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Washington, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives today approved a measure introduced by Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that would end the practice of the White House and federal agencies secretly hiring writers and broadcasters as well as public relations firms to favorably report on Administration policies and pass it off as authentic, objective news. Hinchey's amendment to the Transportation, Treasury, HUD Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006, which was accepted by the House leadership without objection, would prohibit the federal government from entering into any contracts with writers and broadcasters or public relations experts to secretly create 'fake news' that serves as government propaganda.
"The passage of this amendment is a critical victory for the American people who, as a result of these secret government contracts with writers, broadcasters, and public relations specialists, have been unable to determine whether they are receiving real, objective news or government-sponsored propaganda," said Hinchey, who is chairman of the Future of American Media Caucus. "I am grateful to my colleagues in the House for passing my amendment. A properly functioning democracy depends on a news media that is free of any conflicts-of-interest, especially with the government that it is supposed to be holding accountable. Today's acceptance of this amendment makes it clear to the Bush Administration that the American people want real journalism, not fake news. We have The Daily Show for that."
Examples of media manipulation within the Bush Administration are numerous. It was widely reported last year that the U.S. Education Department paid conservative commentator Armstrong Williams $241,000 to promote President Bush's education policy. Also, columnist Maggie Gallagher received $21,500 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to work on the president's marriage initiative. Neither of those individuals informed the public that they were under federal contract. More recently, it was reported that the National Resource Conservation Service paid a freelance writer at least $7,500 to write articles touting federal conservation programs and place them in outdoors magazines. Three articles were placed and not one disclosed the fact that the writer was under federal contract. The General Accounting Office is currently looking into the legality of the Williams and Gallagher cases.
On a separate track, it has been reported that the Rendon Group, a public relations group with extensive ties to the Bush Administration and CIA, received $200 million in taxpayer money to spread anti-Saddam Hussein propaganda worldwide. In fact, soon after the September 11th attacks, the company received a $100,000 a month contract from the Pentagon to offer "media strategy advice." The Rendon Group's misinformation campaign helped cause confusion among the American people. Leading up to the start of the Iraq war, polls found that two-thirds of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was behind the September 11th attacks and 8 out of 10 thought Iraq had nuclear weapons. Neither of those are true, yet the Administration, using this outside group funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars, was able to help convince the majority of Americans otherwise.
"American taxpayers should not be footing the bill for the Bush or any future administration to manipulate the media in order to advance its agenda," Hinchey said. "Whether it's dealing with its education policy or its Iraq war policy, the Bush Administration has time and time again sought ways to manipulate the media in its favor without any regard for the American people's right to receive balanced news. This cannot go on any longer."
The full Transportation, Treasury, HUD Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2006, which now includes the Hinchey amendment, is expected to pass the House later today.
The FAM Caucus is composed of House Members who believe in an accountable, diverse, fair, and independent media. The Caucus, which currently has 20 Members, is open to Members of both parties and it neither supports nor opposes any particular industry stakeholder. The FAM Caucus' goal is to educate Members and staff about media issues before Congress and to ensure that all parties - especially the American public - have a chance to participate in the vital debate over media policy. |
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