Despite President Obama's order that officials have to disclose their contacts with registered lobbyists that try to influence Recovery Act funding, the government continues to capture very little information. The Associate Press reports that "few such communications have been reported even though lobbyists say they are busier than ever with the multibillion-dollar stimulus. Since the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February, federal agencies have reported 197 contacts with lobbyists about stimulus grants."

This may be partly due to the changes made in July, modifying the restrictions placed on lobbyists' communications. Federal officials are prohibited from orally communicating with anyone about Recovery funds, but only after competitive grant applications have been submitted for review. Therefore, someone who is not a federally registered lobbyist can make undisclosed contacts about Recovery projects before an application is submitted. Lobbyists can simply send their clients without any public disclosure. "Lobbyists have separately reported work related to stimulus projects, and in many cases have operated in new ways to skirt restrictions on their efforts to influence stimulus spending."

Unfortunately the transparency is incomplete as long as registered lobbyists are the only ones whose contacts have to be disclosed. OMB Watch has a chart listing the agencies reporting communications with lobbyists.