Possibility of Unlawful Compensation

GAO was asked to consider the possibility that a company's payment under a severence agreement to the Secretary of the Interior would constitute an illegal salary supplement. GAO was also asked whether the Secretary's action with respect to proposed regulations violated the Secretary's recusal statement to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Based on the information which the Office of Government Ethics supplied, GAO found no basis to disagree with the conclusion that the severance pay did not constitute unlawful compensation to the Secretary and that the action with respect to the proposed regulations did not violate the Secretary's recusal agreement with the Senate Committee.