Senator Byrd

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May 3, 2005

Congress Says "No" to White House Propaganda

Congress is poised to endorse Senator Robert C. Byrd’s call for an end to White House propaganda foisted on the American people.

"It is simply not right for Administration departments and agencies to try to snooker the American people, producing propaganda and passing it off as legitimate news," Byrd, D-W.Va., said.

In each year since 1951, Congress has prohibited the use of federal funds for propaganda purposes in the United States. Despite the law, there have been numerous reports of Administration agencies and departments using federal funds to manipulate the news.

"On more than one occasion, this Administration has provided tax dollars to well-known conservative talk show hosts to promote its agenda. One was paid a hefty fee to promote the No Child Left Behind Act. Another talk show host was paid to promote the Administration’s welfare and family policies," Byrd said.

"If those examples aren’t bad enough, in an effort to blur the line between independent media and Administration propaganda, some agencies have produced prepackaged news stories designed to be indistinguishable from news stories produced by free market news outlets," Byrd stated.

According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), in an opinion dated February 17, 2005, the Administration has violated the prohibition on "publicity and propaganda." In a memo sent to Executive Branch agencies, the GAO stated, "During the past year, we found that several prepackaged news stories produced and distributed by certain government agencies violated this provision."

As a result, Byrd has authored legislation, poised to win final Congressional approval, that would prohibit federal agencies from using taxpayer dollars to produce or distribute prepackaged news stories intended to be viewed, heard, or read which do not clearly identify that the so-called news was created by a federal agency or funded with taxpayer dollars.

"Propaganda efforts such as these have no place in a Republic such as ours. The American people must rely on the independence of the news media," Byrd said. "The country must know that reporters are presenting facts honestly, fairly, and without bias. Democracy should not be built on deception."

On Tuesday, Byrd won approval of his legislation from a key House-Senate conference committee. That approval clears the way for final Congressional approval. The Byrd effort is included in a larger supplemental appropriations bill.