Originally published in Political Activity Law Bulletin, June 11 2009
Click
here for the full PDF version of the Political Activity Law
Bulletin.
As described in a previous Caplin & Drysdale Political Activity
Law
Alert, a March 20, 2009 Memorandum from President Obama imposed
various restrictions on the interactions between lobbyists and the
executive branch of the federal government, including: (1) barring
registered lobbyists from having oral communications with
government officials about specific American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act ("ARRA") projects or applications and
(2) requiring online disclosure of communications between
registered lobbyists and government officials regarding any ARRA
policy.
After a review resulting from numerous objections, the Obama
Administration has decided to revise the Memorandum's
restriction on oral communications, such that this restriction will
now apply to all persons, and not just federally registered
lobbyists. In addition, the oral-communications ban will now apply
only to a narrower window of time—after competitive grant
applications are submitted and before awards are made. Thus,
comments made by any person during this specified period (unless
initiated by an agency official) must be in writing and disclosed
online.
The Administration will continue to require immediate internet
disclosure of communications between government officials and
registered lobbyists. The Office of Management and Budget will soon
publish detailed guidance on these revisions to the March 20th
Memorandum.
This article is designed to give general information on the developments covered, not to serve as legal advice related to specific situations or as a legal opinion. Counsel should be consulted for legal advice.
