WASHINGTON – Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., Friday released a CRS memorandum that finds appointees to the commission established to investigate the circumstances surrounding the September 11 terrorist attacks might have to publicly disclose certain financial information.
Under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, government employees who work more than 60 days, and who are entitled to a rate of pay above a specified level, must publicly disclose liabilities, income, assets, positions held, and the names of those who paid them more than $5,000 in the last two years, including clients who paid a company for the employees’ services.
The CRS memorandum cites precedents indicating that a commissioner working more than 60 days in a calendar year would fall under the requirements of this law. In addition, Article I, Section 9, of the U.S. Constitution prohibits any commissioner from receiving compensation from a foreign government or a foreign government-owned corporation.