ABSTRACT
From the colonial period of American history through today, the problem of maintaining public trust in federal government agencies has confronted the nation (Locke, 1995: 14-24). Despite some extremely bleak periods (Summers, 1993), the last forty years has seen federal agencies and departments make considerable progress in the development of ethics programs designed to protect public trust in government. The chapter argues that the executive branch ethics program deserves much of the credit for the improved ethical climate in federal agencies and departments. The federal executive branch ethics management program has proven exceptionally effective in reducing the frequency of conflict-of-interest controversies involving federal employees and officials.
