Federal Trade Commission Needs to Strengthen Rules on Financial Disclosure

Civil Service Commission regulations state that employees who are responsible for making a decision or taking action which can have an impact on the interests of a nonfederal enterprise are required to file financial interest statements. Staff attorneys and paraprofessionals in the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Competition and staff economists in the Bureau of Economics are regularly involved with complaints against and investigations of private, nonfederal enterprises where their decisions and actions have an economic impact. FTC neither requires nor is currently proposing to require personnel in these positions to file statements of financial interest. FTC should take steps to ensure that all employees who perform duties which could influence the direction, scope, and results of its regulatory activities be required to file annual financial disclosure statements.