Page 1 GAO-25-107039 FEDERAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE PROGRAM
The federal ethics program was created by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978
(EIGA) and amended by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 and the Stop Trading on
Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 (STOCK Act). It aims to promote the
integrity of governmental decision-making and support public confidence and
trust in government.
A key component of the federal ethics program is the financial disclosure
program, which applies to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of
government. As the supervising ethics office for the executive branch, the Office
of Government Ethics (OGE) interprets ethics laws and issues regulations and
guidance for the executive branch financial disclosure programs, among other
functions.
Regular disclosure of personal financial interests helps ethics officials to identify
and address conflicts with the filers’ government responsibilities. There are two
categories of filers in the executive branch. Public filers are typically high-level
officials and career senior employees. Confidential filers are typically lower-level
employees whose job duties involve a heightened risk of conflicts of interest
(e.g., contracting, procurement, and grants administration). More than 29,000
public reports and 420,000 confidential reports were filed in 2023.
Since 1989, the EIGA has required GAO to report on the effectiveness of the
financial disclosure system (5 U.S.C. § 13110(b)). This report provides
information on the executive branch financial disclosure program, including how
the program functions and prior efforts to update the program. Appendix I lists
GAO reports on federal ethics issued over the last 20 years.
• OGE has updated and modified the reporting requirements for the
confidential financial disclosure program through the regulatory process.
OGE does not have the authority to modify or update the public reporting
requirements as they were established by the 1978 EIGA.
• Evaluations of the financial disclosure program have been conducted in its
45-year history. These evaluations—spanning 25 years—included
recommendations for Congress to amend the EIGA to address certain
aspects of reporting requirements for public filers that are outdated,
inconsistent, or unnecessary.
• The recommendations generally fall into four categories: (1) raising reporting
thresholds; (2) changing and reducing the number of categories for reporting
value; (3) ensuring consistency across regulations and laws; and (4)
eliminating the disclosure of unnecessary information.
U.S. Government Accountability Office
: Updates Are Needed to
the Public Reporting Requirements
-25-107039
Report to Congressional Committees
10, 2024
