Tue, Feb 09 2010
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Published November 28, 2009 06:11 am - The bureaucrats may have the titles but government runs by committee. Thousands of advisory panels and commissions set up to keep government relevant and moving could change next year. The Obama administration, which has long insisted that lobbyists wield too much power over public policy, will begin removing lobbyists from federal advisory panels. Washington lobbyists booted from federal advisory panels The bureaucrats may have the titles but government runs by committee. Thousands of advisory panels and commissions set up to keep government relevant and moving could change next year.
The Obama administration, which has long insisted that lobbyists wield too much power over public policy, will begin removing lobbyists from federal advisory panels. The Washington Post reports there are more than 900 such panels with a total membership of more than 60,000. It's unknown how many lobbyists serve but there are an estimated 13,000 registered lobbyists in the nation's capital. The newspaper said Congress approved the Federal Advisory Committee Act in the early 1970s, creating a "bureaucratic labyrinth" that reaches into nearly every aspect of the federal government. Committees hold open meetings, issue reports and often wield significant influence with policy-makers, elected and appointed. Most of the committee members receive no pay. The newspaper reports lobbyists have objected to being demonized by the Obama administration. They believe their contributions to advisory panels are numerous, keeping the federal government relevant to business and industry. The rule change is part of Mr. Obama's pledge to take back the federal government and limit industry's influence into federal policy. The policy is long overdue and one most Americans will find reasonable. 
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