110 HR 6398 IH: To impose a permanent prohibition on the use of funds by U.S. House of Representatives 2008-06-26 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 6398 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES June 26, 2008 Mr. Hodes (for himself, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. DeLauro, and Mr. Hinchey) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To impose a permanent prohibition on the use of funds by the Department of Defense for propaganda purposes within the United States not otherwise specifically authorized by law and to require an investigation into possible violations of the annual Department of Defense Appropriations Act prohibition on such propaganda.

1.

Prohibition on use of funds by the Department of Defense for propaganda purposes within the United States

(a)

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)Section 8001 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2008 (division A of Public Law 110–116; 121 Stat. 1313) states that ‘‘No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall be used for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by the Congress.’’. (2)This same prohibition on Department of Defense propaganda activities has appeared as section 8001 of Public Laws 107–117, 107–248, 108–87, 108–287, 109–148, and 109–289, the annual Department of Defense Appropriations Acts for fiscal years 2002 through 2007. (3)Recent media accounts have revealed a Department of Defense program that was designed to indirectly influence media coverage of the war in Iraq and the Global War on Terrorism by providing retired members of the Armed Forces, who were frequently featured in the media, with talking points, special tours, access to high-level meetings, and even classified materials. (4)In reaction to these media accounts, the Department of Defense has suspended the program pending an internal review, but, in the interest of full disclosure and in light of section 8001, an external review of the program is warranted. (b)

Prohibition

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense may be used by the Department of Defense for propaganda purposes within the United States not otherwise specifically authorized by law. (c)

Investigations and reports

Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense and the Comptroller General of the United States shall each conduct a study of, and submit to Congress a report on, the extent to which the Department of Defense has violated the annual prohibition on Department of Defense propaganda activities referred to subsection (a). (d)

Definition

In this section, the term propaganda means any form of communication in support of national objectives designed to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of the people of the United States in order to benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly.