Barack Obama will centralize ethics and lobbying information for voters:
Obama and Biden will create a centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics
records, and campaign finance filings.

Require independent monitoring of lobbying laws and ethics rules:
Obama and Biden will fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee the
investigation of congressional ethics violations.

Close the revolving door on former and future employers:
No political appointees in an Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work 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.

Plan to Change Washington

The Problem

Lobbyists Write National Policies: For example, Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task
Force of oil and gas lobbyists met secretly to develop national energy policy.

Secrecy Dominates Government Actions: The Bush administration has ignored public
disclosure rules and has invoked a legal tool known as the "state secrets" privilege more
than any other previous administration to get cases thrown out of civil court.

Wasteful Spending is Out of Control: The current administration has abused its power by
handing out contracts without competition to its politically connected friends and
supporters. These abuses cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan

Shine the Light on Washington Lobbying

Centralize Ethics and Lobbying Information for Voters: Obama and Biden will create a
centralized Internet database of lobbying reports, ethics records, and campaign finance
filings in a searchable, sortable and downloadable format. 

Require Independent Monitoring of Lobbying Laws and Ethics Rules: Obama and Biden will
use the power of the presidency to fight for an independent watchdog agency to oversee
the investigation of congressional ethics violations so that the public can be assured
that ethics complaints will be investigated. 

Shine the Light on Federal Contracts, Tax Breaks and Earmarks

Create a Public “Contracts and Influence” Database: As president, Obama will create a
"contracts and influence" database that will disclose how much federal contractors spend
on lobbying, and what contracts they are getting and how well they complete them. 
Expose Special Interest Tax Breaks to Public Scrutiny: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will
ensure that any tax breaks for corporate recipients — or tax earmarks — are also publicly
available on the Internet in an easily searchable format. 

End Abuse of No-Bid Contracts: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will end abuse of no-bid
contracts by requiring that nearly all contract orders over $25,000 be competitively
awarded. 
Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president
before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign
any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and
comment on the White House website for five days. 

Shine Light on Earmarks and Pork Barrel Spending: Obama's Transparency and Integrity in
Earmarks Act will shed light on all earmarks by disclosing the name of the legislator who
asked for each earmark, along with a written justification, 72 hours before they can be
approved by the full Senate. 

Bring Americans Back into their Government

Hold 21st Century Fireside Chats: Obama will bring democracy and policy directly to the
people by requiring his Cabinet officials to have periodic national broadband townhall
meetings to discuss issues before their agencies. 

Make White House Communications Public: Obama will amend executive orders to ensure that
communications about regulatory policymaking between persons outside government and all
White House staff are disclosed to the public. 

Conduct Regulatory Agency Business in Public: Obama will require his appointees who lead
the executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant
business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can see in person or watch on the
Internet these debates. 

Release Presidential Records: Obama and Biden will nullify the Bush attempts to make the
timely release of presidential records more difficult. 

Free the Executive Branch from Special Interest Influence

Close the Revolving Door on Former and Future Employers: No political appointees in an
Obama-Biden administration will be permitted to work 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. 

Free Career Officials from the Influence of Politics: Obama will issue an executive order
asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee
offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution. 

Reform the Political Appointee Process: FEMA Director Michael Brown was not qualified to
head the agency, and the result was a disaster for the people of the Gulf Coast. But in
an Obama-Biden administration, every official will have to rise to the standard of proven
excellence in the agency's mission. 

Barack Obama's Record:

Federal Ethics Reform: Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and
proposed ethics legislation that was described as the "gold standard" for reform. It was
because of their leadership that ending subsidized corporate jet travel, mandating
disclosure of lobbyists' bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions
of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into
law. The Washington Post wrote in an editorial, "The final package is the strongest
ethics legislation to emerge from Congress yet." 

Google for Government: Americans have the right to know how their tax dollars are spent,
but that information has been hidden from public view for too long. That's why Barack
Obama and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) passed a law to create a Google-like search engine to
allow regular people to approximately track federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and loans
online. The Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "It would enable the public to see where federal
money goes and how it is spent. It's a brilliant idea." 

Illinois Reform: In 1998, Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to
pass the toughest campaign finance law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the
personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned most gifts from
lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among 50
states for its campaign finance regulations. 

A High Standard: Unlike other candidates Obama's campaign refuses to accept contributions
from Washington lobbyists and political action committees.