Lawmaker demands breakdown of government propaganda spending

Following a series of reports detailing the federal government’s reckless spending of taxpayer money on outright propaganda efforts, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) is demanding an official breakdown of the Obama administration’s public relations spending.

Federal agencies shelled out nearly $4 billion in taxpayer funds since 2007 for “thinly-veiled propaganda campaigns that are primarily designed to protect their budgets and hype outcomes,” according to the findings of a watchdog report out late last year.

The nonprofit taxpayer advocacy group Open the Books revealed that the federal government employs 3,092 public affairs employees spread across around 200 agencies. In addition to $2.35 billion in annual salary and bonus payments to federal employees with “public affairs” job titles and government benefits, federal agencies have shelled out $2 billion to hire outside PR contractors since 2011.

A separate Congressional Research Service report revealed that federal agencies shelled out nearly $900 million for advertising and public relations contracts in 2013 alone.

The CRS noted: “Government advertising can be controversial if it conflicts with citizens’ views about the proper role of government. Yet some government advertising is accepted as a normal part of government information activities.

“It is difficult to calculate the amount of funds spent by the federal government on advertising each year. The reasons for this include (1) there is no government-wide definition of what constitutes advertising and (2) there is no central authority to which agencies are required to report advertising expenses.”

The remarkable amount of federal spending on the public outreach efforts coupled with the blatant lack of oversight has some lawmakers wondering whether federal officials are flouting federal laws that prohibit government agencies from funding domestic propaganda.

Earlier this month, Enzi wrote Government Accountability Office (GAO) Comptroller General Eugene Dodaro requesting a formal breakdown of federal advertising expenditures. He wants official documents showing:

• How much is spent across the federal government on public relations activities, including contracts and internal agency support?
• Which federal agencies spend the most on public relations activities, and what are the primary purposes and reported benefits from these investments?

His query comes after federal officials refused to fulfill a previous information request.

“Chairman Enzi is issuing this GAO request four months after sending a similar request for information on federal public relations activities to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which remains unfulfilled,” Budget Committee Communications Director Joe Brenckle told The Daily Caller.

Previous propaganda spending accounting conducted by groups like Open the Books has been written off by federal officials who accuse the watchdogs of cherry picking information and misrepresenting the work of government PR workers.

But Enzi’s request ought to reveal just how much outright propaganda taxpayers pay for each year.

Propaganda spending by federal agencies made major headlines near the end of last year when the GAO determined that the Environmental Protection Agency had used “covert propaganda” to promote its “waters of the United States” rules via an ambitious social media campaign.

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