How many people typically serve on a PAC board? Where's the best place to post a job opening? Should you cancel your annual fly-in? Where can one find reliable information on doing business overseas? You may have asked some of these questions in your capacity as a public affairs professional. "Council Conversation" - a new website-based discussion forum - allows Council members to post questions and answers about any topic - from fundraising to grassroots activities to global affairs.

The BRIC summit, which convenes for the first time on Tuesday in Yekaterinburg, Russia, is almost certainly the first multilateral nation bloc to be created by an investment bank’s research analysts and their sales team.

The European elections, held simultaneously in 27 countries for the first time in history, ended in a clear victory for the centre-right EPP-ED group and a defeat for the Party of European Socialists (PES), provisional results showed late last night.

The European Commission on June 4 hinted at possible changes to its lobbyists register ahead of a July review. The development comes as the register is set to celebrate its first birthday on June 23.

The register was launched by Administration and Anti-Fraud Commissioner Siim Kallas last summer. The Commission has invited stakeholders to submit proposals for reform by June 15, before an internal review to take place in July. 

Congressional officials have amended new guidelines for those trying to terminate a lobbying registration - saying that lobbyists can deregister if they don't "reasonably expect" to make any future direct contacts.

While congressmen on Capitol Hill are already tweeting with Americans across the United States, MEPs are still making scant use of the Internet and fail to fully grasp the potential of digital politics to engage with voters, found a survey published by public affairs consultancy Fleishman-Hillard.

The good news about the White House's revised lobbying rules is that they now restrict many others - not just lobbyists - from oral communications with federal officials about economic stimulus projects, Public Affairs Council President Doug Pinkham told members in a June 2 update.  Moreover, the rules now apply to a relatively narrow time frame. But the rules still require federal officials to document all meetings and phone calls about stimulus projects with registered lobbyists.

Call it a month for the unexpected: While observers questioned whether the White House would make any changes to its lobbying restrictions following a 60-day comment period, the Obama administration in fact approved revisions largely favorable to the lobbying community. While one hardly expects those steeped in tradition to embrace the likes of Facebook and Twitter, the U.S. Army appears to be among those leading the charge on social media. And while experts were certain this would be the year that investors demanded big changes in CEO pay levels and ineffective boards, a new study finds few examples of investors making any such demands. These stories and more in this edition of the Public Affairs News Monitor.

BRUSSELS -- The European institutions' attempts to boost lobbying transparency are being slammed as “half-hearted” and “seriously flawed” in a fresh volley of criticism from transparency campaigners.

Next week ends the 60-day public comment period for Obama's new lobbying restrictions, and plenty of people are commenting. Among those recently weighing in were three attorneys for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, who told the White House that the rules limit the First Amendment rights of Chamber members to petition government. Add to this a news report that several federal agencies have disclosed no lobbyist communications - despite having awarded billions in economic stimulus funds - and one wonders if the White House will adjust the new rules to address mounting criticism. These stories and more in this edition of the Public Affairs News Monitor.

After months of complaints from lobbyists and others that Obama's new "gag" rules unfairly target lobbyists, the Public Affairs Council petitioned the White House to consider alternatives, two national publications wrote on their blogs.

Instead of restricting executive branch communications with lobbyists seeking Recovery Act funds, the White House should create a searchable database of only essential information that tracks all conversations about such funds, including those with the Washington lawyers, non-profit executives, state lobbyists and others not covered by the administration's lobbyist restrictions, Public Affairs Council President Douglas Pinkham suggests in a letter to the White House.

May 11, 2009

Mr. Norman Eisen
Special Counsel to the President
For Ethics & Government Reform
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. Eisen:

I am writing to comment on the March 20, 2009, presidential memorandum restricting federally registered lobbyists who seek to meet with executive branch officials about specific projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Are the costs of President Obama's new restrictions on lobbyists outweighing the benefits? That's the question the Washington Post poses in a recent editorial, which concludes that "too many qualified candidates have been denied positions for which they are suited simply because of a lobbyist taint."