US government ratchets up PR budget

The federal government spent $88.2m on contracts with public relations agencies last year, according to a report last month by congressional Democrats. That is up from $39m in 2000.
The payments have drawn criticism since the disclosure that Armstrong Williams, a conservative commentator, had received $241,000 from the Department of Education to promote the administration's "No Child Left Behind" initiative in television and radio appearances. Other such payments have recently ome to light, including $21,500 from the Department of Health and Human Services to a syndicated columnist to promote the president's pro-marriage proposals.