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Enhancing Transparency in Government using the Internet

By Darrell K. Pruitt; DDS

I recently came across news that could possibly be the first tangible step in the inevitable demise of traditional lobbyist representation that we have known and endured all our lives. True to what the man promised in the fall of 2007, Barack H. Obama is ready to show the nation that he intends to decentralize power by enhancing transparency in government using the Internet.

Decentralization 

Decentralization naturally scares entrenched, oppressive leaders inside and outside government who in the best of all worlds, shouldn’t be entrusted with power in the first place. It is my opinion that we are witnessing a huge Presidential step in the inevitable progress of the Internet-powered social revolution many have predicted for a decade or more. According to the unprecedented lobbying rules, virtually anything anyone says to public officials about the Recovery Act and Stimulus package must be immediately posted on the Internet (if it is not there already). No kidding. For example, I discovered this news in an article on the White House blog, posted by Jesse Lee on Friday, Its title is “Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence” (copied below).

Here is a line from the article: “Following OMB’s review, the Administration has decided to make a number of changes to the rules that we think make them even tougher on special interests and more focused on merits-based decision making.”

I am hopeful that Obama is sincere in his effort to steer our legislative body to make decisions based on merits rather than undocumented conversations funded by special interests. If he succeeds, one class of losers will be managed care stakeholders like Delta Dental who prefer to spend healthcare dollars to lobby congress rather than work things out with dentists who have to deal with their calculated lies. A perfect example of Delta’s stupidity is documented in “National insurer asks legislators to keep dental benefits in mind in health care reform” featuring Delta’s shy PR rep, Janis Oshensky.

http://ifawebnews.com/2009/04/01/national-insurer-asks-legislators-to-keep-dental-benefits-in-mind-in-health-care-reform

Insurance and Financial Advisor Website

The fact that Delta would pay for such a disingenuous PR piece on the Insurance & Financial Advisor Website shows how out of touch Oshensky is. It was posted appropriately enough on April 1. Two months later, I still cannot figure out the purpose of the ad. Just who was the vice president of dental relations and public policy for DDPA trying to impress? Her insurance buddies? Was this Janis Oshensky’s swell idea, or did a committee come up with the stinker? I don’t think we’ll ever know. Also, among the losers to transparency will be healthcare IT stakeholders with lousy goods to move. Rather than compete with each other, they prefer lobbying for mandated sales of worthless, but nevertheless CCHIT-certified products. Fair sales without the help of billions of stimulus dollars are impossible because doctors don’t want eMRs for unanticipated reasons of intelligence.

Healthcare IT Business Leaders

Recognized leaders of big healthcare IT businesses, such as Glen Tullman, the CEO of Allscripts, won’t like handing over political empowerment one bit. Did you know that Tullman and Obama are long-time Chicago buddies? I think the new rules mean Americans will finally have immediate access to their discussions about HIT. Sweet; I think I could learn to like Obama. I bet Tullman keeps his mouth shut. That’s sweet as well. If this news is as significant as it appears to be, I’m surprised it hasn’t attracted more attention by now. While nobody knows yet how Obama’s plan to post transcripts of oral communications with government officials is going to ultimately affect the way professional organizations are represented in Washington (or if it in the end changes anything at all), I’m pretty sure that what I have been reading carefully has the potential to turn the government over to those who can create content independent of committees, talking points and traditional hierarchy. I interpret Obama’s rules as the manifestation of what Thomas Friedman (“The World is Flat”) long ago called individual empowerment.

Got a beef? How are your writing skills these days? How effective is your social network?

This is good. The new restriction on oral communications with government officials for both registered and non-registered lobbyists (everyone in the nation) is terrible news for organizations which depend on store-bought secretive representation. On the other hand, it’s wonderful news for English majors, speech writers and special bastards with no shame.

ADA Lobbyists

I would never attempt to persuade you to take on my personal issues as your own, but please roll this development over in your mind and decide for yourself if the information I’m sharing might become an advantage for dental patients in the nation if dentists are mobilized for a more democratic form of representation long before the insurance industry can react. And that shouldn’t be too hard. Committees move oh so slowly, including ADA committees. If I am correct, if we work unconventionally, dentistry could be way ahead of the curve by preparing for independent written representation using informal social networks and Internet blogs. No planning or financing is needed. Face it, the money the ADA has paid to lobbyists starting a few years ago was wasted, and there is no way they can help the organization now. Dump them.

PR Assistance 

Here is some powerful PR help I offer for free that cannot be purchased at any price, anywhere: If a dentist posts something that parallels my goals, on any blog, I will easily boost the exposure of the article more effectively than any SEO genius in the nation. I’ve proven so many times how I can do this by merely mentioning someone’s name. And I can help again, and again. All I have to do is discover someone who has confidence in good ideas for protecting our patients from harm. Put it out there and sit back. I’ll do the rest.

Assessment 

I wonder if Obama knew anything about special bastards and unconventional PR when he chose transparency as a goal for his administration. Maybe I can teach him a thing or two. I have faith that if one’s goals are noble, nothing can hurt you in the land of the free. Come on out. The air is fine.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Update-on-Recovery-Act-Lobbying-Rules-New-Limits-on-Special-Interest-Influence/

FRIDAY, MAY 29TH, 2009 AT 5:35 PM

Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence

Posted by Jesse Lee

THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG

Another update from Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, in the spirit of transparency as always:

I am writing with an update on the President’s March 20, 2009 Memorandum on Ensuring Responsible Spending of Recovery Act Funds. Section 3 of the Memorandum required all oral communications between federally registered lobbyists and government officials concerning Recovery Act policy to be disclosed on the Internet; barred registered lobbyists from having oral communications with government officials about specific Recovery Act projects or applications and instead required those communications to be in writing; and also required those written communications to be posted on the Internet.  That Memorandum instructed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review the initial 60 days of implementation of the stimulus lobbying restrictions, to evaluate the data, and to recommend modifications. 

Following OMB’s review, the Administration has decided to make a number of changes to the rules that we think make them even tougher on special interests and more focused on merits-based decision making.

First, we will expand the restriction on oral communications to cover all persons, not just federally registered lobbyists.  For the first time, we will reach contacts not only by registered lobbyists but also by unregistered ones, as well as anyone else exerting influence on the process.  We concluded this was necessary under the unique circumstances of the stimulus program.

Second, we will focus the restriction on oral communications to target the scenario where concerns about merit-based decision-making are greatest –after competitive grant applications are submitted and before awards are made.  Once such applications are on file, the competition should be strictly on the merits.  To that end, comments (unless initiated by an agency official) must be in writing and will be posted on the Internet for every American to see.

Third, we will continue to require immediate internet disclosure of all other communications with registered lobbyists.  If registered lobbyists have conversations or meetings before an application is filed, a form must be completed and posted to each agency’s website documenting the contact.

OMB will be consulting with agencies, outside experts and others about these principles and will publish detailed guidance, but we wanted to update interested parties on the outcome of the initial review.  We consulted very broadly both within and outside of government (including as reflected in previous posts on the White House blog) and we are grateful to all those who participated in the process.

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Filed under: Alerts Sign-Up, Career Development, Ethics, Health Law & Policy, Information Technology, Op-Editorials, Research & Development | Tagged: ADA, Allscripts, American Dental Association, “Update on Recovery Act Lobbying Rules: New Limits on Special Interest Influence”, CCHIT, DDPA, delta dental, EHRs, EMRs, Glen Tullman, HIMMS, HIT, Insurance & Financial Advisor, IT, Janis Oshensky, Jesse Lee, lobbyists, Norm Eisen, obama, OMB | 11 Comments »