Reply #2: This is at least the third time the Bush administration has violated

[snippy]

the federal law prohibiting spending taxpayer money on propaganda. The GAO already has issued reports finding such violations of law concerning the first two occasions, one of which concerned the Medicare prescription drug benefit and the other of which concerned drug use among young people. Here are the relevant portions of the digests of those reports.

DIGEST

1. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s (CMS) use of appropriated funds to pay for the production and distribution of story packages that were not attributed to CMS violated the restriction on using appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda purposes in the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution of 2003,
Pub. L. No. 108-7, Div. J, Tit. VI, § 626, 117 Stat. 11, 470 (2003).

2. CMS, in using appropriations in violation of the publicity or propaganda prohibition, incurred obligations in excess of appropriations available for that purpose. See B-300325, Dec. 13, 2002. Accordingly, CMS violated the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. § 1341, and must report the violation to the Congress and President in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 1351 and Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A-11.

http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/302710.htm

DIGEST

1. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) produced and distributed prepackaged news stories as part of some video news releases it issued under the Drug-Free Media Campaign Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105-277, div. D, title I, subtitleA, 112 Stat. 2681-752 (Oct. 21, 1998), codified in 21U.S.C. ch. 23. Because ONDCP did not identify itself to the viewing audience as the producer and distributor of those prepackaged news stories, ONDCP's news stories constituted covert propaganda and violated publicity or propaganda prohibitions contained in its 2002, 2003, and 2004 appropriations acts.

. . .

3. The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) must report violations of the Antideficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. 1341, pursuant to 31U.S.C. 1351, because ONDCP had no appropriation available to produce and distribute materials in violation of publicity or propaganda prohibitions contained in its 2002, 2003, and 2004 appropriations acts.

http://www.gao.gov/decisions/appro/303495.htm

Another day, another felony. How very republican.