Interpretive guidance was issued on ten separate occasions to further clarify elements of the executive order on ethics (E.O. 13490). That list is as follows:

January 22, 2009 Executive Order; Ethics Pledge

Provided the Ethics Pledge form to be used for appointees, defined “appointee” and the commitments to be made, and noted the requirements for ethics agreements and waivers

February 10, 2009 Signing the Ethics Pledge

Provided guidance on when the Ethics Pledge is to be signed

February 11, 2009 Lobbyist Gift Ban Guidance

Provided initial guidance concerning implementation and interpretation of the gift ban

February 23, 2009 Authorizations Pursuant to Section 3 of E.O. 13490

 “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel”

Informed agencies that OMB had authorized Designated Agency Ethics Officials of each executive agency to exercise waiver authority in consultation with the Counsel to the President and that limitations had been placed on exercising that waiver authority

March 16, 2009 Who Must Sign the Ethics Pledge?

Provided guidance about specific categories of officials to help DAEOs determine which officials are subject to the Ethics Pledge

March 26, 2009 Ethics Pledge: Revolving Door Ban—All Appointees Entering Government

Provided guidance on how to implement paragraph 2 of the Ethics Pledge by explaining phrases that comprise paragraph 2 and how paragraph 2 interacts with existing impartiality regulations

April 28, 2009 Holdover Appointees and the Ethics Pledge

Required appointees temporarily holding over from the previous Administration to sign the Ethics Pledge and provided for limited extensions in consultation with the Special Counsel to the President

May 26, 2009 Ethics Pledge Issues: Speeches and Pledge Paragraph 2; Intergovernmental Personnel Act Detailees

Addressed issues related to appointees giving official speeches at events sponsored by former employers or clients and established that IPA detailees are not required to sign the Ethics Pledge

February 18, 2010 Attendance of Staff Accompanying Official Speakers

Provided guidance on applying the gift rules and the lobbyist gift ban to attendance by particular personnel whose presence is truly essential to the performance of the speaker's official duties at a specific event

February 22, 2010 Post-Employment Under the Ethics Pledge, FAQs

Over the last year many groups have continued to express their concern that the administrations emphasis on “federally registered lobbyists” was the wrong focus. The fact that many people that lobbied on behalf of the nonprofit community could not get a waiver to work for the administration, that there was no guidance on executive branch procurement lobbying gave the appearance of the order working in a patchwork fashion. Prohibiting those that considered their work to be in the public interest and not driven by a financial concern, from working in the administration, while rewarding some with waivers that had lobbied for some of the largest corporations in America served to undermine the very accountability and transparency the administration was trying to accomplish.