An editorial in RollCall ($$) considers President Obama's executive order to be a "war on lobbyists" that is "too broad and, at the same time, too narrow." The rules and the consequences of Obama's new ethics rules continue to be a topic of deliberation. The editorial criticizes "that it paints all lobbyists with the broad brush of corruption, deception and dishonesty."

In June 2008 Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) and then Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced legislation to expand the information available on USASpending.gov, the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008. The bill was a follow up to the 2006 Transparency Act, which the two senators also worked together on. It would have required USASpending to include information on contractor and grantee performance.

On his first day, President Obama announced new limits on lobbyists. The Executive Order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel details that every appointee in every executive agency appointed on or after Jan. 20, 2009, must sign the pledge described in the executive order.

The House rules package for the 111th Congress released today (Jan. 6) includes only one change to House ethics rules. Last month groups called for specific House ethics changes, however, the package is not as extensive as they may have hoped. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has a fact sheet on the changes.