Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB757 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 757
5	5	To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity or propaganda
6	6	purposes, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	JANUARY28, 2025
9	9	Mr. C
10	10	LOUDintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
11	11	on Oversight and Government Reform
12	12	A BILL
13	13	To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity
14	14	or propaganda purposes, and for other purposes.
15	15	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
16	16	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
17	17	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
18	18	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Wasteful Adver-4
19	19	tising by the Government Act’’ or the ‘‘SWAG Act’’. 5
20	20	SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6
21	21	In this Act— 7
22	22	(1) the term ‘‘advertising’’ means the placement 8
23	23	of messages in media that are intended to inform or 9
24	24	persuade an audience, including placement in tele-10
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27	27	•HR 757 IH
28	28	vision, radio, a magazine, a newspaper, digital 1
29	29	media, direct mail, a tangible product, an exhibit, or 2
30	30	a billboard; 3
31	31	(2) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 4
32	32	the term in section 551 of title 5, United States 5
33	33	Code; 6
34	34	(3) the term ‘‘mascot’’ means an individual, 7
35	35	animal, or object adopted by an agency as a sym-8
36	36	bolic figure to represent the agency, the mission of 9
37	37	the agency, or a program within the agency, includ-10
38	38	ing a costumed character; 11
39	39	(4) the term ‘‘public relations’’ means commu-12
40	40	nications by an agency that are directed to the pub-13
41	41	lic, including activities dedicated to maintaining the 14
42	42	image of the governmental unit or maintaining or 15
43	43	promoting understanding and favorable relations 16
44	44	with the community or the public; 17
45	45	(5) the term ‘‘return on investment’’ means, 18
46	46	with respect to the public relations and advertising 19
47	47	spending by an agency, a positive return in achieving 20
48	48	agency or program goals relative to the investment 21
49	49	in advertising and marketing materials; and 22
50	50	(6) the term ‘‘swag’’— 23
51	51	(A) means a tangible product or merchan-24
52	52	dise distributed at no cost with the sole purpose 25
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55	55	•HR 757 IH
56	56	of advertising or promoting an agency, organi-1
57	57	zation, or program; 2
58	58	(B) includes blankets, buttons, candy, 3
59	59	clothing, coloring books, graphic novels, cups, 4
60	60	fidget spinners, hats, holiday ornaments, jar 5
61	61	grip openers, keychains, koozies, magnets, neck-6
62	62	ties, snuggies, stickers, stress balls, stuffed ani-7
63	63	mals, thermoses, tote bags, trading cards, and 8
64	64	writing utensils; and 9
65	65	(C) does not include— 10
66	66	(i) an item presented as an honorary 11
67	67	or informal recognition award related to 12
68	68	the Armed Forces of the United States, 13
69	69	such as a challenge coin or medal issued 14
70	70	for sacrifice or meritorious service; 15
71	71	(ii) a brochure or pamphlet purchased 16
72	72	or distributed for informational purposes; 17
73	73	or 18
74	74	(iii) an item distributed for diplomatic 19
75	75	purposes, including a gift for a foreign 20
76	76	leader. 21
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79	79	•HR 757 IH
80	80	SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS; PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVER-1
81	81	TISING SPENDING. 2
82	82	(a) P
83	83	ROHIBITIONS.—Except as provided in sub-3
84	84	section (c), and unless otherwise expressly authorized by 4
85	85	law— 5
86	86	(1) an agency or other entity of the Federal 6
87	87	Government may not use Federal funds to purchase 7
88	88	or otherwise acquire or distribute swag; and 8
89	89	(2) an agency or other entity of the Federal 9
90	90	Government may not use Federal funds to manufac-10
91	91	ture or use a mascot to promote an agency, organi-11
92	92	zation, program, or agenda. 12
93	93	(b) P
94	94	UBLICRELATIONS ANDADVERTISINGSPEND-13
95	95	ING.—Each agency shall, as part of the annual budget jus-14
96	96	tification submitted to Congress, report on the public rela-15
97	97	tions and advertising spending of the agency for the pre-16
98	98	ceding fiscal year, which may include an estimate of the 17
99	99	return on investment for the agency. 18
100	100	(c) E
101	101	XCEPTIONS.— 19
102	102	(1) S
103	103	WAG.—Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply 20
104	104	with respect to— 21
105	105	(A) an agency program that supports the 22
106	106	mission and objectives of the agency that is ini-23
107	107	tiating the public relations or advertising spend-24
108	108	ing, provided that the spending generates a 25
109	109	positive return on investment for the agency; 26
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112	112	•HR 757 IH
113	113	(B) recruitment relating to— 1
114	114	(i) enlistment or employment with the 2
115	115	Armed Forces; or 3
116	116	(ii) employment with the Federal Gov-4
117	117	ernment; or 5
118	118	(C) an item distributed by the Bureau of 6
119	119	the Census to assist the Bureau in conducting 7
120	120	a census of the population of the United States. 8
121	121	(2) M
122	122	ASCOTS.—Subsection (a)(2) shall not 9
123	123	apply with respect to— 10
124	124	(A) a mascot that is declared the property 11
125	125	of the United States under a provision of law, 12
126	126	including under section 2 of Public Law 93–318 13
127	127	(16 U.S.C. 580p–1); or 14
128	128	(B) a mascot used— 15
129	129	(i) for the purpose of recruitment of 16
130	130	individuals to enlist in the Armed Forces 17
131	131	of the United States; or 18
132	132	(ii) in support of a military academy 19
133	133	athletic team. 20
134	134	(d) R
135	135	EGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 21
136	136	the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of-22
137	137	fice of Management and Budget shall issue regulations to 23
138	138	carry out this Act. 24
139	139	Æ
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