Bipartisan senators launch inquiry into Obama's PR spending

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, is launching an investigation with Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., into the Obama administration's public relations spending.

/ AP

Citing reports of "questionable" uses of taxpayer funds, Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio this week launched an investigation into the Obama administration's public relations and advertising expenses.

Portman launched the investigation in conjunction with Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, the top Democrat in a government oversight subpanel in the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Portman is the top Republican in the subpanel.

Portman and McCaskill sent letters to 11 federal agencies requesting information regarding all contracts they've entered into since October 1, 2008, relating to public relations, publicity, advertising, communications or other related services.

"Over the past three years, we have seen some reports of questionable uses of taxpayer dollars on public relations to promote the administration's agenda," Portman said in a statement to Hotsheet. "This subcommittee investigation will dig deeper and fulfill our responsibility to police waste and abuse in the federal government."

Portman's office pointed to findings from the House Oversight Committee and the conservative group Judicial Watch that suggested the administration has wasted federal funds on public relations.

It's not uncommon for agencies to spend on public relations, nor is it uncommon for those expenditures to be subject to investigation. In 2006, the Government Accountability Office conducted a review of government public relations contracts and found that the largest federal departments reported a total of 343 media contracts at a cost of $1.62 billion.

McCaskill's office characterized the new investigation as more of an "inquiry" focused on collecting information.

The Democratic senator is currently in a tough battle for re-election and has tried to distance herself from the Obama administration to a certain degree, but McCaskill's office told Roll Call that the investigation she's conducting with Portman is not about politics.

"For Claire, good government is not a partisan thing," McCaskill spokesman Trevor Kincaid said.

[lg144]

Republican Sen. Portman reoresents Mitt Romney in Ohio so maybe he needs to be investigated for this political witch hunt against President Obama?

[dj_chi]

And the findings of this investigation will be published by Boehner's 12-person PR staff. Not the GOP's PR staff - Boehner's own 12-person PR team. Because our tax dollars need to ensure that he gets all the press he can - and then some.

P.S. There's no apostrophe in "Obamas," unless you're talking about their dog or something.

[RobAla]

President Obama is also encouraging predominately black churches to "organize" for his re-election. What do you think the press would do if Mitt Romney asked predominately white churches to organize for the election of Mitt Romney? They would have a cow, as they should. Yet, President Obama hardly makes the news with his garbage. He acts like there is separation of church and state, as long is there is no political benefit for him. This guy constantly talks out both sides of his mouth, and the press almost never calls him out on it.

[watkinsjr2000]

Following the 9/11 attacks President George W. Bush spent huge amounts of taxpayers money on a PR campaign to ramp up paranoia & scare the hell out of the American people.This was done deliberately as part of a power grab by the Bush Administration. What we got out of the deal was the biggest expansion in the federal government since the 1960's, two unfunded wars, & a president that governed basically as a reckless dictator for the first 6 years he was in office.It's crazy to suggest,as some people do, that President Bush was behind the 9/11 attacks, but he certainly exploited the situation for his personal political benefit.Why was that PR campaign never investigated?

[tvwatcher5345]

i don't understand why the republicans never started an investigation into the roman catholic church with its child molestation and coverup, and to top it off skip to defense of the roman catholic church when it came to contaception?

[ProgressNow]

Want to see how THEY can improve their image... 10% approval and falling!!!!!