Federal Government Policy and Business

The Things Agency Leaders Have Given Up to Get on the Right Side of Ethics Rules

Government Executive: Last week, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai made headlines when the National Rifle Association named him the recipient of the Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award at the Conservative Political Action Conference and announced they would bestow on him a handmade long gun.

But on Thursday, Pai wrote to the group to turn down the gift, following nearly a week of outcry over both the ethics and the optics of the tribute.

At the heart of the issue are government ethics rules prohibiting FCC officials from accepting any gift worth more than $200 without go-ahead from agency ethics experts. In a letter obtained by Politico, Pai said that he was “surprised” by the award and his staff stressed that he must not be given the gun on stage until after ethics attorneys evaluated the situation.

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