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Education Secretary Defends Paying Off News Commentators

HeadlineJan 14, 2005

Outgoing Education Secretary Roderick Paige has publicly defended the use of spending $240,000 in taxpayer money to pay off prominent news commentator Armstrong Williams to promote the No Child Left Behind law. According to the Washington Post, Paige described the payment as a standard “outreach effort” to minority groups to promote the education program. Williams is African American. Meanwhile a group of Senators has asked the Education Department to turn over records related to the case which may have violated a federal ban on spending public money for propaganda purposes. The ranking Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, Rep. George Miller of California, criticized Paige for not apologizing or pledging to put an end to “covert propaganda efforts.” In addition, Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said the FCC should investigate whether Williams, who hosts a radio show, broke the law.

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