Despite President Obama's attempts to curtail the influence of lobbyists in Washington, recent lobbying expenses indicate the White House has "not materially weakened the lobbying profession," Public Affairs Council President Doug Pinkham told The Washington Post.

"The rules have had more unintended consequences than intended ones," said Pinkham, referring to the belief among some observers that power has shifted to other Washington insiders and business executives who don't have to register as lobbyists.

The Center for Responsive Politics recently reported that final lobbying expenditures last year were $3.47 billion, a 5 percent increase from 2008's figure of $3.3 billion. The total reflects a lower rate of growth than in previous years, but the Post suggests this was mostly because of the weak economy, not because of new lobbying policies.

Those lobbying policies include: Banning registered lobbyists from political appointments and thousands of federal advisory boards; releasing monthly logs of White House visitors; and banning spoken communication between outsiders and federal officials about stimulus contracts. In addition, Obama proposed in his State of the Union address public disclosure of all lobbying contacts with the government or Congress and lowering the maximum amount that lobbyists can donate or raise for federal candidates.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $144 million on its lobbying -- a 60 percent increase over 2008 - as it opposed health-care reform, financial regulations and climate legislation.

A recent Pew Research Center poll ranked lobbying reforms as third from the bottom in voter concerns for this year. And unlike the executive changes Obama enacted last year, some of his latest proposals will require congressional approval.