Following up on its promise early this year, the U.S. Treasury Department has quietly posted detailed guidelines for limiting outside influence on the $700 billion federal program designed to rescue troubled banks and the U.S. financial sector.

The restrictions are designed to limit the influence of lobbyists and others on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

The guidelines prohibit anyone outside the executive branch from verbally communicating with Treasury officials about pending applications for funding under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, known as TARP funding. The guidelines are similar to those that restrict executive branch contacts with those lobbying for funds from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, also known as the Recovery Act.

As with the Recovery Act policy, communication regarding Treasury policy issues or funding applications must be publicly disclosed if a contact is made by a federal registered lobbyist, but not if the contact is made by non-lobbyists.

The guidelines also allow any outside party, including a lobbyist, to communicate with Treasury officials about general funding logistics, without any restriction or disclosure. Similarly, discussions before an audience at a "widely attended" gathering are not restricted, though private discussions at such an event could be subject to restrictions or disclosure guidelines.

The new Treasury guidelines are online at http://www.financialstability.gov/docs/Lobbying-Guidelines.pdf.