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From ENN,

EPA defends ads for Bush proposal, despite Democrats' charges


Thursday, October 16, 2003
By John Heilprin, Associated Press


WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is standing by its advertising from two weeks ago to promote President Bush's plan for reducing power plant pollution, despite House Democrats' charges that it was a serious misuse of public money.

The ads promoting Bush's "Clear Skies" legislation may violate antilobbying laws, say Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.; John Dingell, D-Mich.; and David Obey, D-Wis. But EPA spokeswoman Lisa Harrison insists the ads, which ran Sept. 26 to Oct. 2, were legal.

"It's a moot point, because the ads have run their course," she said Wednesday. "We're not lobbying because we're not advocating an action. We're educating people about the benefits of Clear Skies."

EPA announced on Sept. 29 it was starting a national Spanish-language advertising campaign on the Hispanic Radio Network, timed to coincide with National Hispanic Heritage Month. The agency also took out a full-page color ad promoting Bush's plan in a Spanish-language newspaper in Dallas.

Harrison said the ads were among 27 public service announcements that ran on the network's 160 affiliate stations, covering topics such as asthma, the Energy Star program, radon, school buses, drinking water — and Clear Skies.

Bush's legislation, one of his top environmental priorities, has awaited action in Congress since its introduction in the House and Senate in July 2002 and again last February.

The Democrats called the ad campaign "an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars, quite possibly in violation of federal law" in a letter Tuesday to EPA Acting Administrator Marianne Horinko.

"We also believe this action is unprecedented," they wrote, asking that EPA staff preserve any documents, including e-mails and computer files, related to the ad campaign.

They said several laws and Congress' appropriations law for EPA, which bans the use of agency funds for "propaganda purposes," may have been violated. Federal law also prohibits federal officials from campaigning on legislation before Congress.

However, Harrison said that EPA was abiding by interpretations of those laws by the Justice Department and General Accounting Office, both of which were consulted by EPA's general counsel before the ads ran.

Horinko said in announcing the ads last month, "EPA is focusing on ways Hispanics can foster a healthy environment in the home, at school, and in their local communities."


Source: Associated Press