Lobbyists lose influence in Washington

An initiative from the Obama administration could eject hundreds to thousands of lobbyists from federal advisory panels. The initiative, which received little attention, was issued in a blog by the White House ethics counsel, Norm Eisen, and could be the most “far-reaching lobbying rule change” so far from Obama, says the Washington Post. The policy would prohibit all of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in Washington from holding seats on committees which "advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections” and numerous other government policies. These advisory panels work behind the scenes issuing reports and recommendations that are often very influential because policymakers seek their expertise for a wide range of subjects. Official estimates show that there are approximately 1,000 of these panels and more than 60,000 people in the groups. Members of the panels are not paid, but lobbyists have been able to use their position on these committees to present their clients’ views to government officials—influencing policy decisions.

The lobbyist community has been quick to react in a negative way. They feel that the White House is wrongfully demonizing their profession and warn that the removal of lobbyists will be detrimental to federal regulators who rely on the expertise of lobbyists in advisory committees. When discussing the effect of this policy, Robert Vastine, a lobbyist for the Coalition of Service Industries who also serves as chairman of a trade advisory board said, “It's a whole different and specialized world. It is not easily obtained knowledge, and they are crippling themselves terribly by ruling out all registered lobbyists."

But the White House feels differently. Eisen believes “it's healthy to move away from the professional advocates for the special interests and let some new voices be heard.” The White House recognizes that these lobbyists, though many of them have become experts, do have an agenda and use their position to unfairly advance their goals.

This initiative brings to mind the idea of pluralism and the role of lobbyists for various interest groups. In the pluralistic vision of democracy, decisions are made through negotiation among the various concerned interest groups. Interest groups provide a medium for those who feel most strongly and are experts on issues. These groups organize and hire lobbyists to negotiate and bargain with legislators to adopt their clients’ views. However, there usually is an inequality of resources (such as money, media attention, and volunteering) between the affected interest groups.

Lobbyists support the pluralistic vision and feel that it is important for the groups to have lobbyists who can fervently negotiate their views. The White House, on the other hand, recognizes the flaw of this vision and argues that the inequality of resources allows some special interest organizations to hire lobbyists who are more influential than others.