's Management 

Agenda? 

(ANSWER) As envisioned by the President's Management Agenda, I will work 

alongside my OMB colleagues to ensure that these two initiatives are closely 

connected, mutually reinforcing, and fully aligned in strengthening mission, 

service, and stewardship on behalf of Americans. 

e. What role has and will feedback from the public play in the ongoing 

development and execution of the President's Management Agenda? 

(ANSWER) We strive to keep the American public engaged on our performance 

initiatives, and value their input into how Government can improve to serve them 

seek to enable feedback from the public. For example, one of the CAP Goals is to 

improve the customer experience with Federal services, working across a range of 

agencies and programs and using data to capture and analyze the voices of 

citizens. Our openness to feedback is also exemplified by the launch of the 

President's Management Agenda, which occurred outside of the Beltway in 

Kansas City, MO. Leaders from OMB, OPM, GSA, and USDA conducted a 

listening tour that reached farmers, small business owners, veterans, community 

leaders represented in the local Chamber of Commerce, and Federal employees 

from across agencies. 

f. Should that same standard apply to OMB's efforts to manage the Agency 

Reorganization process? Should the public have a role in providing 

comments to that effort as well? 

(ANSWER) The Administration welcomes the public's comments and recently 

sought input from the public through the OMB website. 

g. Is it important, in your opinion, for agencies to receive and use public 

comments while executing initiatives such as the President's Management 

Agenda or the Agency Reorganization effort? Why? 

(ANSWER) The Administration welcomes the public's comments and values 

their input into how Government can improve to serve them. 

3. It has been reported that OMB has lost more than 100,000 comments that the public 

submitted during the agency reorganization process. Those reports are extremely 

troubling, and the American people deserve better. 

a. What steps should OMB take to prevent a repeat of this incident? 
166 

(ANSWER) I understand that OMB has not lost any public comments. On May 

15, 2017, the Federal Register published a Notice of Request for Comments on 

the agency reorganization process on behalf ofOMB. Between May 15 and June 

12, 2017 more than I 00,000 comments were submitted. The public comments 

were transmitted to agencies in rolling tranches for review and incorporation into 

the initial reform ideas they submitted to OMB. 

4. The federal government has long struggled to solve its Information Technology (IT) 

programs. Successful Financial Management obviously relies a great deal on having 

robust IT to maximize efficiency. 

a. Why has the federal government struggled so much with IT challenges? 

(ANSWER) The federal government has struggled with IT challenges due to 

cybersecurity risks, Jack of IT service effectiveness, significant cost overruns, 

slow adaptation of cutting edge technologies, and outdated, insecure legacy 

systems. Agencies are faced with the structural challenge of reconciling the 

annual appropriations with planning their long-term IT projects. Specifically 

regarding financial management, many of the systems used throughout 

government have had challenges as a result of lengthy IT investment planning, a 

lack of standards that result in inertia once systems are in place, costly and 

lengthy change processes, and IT that is not easily upgraded or replaced with 

modern capabilities. Further, CFOs spend a significant portion oftime and 

resources on system challenges versus on analysis and other value add tasks. 

b. What steps would you take iu your new role to overcome these types of 

challenges? 

(ANSWER) I am confident that, if confirmed, my office will work with the Office 

of the Federal CIO (OFCIO), Federal agencies, and industry to effectively 

overcome the government's IT challenges. Specifically, I will work to support 

the priorities identified in the President's Management Agenda (PMA) regarding 

IT modernization: (1) Enhancing Mission Effectiveness; (2) Reducing 

Cybersecurity Risks to the Federal Mission, and (3) Building a Modem IT 

Workforce. Additionally, with respect to financial management systems, I will 

ensure the government has the most modem systems possible with the best value 

for the government, which requires less duplication and more standardization. 

Both IT modernization and Financial Management Systems are included as PMA 

CAP goals. 
167 

Senator Gary C. Peters 

Post-Hearing Questions for the Record 

Submitted to Mr. Frederick Nutt 

Nominations of Emory Rounds to be Director, U.S. Office of Government Ethics; Kelly 

Higashi to be an Associate Judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia; and 

Frederick Nutt to be Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of 

Management and Budget 

Wednesday May 23,2018 

1. The federal government has been working to reduce its real property portfolio by 

disposing of unneeded and underutilized properties and reducing the number of shortterm leases used for office space. In order to facilitate this, agencies may want to move 

employees into newly consolidated offices, but such moves can be hampered by rules or 

regulations created by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or Congress. For 

example, OMB limits the ability for agencies to enter into capital leases that would 

culminate in government ownership of property. Additionally, laws passed by Congress 

prevent most federal agencies from entering into leaseback agreements that would allow 

for the disposal of property but allow the government to lease space within it. If 

confirmed as Controller, will you commit to examining and, if necessary, revising 

OMB rules that prevent the federal government from making cost-saving property 

management decisions? Will you further commit to working with Congress to 

identify laws, rules, and regulations that are an impediment to the disposal of 

unneeded or underutilized federal property? 

(ANSWER) OMB is continually reviewing its policies to improve the efficiency and cost 

effectiveness of government operations. This Administration has prioritized the repeal of 

redundant, outdated, and overlapping policy and regulation since its inception. The 

Administration's Infrastructure Initiative proposed to streamline the disposal process by 

eliminating all public benefit conveyance processes and allowing agencies to take 

unneeded federal property directly to sale and retain the net proceeds, maximizing the 

value of assets to the taxpayer. The Administration's initiative also proposed the 

expanded use of the GSA Disposal Fund to allow GSA to support agency disposal costs 

prior to the Report of Excess and recoup those costs from the gross proceeds of sale. 

This additional authority would help agencies to move unneeded properties to disposal 

when the discretionary funds may not be available within the agency. The OMB policies 

and guidance for real property facilitate, rather than hinder, agencies identifYing cost 

savings opportunities. The Reduce the Footprint policy and the National Strategy for the 

Efficient Use of Real Property provide a framework that incentivizes agencies to 

prioritize cost savings and cost avoidance actions. Agencies' results are publicly reported 

on Perfonnance.gov, and annual cost avoidance generated by the agencies is reported to 

GAO and congressional oversight committees. 
168 

The scoring rules that apply to capital leases and leasebacks are the result of a triparty 

agreement among OMB, the Congressional Budget Office, and Congressional Budget 

Committees. The scoring rules are designed to ensure that there is transparency into the 

full cost of the transaction, to acquire assets in the most cost effective manner, and to 

ensure that there is a level playing field for deciding which capital projects to fund, 

regardless of how they are financed. 

2. Cost savings can be achieved through better processes to help federal agencies manage 

personal property, including equipment, office supplies and furniture, and technology. 

The Government Accountability Office has found that federal agencies often need 

reminders to ensure that excess personal property is disposed of in a regular and timely 

manner. As Controller, how would you view OMB's role in working with the 

General Services Administration (GSA) and other federal agencies to ensure these 

processes are taking place? 

(ANSWER) OMB is reviewing the existing personal property policy framework to 

determine whether additional action/authority is needed to more efficiently manage the 

government's personal property. OMB worked closely with GAO on its personal 

property report (GA0-18-257, "Opportunities Exist to Improve Identification of 

Unneeded Property for Disposal) and is assessing GAO's recommendation. 

3. Whenever federal agencies make purchases, enter into leases, or enter into rental 

agreements for equipment, they are supposed to conduct a cost analysis to compare all 

available options and ensure the government is getting the best deal possible. In your 

view, what role does the OMB Controller play in ensuring these cost analyses are 

conducted as frequently, and as rigorously, as possible? 

(ANSWER) In my view, agencies conducting the appropriate cost analysis prior to 

entering into a purchase, lease or rental agreement is essential to the strong stewardship 

of taxpayer dollars. The OMB Controller has a critical role in providing the policy 

framework and leadership to support agencies' efforts to ensure that these analyses are 

completed in a consistent, repeatable manner. OMB provides the policy framework for 

this oversight via Circular A-94, "Guidelines And Discount Rates For Benefit-Cost 

Analysis of Federal Programs," along with the budget guidelines provided in OMB 

Circular A-11, so that agencies have clear guidance to conduct a full benefit cost analysis 

for any action that provides benefits/costs three or more years into the future. Further, the 

Reduce the Footprint policy requires that agencies are only to retrofit office space if that 

retrofit is demonstrated to be cost effective. If confirmed, I look forward to working with 

agencies and the committee on these issues. 
169 

Æ 

4. In your pre-hearing questionnaire, you agreed without reservation to reply to any 

reasonable request for information from members of Congress, whether in the majority or 

minority. As the Ranking Member of the Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency 

Management Subcommittee, I frequently conduct oversight of issues that would fall 

under your portfolio as Controller at OMB. Unfortunately, in the last year, OMB has not 

been sufficiently cooperative or responsive to our oversight. If confirmed, how will you 

do better at being responsive to Congress? What good faith efforts will you 

undertake to respond in a timely manner to reasonable requests for information 

from members of Congress, whether they are in the majority or minority? 

(ANSWER) If confirmed for the position of Controller, I would look forward to working 

with Members of the Committee and would make it a priority to respond to questions or 

requests for information.