Thousands of Washington lobbyists should really savor their Thanksgiving feast because if President Obama gets his way the gravy train may soon be offering slimmer pickings.

Graphic by OMBWatch

The White House ethics counsel has quietly introduced a new policy which forbids the more than 13,000 lobbyists in the Capitol from holding seats on more than 1,000 federal advisory panels. These committee offer counsel federal agencies on everything from troop levels, to environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other topics of government policies.

Washington Post Writer Dan Eggen
writes that hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from their sweet deals as part of a little-noticed initiative to curb the influence of these special interest agents in Washington, according to White House officials and lobbying experts.

The president campaigned on a promise to keep lobbyists out of his administration and, to an extent that far exceeded his predecessors, he succeeded. The new prohibition may turn out to be the most far-reaching lobbying rule change ever.

The initiative is aimed at a system of 915 advisory committees which provide guidance and opinion to more than 52 government agencies, Eggen wrote.

Most of the advisory committee members do it for free. But two former lobbyists told me pay back down the road for these lobbyists/panelists  in prestige and importance to their industrial clients is enormous.

The Post story quoted White House ethics counsel Norm Eisen saying,”Some folks have developed a comfortable Beltway perch sitting on these boards while at the same time working as lobbyists to influence the government.”

He added: “That is just the kind of special interest access that the president objects to.”

But the Post reported that many lobbyists and the businesses they represent say they are being unfairly demonized by a White House intent on scoring political points with scandal-weary voters.