Revolving Door

Entry in progress—B.P.
 
Wikipedia: Revolving door (politics)
The revolving door is the movement of personnel between roles as legislators and regulators and the industries affected by the legislation and regulation and on within lobbying companies. In some cases the roles are performed in sequence but in certain circumstances may be performed at the same time. Political analysts claim that an unhealthy relationship can develop between the private sector and government, based on the granting of reciprocated privileges to the detriment of the nation and can lead to regulatory capture.
 
Overview
The benefits to government when recruiting people from industry include:
 
. Experience – supporters of the flow of employees between government and the private sector justify the flow as understandable, given the government requires people with knowledge of the private sector and the private sector values people with experience in government.
. Influence - individuals who are influential in the private sector may be beneficial to a government with interests that desires cooperation with the private sector.
. Political Support - political donations and endorsements can be granted a by vested interest to a government, if the government employs people who are loyal to the vested interest.
 
The benefits to industry from recruiting or working with people with senior government experience includes:
 
. Access to government, including influential politicians
. Favorable policy and regulation
. Insider knowledge
. Award contracts for governmental work
 
Analysts claim the lobbying industry is especially affected by the revolving door concept, as the main asset for a lobbyist is contacts with and influence on government officials. This industrial climate is attractive for ex-government officials.
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United States
“Under current law, government officials who make contracting decisions must either wait a year before joining a military contractor or, if they want to switch immediately, must start in an affiliate or division unrelated to their government work. One big loophole is that these restrictions do not apply to many high-level policy makers…, who can join corporations or their boards without waiting.”
 
Examples of individuals who have moved between roles in this way in sensitive areas include Dick Cheney (military contracting), Linda Fisher (pesticide and biotech), Philip Perry (homeland security), Pat Toomey, and Dan Coats.
 
Wikipedia: Revolving door
A revolving door typically consists of three or four doors that hang on a center shaft and rotate around a vertical axis within a round enclosure. Revolving doors are energy efficient inasmuch as they prevent drafts, thus preventing increases in the heating or cooling required for the building.[1] At the same time, revolving doors allow large numbers of people to pass in and out.
 
(Oxford English Dictionary)
revolving door n.  (a) a door having usually four partitions set at right angles radiating out from, and revolving on, a central vertical axis, allowing large numbers of people to pass through while eliminating draughts;  (b) fig. something characterized by repetition of the same events, problems, people, etc., in a continuous cycle; freq. attrib.
1895 Rep. City Comptroller St Paul (Minnesota) 1894 203   N. W. Revolving Door Co., three *revolving doors for court house, Dec. 28, 1893, $696.66, city’s one-half share 348.33.
1907 St. Nicholas Oct. 1104/2   It was his stated duty to attend one of the big revolving doors that opened upon the main street.
1914 Atlanta Constit. 6 Nov. 6/5   Felix Diaz is our idea of a man who wants somebody else to push the revolving door of revolution around for him.
     
OCLC WorldCat record
The Culture of bureaucracy
Author: Charles Peters; Michael Nelson
Publisher: New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979.
Edition/Format:  Book : English
Contents:
The revolving door between government and the law firms / John A. Jenkins
 
OCLC WorldCat record
The Revolving door : ethics in government service ... panel discussion / John Munich ... [et al.]
Author: Peter W Salsich; Erwin O Switzer; Suzanne Schmitz; John Munich; St. Louis University. School of Law.
Publisher: [St. Louis : St. Louis University School of Law], 1980.
Series: Thomas J. White family public law lecture, 1980. 
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
DOD revolving door : many former personnel not reporting defense-related employment : report to the chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate
Author: United States. General Accounting Office.
Publisher: Washington, D.C. : The Office, [1986]
Edition/Format:  eBook : National government publication : EnglishView all editions and formats
Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the employment disclosure process for Department of Defense (DOD) and contractor employees, focusing on: (1) whether former DOD employees are reporting post-government employment as required; and (2) measures that could be taken to improve the process. Federal law requires former military officers, senior civilian employees, and contractor employees to report their post-government employment to ensure that: (1) DOD personnel who anticipate contractor employment do not use their positions to gain favor with contractors; and (2) former DOD personnel do not use their contacts with former colleagues to the detriment of the government. GAO found that: (1) of the almost 12,000 employees holding security clearances who left DOD to work with defense contractors in 1983, more than 50 percent were exempted from filing a disclosure form because they were not working at a major defense plant; (2) only about 30 percent of those required to file a form did so; and (3) only the Air Force reminds its retired officers annually of the reporting requirement. In addition, GAO found that: (1) DOD and the services limit the degree to which they review disclosure forms because no written guidance exists for reviewing forms and the reported information is insufficient to detect possible conflicts of interest; and (2) recent amendments to the disclosure law increase the amount of information that former DOD and contractor employees must report
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Revolving Doors, Corporate Performance, and Corruption of Markets
Author: David Kowalewski; Thomas Leitko; Robin Leonard
Publisher: Sage Publications
Edition/Format:  Article : English
Publication: Critical Sociology, 18, no. 1 (1991): 93-108
Database: ArticleFirst
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Revolving Door Sunshine Act of 1993 : report, to accompany H.R. 1593, including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Operations.
Publisher: [Washington, DC : U.S. G.P.O., 1993]
Series: House report. 103rd Congress, 1st session, 103-354, part 1. 
Edition/Format:  Book : National government publication : English
 
Wall Street Journal
JUNE 16, 2010
SEC ‘Revolving Door’ Under Review
Staffers Who Join Companies They Once Regulated Draw Lawmakers’ Ire; Ms. King and Getco
By TOM MCGINTY
A Senate panel asked the Securities and Exchange Commission’s inspector general to review the agency’s “revolving door,” which shuttles many SEC staffers into jobs with the companies they once regulated.