GAO says Medicare videos were propaganda

WASHINGTON --The Bush administration violated federal prohibitions on propaganda when it issued video press releases promoting the new Medicare law, a congressional agency concluded Wednesday.

The General Accounting Office said three videos, packaged to look like independent news reports and distributed to TV stations across the country, were a misuse of federal money appropriated by Congress. The videos were produced by a subcontractor for the Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is charged with implementing the Medicare revisions enacted last year.

The Bush administration and department officials contended the videos -- two in English and one in Spanish -- were no different in substance from printed press releases or video promotions commonly distributed by private businesses. Critics condemned the practice, however, and said the government did not identify the source of the information in the video and was promoting a politically charged law sought by President Bush.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., a critic of the new law, called the finding "yet another indictment of the deception and dishonesty that has become business as usual for the Bush administration." He said the videos were "political ads" paid for with Medicare money.

HHS officials did not immediately comment on the report. The two English-language videos were narrated by a woman who signs off the piece, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."

The administration told investigators that at least 40 stations in 33 cities aired at least some of the video news releases in January and February.

The administration contended that the Medicare law authorized it to inform the public about changes under the new law. The GAO report, however, said that authority "is subject to the publicity or propaganda prohibition." It says federal money shall not be used "for publicity or propaganda purposes within the United States not heretofore authorized by the Congress." The report was signed by GAO general counsel Anthony Gamboa.

The report said investigators were unable to determine how much money was spent in violation of federal law. It said HHS estimated its cost at about $43,000 but did not document its spending. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., called on Bush's re-election campaign to repay the government.

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