Lobbyists Annoyed With New Obama Regulations -- Politics Daily
K Street is awash in anger over new regulations designed to limit influence peddling in Washington, CQ Politics reported Monday. The new policy, announced Sept. 23 by President Obama's "ethics czar," Norm Eisen, prevents federally registered lobbyists from serving on "agency advisory boards and commissions" -- private-sector advisory panels created in the 1970s to give input to the government on various issues. The regulations could decimate the ranks of lobbyists who have been serving on the panels, and who the Obama administration sees as special-interest agents with an unhealthy proximity to federal policy...
...the prospect of a mass exodus from the highly prized positions has not made certain lobbyists happy. "There is fury," said a lobbyist who sits on one of the committees. "Absolute fury."
Good. If it makes lobbyists unhappy, that's a plus from where I sit. These boards and commissions should be staffed by people whose qualification is their knowledge of the issue, not the size of their retainer from some corporation.
1 comment:
Christ on a cracker, can you say "conflict of interest"? Small wonder they're furious! I'm with you 100% on this -- boot 'em out on the street.
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