Bush spends $1,600,000,000.00 on pig lipstick
Bruce Olin
Relations Contracts Since 2003, GAO Finds
By: Committee on Government Reform Minority Office
Published: Feb 13, 2006 at 08:14
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_31629.shtml
Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. George
Miller, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, and other senior Democrats released a new
Government Accountability Office report finding that the Bush Administration
spent more than $1.6 billion in public relations and media contracts in a
two and a half year span.
"The government is spending over a billion dollars per year on PR and
advertising," said Rep. Waxman. "Careful oversight of this spending is
essential given the track record of the Bush Administration, which has used
taxpayer dollars to fund covert propaganda within the United States."
"No amount of money will successfully sell the Bush Administration's failed
policies, from the war in Iraq, to its disastrous energy policy, to its
confusing Medicare prescription drug benefits," said Democratic Leader
Pelosi. "The American people know the Bush Administration is on the wrong
track and the White House PR machine won't change that fact."
"The extent of the Bush Administration's propaganda effort is unprecedented
and disturbing," said Rep. Miller. "The fact is that after all the spin, the
American people are stuck with high prescription drug prices, high gas
prices, and high college costs. This report raises serious questions about
this Administration's priorities for the country and I would hope that my
colleagues on both sides of the aisle would agree that changes need to be
made to reign in the President's propaganda machine."
"It is unbelievable that the Administration, on several occasions, has used
limited taxpayer dollars to secretly promote initiatives such as No Child
Left Behind, while underfunding money for our schools, books, technology,
and after school programs," said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings.
Democrats requested that GAO conduct the study after evidence emerged last
year that the Bush Administration had commissioned "covert propaganda" from
public relations firms. Several federal departments had hired firms to
develop "video new releases" to promote department initiatives which
appeared to television viewers to be independent newscasts. Other
revelations that triggered the GAO report included the disclosure that the
Department of Education paid conservative commentator Armstrong Williams to
promote the No Child Left Behind Act on the radio and in his columns.
To conduct its study, GAO obtained information from seven federal
departments on all public relations, advertising, and media contracts during
2003, 2004, and the first two quarters of 2005. GAO found that during that
time:
* The Administration spent $1.6 billion on contracts with advertising
agencies ($1.4 billion), public relations firms ($197 million), and media
organizations and individual members of the media ($15 million).
* The Department of Defense spent the most on media contracts, with
contracts worth $1.1 billion. The Department of Health and Human Services
spent more than $300 million on these contracts, the Department of Treasury
spent $152 million, and the Department of Homeland Security spent $24
million during this period.
The Administration's public relations and advertising contracts spanned a
wide range of issues, including Administration priorities like
"marriage-related research initiatives," message development presenting "the
Army's strategic perspective in the Global War on Terrorism," and an FDA
contract to warn the public of the consequences and potential danger of
importing prescription drugs from other nations.
The detailed list of contracts provided by the Air Force demonstrates the
wide range of public relations and advertising contracting entered into by
the federal government. This list included $179 million for a recruitment
advertising campaign, more than $35,000 for promotional materials for a golf
program, including "golf towel with embroidered design and golf tees with
imprint," and $10, 212 for "prize giveaways, such as cruises to
Mediterranean and to Canada/New England."
GAO's accounting of the Bush Administration's public relations and
advertising contracts is limited. GAO surveyed only seven of the 15
cabinet-level departments, relied on self-reported information from the
agencies, and did not include subcontracts, task orders on existing
contracts, or public relations work done by government employees.
Factsheet
On February 13, 2006, Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi,
Rep. George Miller, and other senior Democratic leaders released a new
Government Accountability Office study that identifies more than $1.6
billion in public relations and media spending by the Bush Administration
over the last two and a half years.
The members requested the GAO study a year ago following revelations that
the Bush Administration had hired public relations firms to produce "covert
propaganda" to influence public opinion in the United States. The
revelations that triggered the GAO request included the disclosure that the
Department of Education had paid a conservative columnist and commentator,
Armstrong Williams, to editorialize in favor of the No Child Left Behind
Act; that the Department of Health and Human Services had hired a public
relations firm to develop "video news releases" promoting the Medicare
Modernization Act that looked like independent newscasts; and that the
Department of Education and the Office of National Drug Control Policy had
also hired public relations firms to develop similar video news releases
promoting Administration policies.
To conduct its study, GAO surveyed seven federal departments, obtaining
information on their contracts with public relations firms, advertising
agencies, media organizations, and individual members of the media during
2003, 2004, and the first two quarters of 2005.1 GAO did not evaluate in its
report whether these media contracts complied with federal law, including
the prohibition on covert propaganda.
GAO Findings
Key findings from the report and GAO investigation include the following:
. Over two and a half years, the Bush Administration spent more than $1.6
billion in taxpayer dollars on 343 contracts with public relations firms,
advertising agencies, media organizations, and individual members of the
media.
. The Administration spent $1.4 billion on 137 contracts with advertising
agencies, $197 million on 54 contracts with public relations firms, $15
million on 131 contracts with media organizations, and almost $100,000 on
eight contracts with individual members of the media.
. $50 million worth of media spending, on 76 contracts, was not awarded
through the competitive bidding process.
. The six biggest recipients of these contracting dollars were Leo Burnett
USA Inc. ($536 million), Campbell-Ewald Company ($194 million), GSD&M ($179
million), J. Walter Thompson Company ($148 million), Frankel & Company ($133
million), and Ketchum Inc ($78 million). Together, these six companies
received more than $1.2 billion in media contracts.
. The Department of Defense spent the most on these media contracts, with
contracts worth $1.1 billion. The Department of Health and Human Services
spent more than $300 million on these contracts, the Department of Treasury
spent $152 million, and the Department of Homeland Security spent $24
million during this period.
Examples of Public Relations and Advertising Contracts
The public relations and advertising contracts spanned a wide range of
issues. Several relate to Administration priorities, including a contract to
"provide expert advice and support in the development of several
marriage-related research initiatives," an education campaign regarding the
"Medicare Modernization Act, and its coverage and benefits," and a contract
regarding "message development that presents the Army's strategic
perspective in the Global War on Terrorism." An FDA contract had the
objective of warning the public about the "consequences and potential
dangers of buying prescription drugs from non-U.S. sources."
Within the Department of Defense, which had the largest budget for public
relations and advertising contracts, the Air Force provided the most
detailed list of its contracts.
The Air Force contracts ranged from a $179 million contract for a
"National/Local Advertising Partnership ... in support of Air Force
recruiting programs" to a $288 contract to "embroider logo on bowling bags."
The list of over 100 Air Force contracts reveals that the Air Force spent
hundreds of thousands of dollars on promotional materials, including $10,212
for "prize giveaways, such as cruises to Mediterranean and to Canada/New
England"; $10,152 for "Coca-Cola logoed items, including portable radios,
victory t-shirts, hats, coolers"; and more than $35,000 for multiple
contracts for promotional materials for a golf program, including "golf
towel with embroidered design and golf tees with imprint." It was beyond the
scope of the GAO report to evaluate the reasonableness of these contracts or
other contracts included in the report.
GAO lists 14 contracts, worth a combined $1.2 million, that call for the
development of video news releases. These contracts were entered into by six
federal agencies: the Census Bureau, the Food and Drug Administration,
National Institutes of Health, the Transportation Safety Administration, the
National Park Service, and the U.S. Mint. GAO did not evaluate the legality
of these contracts in this report. However, prior GAO reports have found
that the production of video news releases by federal agencies violate the
ban on covert propaganda if those video news releases are broadcast to the
public without identifying the role of the federal government.
An Incomplete Inventory
GAO's accounting of Bush Administration contracts with public relations
firms, advertising agencies, and media companies is limited. GAO surveyed
only seven of the 15 cabinet-level departments and did not survey any
independent agencies. GAO relied on self-reported information from the
agencies. And GAO did not include subcontracts, task orders on existing
contracts, or public relations and media work done by government employees.
The limitations are evident from examples of known public relations
initiatives that did not make it into the report. Because the report did not
cover all federal agencies, it missed one of the most highly publicized
public relations contracts: the Department of Education contract with
Ketchum Communications, and its subcontract with Armstrong Williams, to
promote the No Child Left Behind Act. The report also omitted the costs of
video news releases produced by the State Department promoting progress in
Afghanistan that made it on to local TV news programs.
Growth in Public Relations
The GAO report does not examine trends in spending on public relations and
advertising contracts. However, a prior study by the minority staff of the
Government Reform Committee found that spending on public relations
contracts has risen rapidly under the Bush Administration. That report found
that spending on contracts with public relations firms had increased from
$39 million in 2000 to $88 million in 2004, an increase of 128%.
--
"The first casualty of war is not truth, but perspective.
Once that's gone, truth, like compassion, reason,
and all the other virtues, wanders around like a wounded orphan."
Ente Grillenhaft