GAO Says HHS and Bush Administration Broke Laws

Didn't see this posted yet...

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1803&e=1&u=/washpost/20040520/pl_washpost/a41077_2004may19">GAO Says HHS Broke Laws With Medicare Videos

QUOTE:

The Bush administration violated two federal laws through part of its publicity campaign to promote changes in Medicare intended to help older Americans afford prescription drugs, the investigative arm of Congress said yesterday.

The General Accounting Office (news - web sites) concluded that the Department of Health and Human Services (news - web sites) illegally spent federal money on what amounted to covert propaganda by producing videos about the Medicare changes that were made to look like news reports. Portions of the videos, which have been aired by 40 television stations around the country, do not make it clear that the announcers were paid by HHS and were not real reporters.

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QUOTE:

The 16-page legal opinion says that HHS's "video news releases" violated a statute that forbids the use of federal money for propaganda, as well as the Antideficiency Act, which covers the unauthorized use of federal funds.


The finding does not carry legal force, because the GAO acts as an adviser to Congress. House and Senate Democrats immediately vowed to try to extract a refund of the $44,000 that the administration had spent for the three videos, two in English and one in Spanish. And they made it clear they would use the finding to try to further discredit the law, which surveys suggest is opposed by most voters.

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Too bad the finding has no legal weight. But it may have some political weight :) ....

did it hit the evening news? maybe it will make NBC's "Fleecing of America"

:grr: