Thursday, October 22, 2009 8:43 AM

White House Stands By Advisory Committee Rule

From this morning's Earlybird:

• "A former U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said a White House effort to remove lobbyists from influential advisory committees could hurt the United States in its trade negotiations," The Hill reports. "But a White House official defended the guidance on Wednesday, saying that lobbyists shouldn't be offered a government platform to try to influence public policy."

• "Facing a major regulatory issue that could be worth a fortune in future business, AT&T has unleashed the kind of lobbying blitz that makes it one of the grand corporate players of the great Washington game," the Washington Post reports. "And yet, for all the money AT&T and other old-line telecom and cable companies have spent pushing their cause, they are poised to lose a key vote to a bunch of younger technology companies that never had anything to do with Washington until recently."

• "Restaurants, retailers and other businesses with high rates of employee turnover are pushing lawmakers to revisit how 'full-time' workers are defined in a healthcare overhaul measure to avoid being slapped with hefty fees for failing to insure their temporary or short-term workforces," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports.

• "K Street looks like a winner if healthcare reform reaches President Barack Obama's desk," The Hill reports. "If healthcare reform passes, lobbyists for healthcare industries will be plenty busy trying to influence the implementation of the bill, both in Congress and in the Obama administration. Sectors targeted for cuts in the bill will immediately begin trying to claw back the money they stand to lose. And lobbyists representing smaller interests will try to band together to get their perennial issues handled."