Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress Senate Bill SB210 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	II
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION S. 210
5	5	To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity or propaganda
6	6	purposes, and for other purposes.
7	7	IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
8	8	JANUARY23, 2025
9	9	Ms. E
10	10	RNST(for herself, Mr. LANKFORD, and Mr. DAINES) introduced the fol-
11	11	lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
12	12	Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
13	13	A BILL
14	14	To prohibit agencies from using Federal funds for publicity
15	15	or propaganda purposes, and for other purposes.
16	16	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
17	17	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
18	18	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
19	19	This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stop Wasteful Adver-4
20	20	tising by the Government Act’’ or the ‘‘SWAG Act’’. 5
21	21	SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6
22	22	In this Act— 7
23	23	(1) the term ‘‘advertising’’ means the placement 8
24	24	of messages in media that are intended to inform or 9
25	25	persuade an audience, including placement in tele-10
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28	28	•S 210 IS
29	29	vision, radio, a magazine, a newspaper, digital 1
30	30	media, direct mail, a tangible product, an exhibit, or 2
31	31	a billboard; 3
32	32	(2) the term ‘‘agency’’ has the meaning given 4
33	33	the term in section 551 of title 5, United States 5
34	34	Code; 6
35	35	(3) the term ‘‘mascot’’ means an individual, 7
36	36	animal, or object adopted by an agency as a sym-8
37	37	bolic figure to represent the agency, the mission of 9
38	38	the agency, or a program within the agency, includ-10
39	39	ing a costumed character; 11
40	40	(4) the term ‘‘public relations’’ means commu-12
41	41	nications by an agency that are directed to the pub-13
42	42	lic, including activities dedicated to maintaining the 14
43	43	image of the governmental unit or maintaining or 15
44	44	promoting understanding and favorable relations 16
45	45	with the community or the public; 17
46	46	(5) the term ‘‘return on investment’’ means, 18
47	47	with respect to the public relations and advertising 19
48	48	spending by an agency, a positive return in achieving 20
49	49	agency or program goals relative to the investment 21
50	50	in advertising and marketing materials; and 22
51	51	(6) the term ‘‘swag’’— 23
52	52	(A) means a tangible product or merchan-24
53	53	dise distributed at no cost with the sole purpose 25
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56	56	•S 210 IS
57	57	of advertising or promoting an agency, organi-1
58	58	zation, or program; 2
59	59	(B) includes blankets, buttons, candy, 3
60	60	clothing, coloring books, graphic novels, cups, 4
61	61	fidget spinners, hats, holiday ornaments, jar 5
62	62	grip openers, keychains, koozies, magnets, neck-6
63	63	ties, snuggies, stickers, stress balls, stuffed ani-7
64	64	mals, thermoses, tote bags, trading cards, and 8
65	65	writing utensils; and 9
66	66	(C) does not include— 10
67	67	(i) an item presented as an honorary 11
68	68	or informal recognition award related to 12
69	69	the Armed Forces of the United States, 13
70	70	such as a challenge coin or medal issued 14
71	71	for sacrifice or meritorious service; 15
72	72	(ii) a brochure or pamphlet purchased 16
73	73	or distributed for informational purposes; 17
74	74	or 18
75	75	(iii) an item distributed for diplomatic 19
76	76	purposes, including a gift for a foreign 20
77	77	leader. 21
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80	80	•S 210 IS
81	81	SEC. 3. PROHIBITIONS; PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ADVER-1
82	82	TISING SPENDING. 2
83	83	(a) P
84	84	ROHIBITIONS.—Except as provided in sub-3
85	85	section (c), and unless otherwise expressly authorized by 4
86	86	law— 5
87	87	(1) an agency or other entity of the Federal 6
88	88	Government may not use Federal funds to purchase 7
89	89	or otherwise acquire or distribute swag; and 8
90	90	(2) an agency or other entity of the Federal 9
91	91	Government may not use Federal funds to manufac-10
92	92	ture or use a mascot to promote an agency, organi-11
93	93	zation, program, or agenda. 12
94	94	(b) P
95	95	UBLICRELATIONS ANDADVERTISINGSPEND-13
96	96	ING.—Each agency shall, as part of the annual budget jus-14
97	97	tification submitted to Congress, report on the public rela-15
98	98	tions and advertising spending of the agency for the pre-16
99	99	ceding fiscal year, which may include an estimate of the 17
100	100	return on investment for the agency. 18
101	101	(c) E
102	102	XCEPTIONS.— 19
103	103	(1) S
104	104	WAG.—Subsection (a)(1) shall not apply 20
105	105	with respect to— 21
106	106	(A) an agency program that supports the 22
107	107	mission and objectives of the agency that is ini-23
108	108	tiating the public relations or advertising spend-24
109	109	ing, provided that the spending generates a 25
110	110	positive return on investment for the agency; 26
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113	113	•S 210 IS
114	114	(B) recruitment relating to— 1
115	115	(i) enlistment or employment with the 2
116	116	Armed Forces; or 3
117	117	(ii) employment with the Federal Gov-4
118	118	ernment; or 5
119	119	(C) an item distributed by the Bureau of 6
120	120	the Census to assist the Bureau in conducting 7
121	121	a census of the population of the United States. 8
122	122	(2) M
123	123	ASCOTS.—Subsection (a)(2) shall not 9
124	124	apply with respect to— 10
125	125	(A) a mascot that is declared the property 11
126	126	of the United States under a provision of law, 12
127	127	including under section 2 of Public Law 93–318 13
128	128	(16 U.S.C. 580p–1); or 14
129	129	(B) a mascot used— 15
130	130	(i) for the purpose of recruitment of 16
131	131	individuals to enlist in the Armed Forces 17
132	132	of the United States; or 18
133	133	(ii) in support of a military academy 19
134	134	athletic team. 20
135	135	(d) R
136	136	EGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 21
137	137	the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Of-22
138	138	fice of Management and Budget shall issue regulations to 23
139	139	carry out this Act. 24
140	140	Æ
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