Obama's secretary of HHS, Kathleen Sibelius, has been calling CEO's of industries her department regulates asking for money, "voluntary donations", to fund Obamacare. Congress has refused the funding and so to bypass Congress, HHS is atempting to raise the money "privately".
Imagine your phone rings. It's Ms.Kathleen Sibelius, or perhaps its Secretary of HHS Kathleen Sibelius. You take the call. She asks you for money. What do you say? Knowing that bureaucrats under her command can make your life and your company's life, a living hell. Real voluntary that donation is.
Someone on NHPR said this was OK as long as Ms Sibelius didn't use here title over the phone. As if anyone in the health business wouldn't know who she was.
It may be legal, but it sure is tacky. Most people call it blackmail.