New rules on lobbying have been announced for those working on President-elect Barack Obama's transition team. For example, lobbyists can serve in the transition as long as their activities do not involve areas of policy they have tried to influence in the past year. Federal lobbyists will be prohibited from any lobbying while they are at work on the transition. The rules also prohibit people from lobbying the Obama administration for a year on any matters in which they worked while on the transition team.

The New York Times reports that President-elect Barack Obama "is trying to fulfill campaign promises of sweeping ethics restrictions that could deter some potential appointees." According to Obama's website, political appointees will be prohibited from working on regulations or contracts directly and substantially related to their prior employer for two years. And no political appointee will be able to lobby the executive branch after leaving government service during the remainder of the administration.

Democracy 21, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG have released a reform agenda for the 111th Congress. Their top priority is to reform the presidential campaign financing system and create a new public financing system for congressional elections.

According to a Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) press release, "federally oriented 527 and 501(c) groups have already collected or spent around $350 million and are on course to top $400 million." The CFI report goes on;