The Washington Post reports on a subtle but substantial effort by the Obama administration to diminish lobbyists' outsized hold on U.S. policy. The Post reports:

Hundreds, if not thousands, of lobbyists are likely to be ejected from federal advisory panels … The new policy -- issued with little fanfare this fall by the White House ethics counsel -- may turn out to be the most far-reaching lobbying rule change so far from President Obama, who also has sought to restrict the ability of lobbyists to get jobs in his administration and to negotiate over stimulus contracts.

The initiative is aimed at a system of advisory committees so vast that federal officials don't have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people.

Under the policy, which is being phased in over the coming months, none of the more than 13,000 lobbyists in Washington would be able to hold seats on the committees, which advise agencies on trade rules, troop levels, environmental regulations, consumer protections and thousands of other government policies.

The lobbyists are not banned from joining committees. They are “encouraged” not to participate. But that policy shift may amount to a de facto prohibition. The Post reports that several Cabinet secretaries have already decided to follow the recommendation.

Committee members are generally unpaid. But a committee position offers lobbyists an opportunity to skew recommendations toward their client's interest rather than the nation's or overall industry's best interests. Consequently, lobbyists' presence on the panels undermines the core objective of the advisory committees.