PROPAGANDA ACT’ TO BE INTRODUCED IN SENAT

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PROPAGANDA ACT' TO BE INTRODUCED IN SENATE

NEW YORK In response to continued revelations of government-funded
"journalism" -- ranging from the purported video news releases put out by
the drug czar's office and the Department of Health and Human Services to
the recently uncovered payments to columnists Armstrong Williams and Maggie
Gallagher,who flacked administration programs -- Sens. Edward M. Kennedy
(D-Mass.) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-N.J.) will introduce a bill, The Stop
Government Propaganda Act, in the Senate next week.

"It's just not enough to say, 'Please don't do it anymore,'" Alex Formuzis,
Lautenberg's spokesman, told E&P. "Legislation sometimes is required and we
believe it is in this case."

The Stop Government Propaganda Act states, "Funds appropriated to an
Executive branch agency may not be used for publicity or propaganda
purposes within the United States unless authorized by law."

"It's time for Congress to shut down the Administration's propaganda mill,"
Lautenberg said in a statement. "It has no place in the United States
Government." The bill is co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and
Jon Corzine (D-N.J.).

Formuzis told E&P that while the bill is being introduced by Democrats, its
message and intent is something endorsed by Republicans and Democrats alike.

"We only have a few senators on the bill so far, but we hope and expect
that we'll get a number of others to sign on to the legislation once we
introduce it," he said. "This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. This
is an issue about an independent press, and I think that's something that
will cross party lines."

The act would allow citizens to bring qui tam lawsuits on behalf of the
United States government when the Department of Justice does not respond.

If the matter is taken to court, the bill proposes that the senior official
responsible would be fined three times the amount of the "misspent taxpayer
funds" plus an additional fine ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. And if a
citizen's qui tam suit is accepted, the bill proposes that the plaintiff
receives between 25 and 30% of the proceeds of the fine.

"The President said that his cabinet agencies made a mistake when they paid
commentators to promote his agenda," Kennedy said in a statement. "It's
more than just a mistake, it's an abuse of taxpayer funds and an abuse of
the First Amendment and freedom of the press. ... If the President is
serious about stopping these abuses, he will support this legislation."

According to a release, publicity or propaganda is defined in the bill as:
news releases or publications that do not clearly identify the government
agency responsible for the content; audio/visual or Internet presentations
that do not identify the responsible government agency; any attempt to
manipulate journalists or news organizations; messages created to aid a
political party or candidate; messages with a "self-aggrandizing" purpose
or "puffery of the Administration, agency, executive branch programs or
policies or pending legislation"; and, finally, messages that are "so
misleading or inaccurate that they constitute propaganda."