I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 757
To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity or propaganda
purposes, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY28, 2025
Mr. C
LOUDintroduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform
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
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6
In this Act— 7
(1) the term ‘‘advertising’’ means the placement 8
of messages in media that are intended to inform or 9
persuade an audience, including placement in tele-10
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vision, radio, a magazine, a newspaper, digital 1
media, direct mail, a tangible product, an exhibit, or 2
a billboard; 3
(2) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 4
the term in section 551 of title 5, United States 5
Code; 6
(3) the term ‘‘mascot’’ means an individual, 7
animal, or object adopted by an agency as a sym-8
bolic figure to represent the agency, the mission of 9
the agency, or a program within the agency, includ-10
ing a costumed character; 11
(4) the term ‘‘public relations’’ means commu-12
nications by an agency that are directed to the pub-13
lic, including activities dedicated to maintaining the 14
image of the governmental unit or maintaining or 15
promoting understanding and favorable relations 16
with the community or the public; 17
(5) the term ‘‘return on investment’’ means, 18
with respect to the public relations and advertising 19
spending by an agency, a positive return in achieving 20
agency or program goals relative to the investment 21
in advertising and marketing materials; and 22
(6) the term ‘‘swag’’— 23
(A) means a tangible product or merchan-24
dise distributed at no cost with the sole purpose 25
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of advertising or promoting an agency, organi-1
zation, or program; 2
(B) includes blankets, buttons, candy, 3
clothing, coloring books, graphic novels, cups, 4
fidget spinners, hats, holiday ornaments, jar 5
grip openers, keychains, koozies, magnets, neck-6
ties, snuggies, stickers, stress balls, stuffed ani-7
mals, thermoses, tote bags, trading cards, and 8
writing utensils; and 9
(C) does not include— 10
(i) an item presented as an honorary 11
or informal recognition award related to 12
the Armed Forces of the United States, 13
such as a challenge coin or medal issued 14
for sacrifice or meritorious service; 15
(ii) a brochure or pamphlet purchased 16
or distributed for informational purposes; 17
or 18
(iii) an item distributed for diplomatic 19
purposes, including a gift for a foreign 20
leader. 21
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SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS; PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVER-1
TISING SPENDING. 2
(a) P
ROHIBITIONS.—Except as provided in sub-3
section (c), and unless otherwise expressly authorized by 4
law— 5
(1) an agency or other entity of the Federal 6
Government may not use Federal funds to purchase 7
or otherwise acquire or distribute swag; and 8
(2) an agency or other entity of the Federal 9
Government may not use Federal funds to manufac-10
ture or use a mascot to promote an agency, organi-11
zation, program, or agenda. 12
(b) P
UBLICRELATIONS ANDADVERTISINGSPEND-13
ING.—Each agency shall, as part of the annual budget jus-14
tification submitted to Congress, report on the public rela-15
tions and advertising spending of the agency for the pre-16
ceding fiscal year, which may include an estimate of the 17
return on investment for the agency. 18
(c) E
XCEPTIONS.— 19
(1) S
WAG.—Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply 20
with respect to— 21
(A) an agency program that supports the 22
mission and objectives of the agency that is ini-23
tiating the public relations or advertising spend-24
ing, provided that the spending generates a 25
positive return on investment for the agency; 26
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(B) recruitment relating to— 1
(i) enlistment or employment with the 2
Armed Forces; or 3
(ii) employment with the Federal Gov-4
ernment; or 5
(C) an item distributed by the Bureau of 6
the Census to assist the Bureau in conducting 7
a census of the population of the United States. 8
(2) M
ASCOTS.—Subsection (a)(2) shall not 9
apply with respect to— 10
(A) a mascot that is declared the property 11
of the United States under a provision of law, 12
including under section 2 of Public Law 93–318 13
(16 U.S.C. 580p–1); or 14
(B) a mascot used— 15
(i) for the purpose of recruitment of 16
individuals to enlist in the Armed Forces 17
of the United States; or 18
(ii) in support of a military academy 19
athletic team. 20
(d) R
EGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 21
the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of-22
fice of Management and Budget shall issue regulations to 23
carry out this Act. 24
Æ
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