The White House Briefing Room
2009-05-17

The White House-Friday, May 15th, 2009

President Obama and Vice President Biden's Personal Financial Disclosures Now Available

Another update from Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, in the spirit of transparency:

Today, the President and Vice President released their 2008 financial disclosure reports. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 requires high-level Federal officials to disclose publicly their personal financial interests. This is intended to ensure confidence in the integrity of the Federal government by demonstrating that officials are able to carry out their duties free of conflicts of interest. The public filing system serves to prevent such conflicts by providing for a systematic review of the financial interests of government officials. Neither the President nor the Vice President have any conflicts of interest, and their reports have been so certified by the independent Office of Government Ethics.

Most of the information on the President’s form was previously available on his Senate termination report, which was filed on March 17, 2009.

Note that the President’s form does not contain a Schedule B while the Vice President’s does. The President previously disclosed the information contained on Schedule B on his Senate termination report, and so a new schedule B is not required. The Vice President was not required to file a Senate termination report – he resigned his Senate position less than 30 days before assuming his current office, and no termination report is required under those circumstances. He is thus providing the Schedule B information at this time.

These reports have traditionally been available in hard copy upon request, but in the interests of transparency and openness we are posting them online here:

President Obama's Personal Financial Disclosure.

Vice President Biden's Personal Financial Disclosures

Sign Up for our monthly Newsletter to receive more Military Family News. View our archived newsletters to see examples.