S.Amdt. 5482

SA 5482. Mr. KERRY (for himself, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Lautenberg, and Mrs. Clinton) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 3001, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2009 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 311, between lines 13 and 14, insert the following:

SEC. 1083. PROHIBITIONS RELATING TO PUBLICITY OR PROPAGANDA.

(a) Prohibition.--No part of any appropriation shall be used by the Department of Defense for publicity or propaganda purposes not authorized by Congress, including the production of any prepackaged news story intended for broadcast or distribution in the United States unless the story includes a clear notification within the text or audio that it was prepared or funded by the Department.

(b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense shall submit to Congress a report identifying the extent to which the Department of Defense has used appropriated funds to recruit, train, or give special consideration to retired military officers to induce them to comment favorably on the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan and against terrorism. This report shall also review if special access given to these retired military officers provided a competitive advantage to their employers in securing funds appropriated to the Department of Defense.

(c) Legal Opinion.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall issue a legal opinion to Congress on whether the Department of Defense violated appropriations prohibitions on publicity or propaganda activities established in Public Laws 107-117, 107-248, 108-87, 108-287, 109-148, 109-289, and 110-116, the Department of Defense Appropriations Acts for fiscal years 2002 through 2008, respectively, by offering special access to retired military officers who serve as media analysts, including briefings and information on war efforts, meetings with high-level department officials, and trips to Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(d) Rule of Construction Related to Intelligence Activities.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to any lawful and authorized intelligence activity of the United States Government.