In June, Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) received a letter that was supposedly authored by Creciendo Juntos, a nonprofit group in his district. The letter urged him to oppose the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a bill designed to combat climate change. Perriello's office also received similar letters on letterhead from the local NAACP chapter. These letters turned out to be fake; they were sent by a lobbying firm hired by a trade group representing coal producers and power companies. Government ethics and transparency watchdog organizations responded, saying that using forged letters as part of a lobbying campaign is outrageous misconduct that harms the legislative process and highlights the need for increased disclosure.

President Barack Obama's March 20 memo restricts communications between federally registered lobbyists and executive branch employees on use of Recovery Act funds and requires disclosure of written communications. A closer examination of the summaries of lobbyist contacts with federal agencies shows that there are few online postings of those communications; some agencies have not posted any contacts at all. According to a review of the 29 agencies receiving stimulus money, only 110 contacts had been disclosed as of May 18.

On April 7, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued interim guidance on how to comply with President Barack Obama’s March 20 memorandum that restricts contact between registered lobbyists and executive branch officials regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

On Jan. 21, President Barack Obama signed an executive order on Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel. The order details new restrictions for political appointees that work in the Obama administration. It limits the role lobbyists can play in the executive branch and attempts to reduce the influence of powerful special interests by addressing the revolving door — when government officials move to and from private sector jobs.