Lobbyists have been petitioning the Obama White House to rescind or loosen a policy that bans lobbyists from executive agencies' advisory boards. The message yesterday from Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform and the man seen as the driver behind the administration's restrictions on lobbyists: No dice.
In a post on the White House blog, Eisen wrote that he met with lobbyists and others who chair such advisory groups, and the administration won't change the policy.
Eisen wrote that lobbyists have the right to petition the government, but the public is best served "if we limited their ability to do so from special positions of privileged access within the government." For more, click here.
Eisen also posted a list of meeting attendees, a letter from lobbyists voicing objections to the policy, and his letter in response.
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