Administration Misleads Seniors with Illegal, 'Covert Propaganda' on Medicare

The General Accounting Office ruled yesterday that the Bush administration broke federal law by producing and distributing to local television stations phony news segments about its Medicare changes. The ruling states the administration concealed the fact that its "news" footage featured actors pretending to be Washington reporters who were "paid with federal funds" to read scripts prepared by the Bush administration.

• The Bush administration deceived America's seniors by pushing harmful Medicare changes and then lying about the consequences. The GAO concluded the video segments were "not strictly factual news stories" that contained "notable omissions and weaknesses" about the administration's Medicare changes and worse, were "misleading as to source." Knowing the elderly would be skeptical of the changes, the administration had to resort to deceptions and lies.
• The administration broke the public's trust by using taxpayer money to manipulate the elderly with illegal, covert propaganda. The GAO determined the phony news segments constituted "covert propaganda" that failed to properly identify the government as the source of the information in the clips and constituted a "misuse of appropriated funds" in violation of federal law.
• Congress must level with the American public and overhaul the new Medicare law. Given the pattern of lies and deceptions in the passage and promotion of the new Medicare law, the investigations by the FBI and ethics committees must be expedited and justice must be served. Moreover, Congress should overhaul the Medicare law. It is bad legislation – written by and for special interests – that leaves seniors with high drug prices and taxpayers with an exorbitant bill.

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