At 1:00 PM (Eastern) this afternoon, CREW, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American League of Lobbyists (ALL) will hold a teleconfernce to discuss a letter the groups are sending tomorrow urging the White House to rewrite a restrictive new rule on registered lobbyists seeking Recovery Act bailout funds, saying it would not achieve the transparency and accountability the administration seeks.

In a letter to White House Counsel Gregory Craig, the groups are asking President Barack Obama to rescind and reissue a section of a memorandum, released on March 20, which bans all phone calls and face-to-face conversations between registered lobbyists and executive branch officials involved in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

During the teleconference, the groups will outline the issues in the letter, as well as alternatives to the White House directive.

The HIll has more:

Two prominent watchdog groups are joining with a lobbyists trade association in asking the Obama administration to rescind lobbying restrictions surrounding stimulus funds.

On Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and the American League of Lobbyists will release a letter they are sending to White House Counsel Gregory Craig asking him to rewrite new rules for the stimulus package.

In an executive memo put out March 20, the administration said federally registered lobbyists could not telephone or meet with executive-branch officials to discuss specific projects in the stimulus bill. Instead, they would have to submit their views in writing to the administration. 

Under the memo, however, lobbyists could meet or talk with administration officials to discuss the stimulus in general terms. Those meetings would have to be disclosed online.