Ethics regulations fail to do the job.

From Whitewater to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich's book deal, Washington seems awash in scandals, yet government ethics regulations are so explicit that they spell out whether employees can accept a sandwich, cup of coffee, or glass of wine. With ethics regulations as stringent as this, does government need more of them? Yes and no, says Kathleen Clark, assistant law professor, Washington University. She maintains that ethics regulations in some places are too tight and in others not tight enough.

Regulations are so complex that the Office of Government Ethics employs 87 people; 1,200 workers in other agencies spend more than half their time on ethics issues; and more than 13,000 other employees have some responsibility for government ethics. In spite of all these resources, "even an employee who sincerely wants to follow the rules doesn't have the remotest chance of understanding them," admits Stephen D. Potts, director of the Office of Government Ethics.

Clark points out that the limit on gifts in the Executive Branch is $20, yet, until recent ethics changes, the Legislative Branch was allowed to accept gifts up to $250. In addition, Congressional regulations exempted gifts of vacation travel and accommodations for lavish charity events. Congress recently tightened its ethics rules, so that the Senate gift limit is $50 and the House limit is even lower.

Senate rules require the...