Government department head: We already have a code of ethics that companies doing business with the department are urged to abide by. The fact that virtually all of the companies have agreed to abide by it indicates that it is successful. Ttherefore, neither stronger ethics regulations nor enforcement mechanisms are necessary to ensure ethical behavior by companies doing business with the department.
The statement 'The code of ethics was instituted only after it was discovered that several companies had committed serious violations of ethics in their business with the department' casts most doubt on the department head's conclusion.