SWAG Act

II Calendar No. 616 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2722 [Report No. 116–313] To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 29, 2019 Ms. ERNST (for herself, Mr. PAUL, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs DECEMBER 14, 2020 Reported by Mr. JOHNSON, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Wasteful Adver- 4 tising by the Government Act’’ or the ‘‘SWAG Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2722 RS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act— 2 (1) the term ‘‘advertising’’ means the placement 3 of messages in media that are intended to inform or 4 persuade an audience, including placement in tele- 5 vision, radio, a magazine, a newspaper, digital 6 media, direct mail, an exhibit, and a billboard; 7 (2) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 8 the term in section 551 of title 5, United States 9 Code; 10 (3) the term ‘‘covert propaganda’’ means propa- 11 ganda communications by an agency that— 12 (A) fail to disclose the role of the agency 13 as the source of information; or 14 (B) are misleading as to the origin of the 15 communications; 16 (4) the term ‘‘mascot’’— 17 (A) means an individual, animal, or object 18 adopted by an agency as a symbolic figure to 19 represent the agency or the mission of the 20 agency; and 21 (B) includes a costumed character; 22 (5) the term ‘‘public relations’’ means commu- 23 nications by an agency that are directed to the pub- 24 lic, including activities dedicated to maintaining the 25 image of the governmental unit or maintaining or 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2722 RS promoting understanding and favorable relations 1 with the community or the public; 2 (6) the term ‘‘purely partisan materials’’ means 3 materials designed to aid a political party or can- 4 didate; 5 (7) the term ‘‘self-aggrandizement’’ means pub- 6 licity of a nature tending to emphasize the impor- 7 tance of the agency or activity in question; and 8 (8) the term ‘‘swag’’— 9 (A) means a product or merchandise dis- 10 tributed at no cost with the sole purpose of ad- 11 vertising or promoting an agency, organization, 12 program, or agenda; 13 (B) includes blankets, buttons, candy, 14 clothing, coloring books, cups, fidget spinners, 15 hats, holiday ornaments, jar grip openers, 16 keychains, koozies, magnets, neckties, novelties, 17 snuggies, stickers, stress balls, stuffed animals, 18 tchotchkes, thermoses, tote bags, trading cards, 19 and writing utensils; and 20 (C) does not include— 21 (i) an item presented as honorary or 22 informal recognition award, such as a chal- 23 lenge coin or medal issued for sacrifice or 24 meritorious service; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2722 RS (ii) a brochure or pamphlet purchased 1 or distributed for informational purchases; 2 or 3 (iii) an item distributed for diplomatic 4 purposes, including a gift for a foreign 5 leader. 6 SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS; PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVER- 7 TISING SPENDING. 8 (a) PROHIBITIONS.—Except as provided in sub- 9 section (c), and unless otherwise expressly authorized by 10 law— 11 (1) an agency, a contractor of the Federal Gov- 12 ernment, or another entity of the Federal Govern- 13 ment may not, directly or indirectly, use Federal 14 funds for publicity or propaganda purposes within 15 the United States, including the use of Federal 16 funds for self-aggrandizement, covert propaganda, or 17 purely partisan materials; 18 (2) an agency or other entity of the Federal 19 Government may not use Federal funds to purchase 20 or otherwise acquire or distribute swag; and 21 (3) an agency or other entity of the Federal 22 Government may not use Federal funds to manufac- 23 ture or use a mascot to promote an agency, organi- 24 zation, program, or agenda. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2722 RS (b) PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING SPEND- 1 ING.—Each agency shall, as part of the annual budget jus- 2 tification submitted to Congress, report on the public rela- 3 tions and advertising spending of the agency for the pre- 4 ceding fiscal year. 5 (c) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 6 with respect to— 7 (1) recruitment relating to— 8 (A) enlistment or employment with the 9 Armed Forces; or 10 (B) employment with the Federal Govern- 11 ment; 12 (2) a mascot that is declared the property of 13 the United States under a provision of law, including 14 under section 2 of Public Law 93–318 (16 U.S.C. 15 580p–1); 16 (3) a mascot relating to the Armed Forces of 17 the United States; or 18 (4) an item distributed by the Bureau of the 19 Census to assist the Bureau in conducting a census 20 of the population of the United States. 21 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 22 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Wasteful Adver- 23 tising by the Government Act’’ or the ‘‘SWAG Act’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2722 RS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act— 2 (1) the term ‘‘advertising’’ means the placement 3 of messages in media that are intended to inform or 4 persuade an audience, including placement in tele- 5 vision, radio, a magazine, a newspaper, digital 6 media, direct mail, a tangible product, an exhibit, or 7 a billboard; 8 (2) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given the 9 term in section 551 of title 5, United States Code; 10 (3) the term ‘‘mascot’’— 11 (A) means an individual, animal, or object 12 adopted by an agency as a symbolic figure to 13 represent the agency or the mission of the agen- 14 cy; and 15 (B) includes a costumed character; 16 (4) the term ‘‘public relations’’ means commu- 17 nications by an agency that are directed to the public, 18 including activities dedicated to maintaining the 19 image of the governmental unit or maintaining or 20 promoting understanding and favorable relations 21 with the community or the public; 22 (5) the term ‘‘return on investment’’ means, with 23 respect to the public relations and advertising spend- 24 ing by an agency, a positive return in achieving 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2722 RS agency or program goals relative to the investment in 1 advertising and marketing materials; and 2 (6) the term ‘‘swag’’— 3 (A) means a tangible product or merchan- 4 dise distributed at no cost with the sole purpose 5 of advertising or promoting an agency, organiza- 6 tion, or program; 7 (B) includes blankets, buttons, candy, cloth- 8 ing, coloring books, cups, fidget spinners, hats, 9 holiday ornaments, jar grip openers, keychains, 10 koozies, magnets, neckties, snuggies, stickers, 11 stress balls, stuffed animals, thermoses, tote bags, 12 trading cards, and writing utensils; and 13 (C) does not include— 14 (i) an item presented as an honorary 15 or informal recognition award related to the 16 Armed Forces of the United States, such as 17 a challenge coin or medal issued for sac- 18 rifice or meritorious service; 19 (ii) a brochure or pamphlet purchased 20 or distributed for informational purposes; 21 or 22 (iii) an item distributed for diplomatic 23 purposes, including a gift for a foreign lead- 24 er. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2722 RS SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS; PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVER- 1 TISING SPENDING. 2 (a) PROHIBITIONS.—Except as provided in subsection 3 (c), and unless otherwise expressly authorized by law— 4 (1) an agency or other entity of the Federal Gov- 5 ernment may not use Federal funds to purchase or 6 otherwise acquire or distribute swag; and 7 (2) an agency or other entity of the Federal Gov- 8 ernment may not use Federal funds to manufacture 9 or use a mascot to promote an agency, organization, 10 program, or agenda. 11 (b) PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVERTISING SPEND- 12 ING.—Each agency shall, as part of the annual budget jus- 13 tification submitted to Congress, report on the public rela- 14 tions and advertising spending of the agency for the pre- 15 ceding fiscal year, which may include an estimate of the 16 return on investment for the agency. 17 (c) EXCEPTIONS.— 18 (1) SWAG.—Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply 19 with respect to— 20 (A) an agency program that supports the 21 mission and objectives of the agency that is initi- 22 ating the public relations or advertising spend- 23 ing, provided that the spending generates a posi- 24 tive return on investment for the agency; 25 (B) recruitment relating to— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2722 RS (i) enlistment or employment with the 1 Armed Forces; or 2 (ii) employment with the Federal Gov- 3 ernment; or 4 (C) an item distributed by the Bureau of 5 the Census to assist the Bureau in conducting a 6 census of the population of the United States. 7 (2) MASCOTS.—Subsection (a)(2) shall not apply 8 with respect to— 9 (A) a mascot that is declared the property 10 of the United States under a provision of law, 11 including under section 2 of Public Law 93–318 12 (16 U.S.C. 580p–1); or 13 (B) a mascot relating to the Armed Forces 14 of the United States. 15 (d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after the 16 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of 17 Management and Budget shall issue regulations to carry 18 out this Act. 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 616 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2722 [Report No. 116–313] A BILL To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity or propaganda purposes, and for other purposes. DECEMBER 14, 2020 Reported with an amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Dec 15, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S2722.RS S2722 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS