The Obama administration paid a PR firm nearly $500,000 in stimulus funds to run a barrage of ads on White House-friendly cable programs promoting its green job training program.
According to government records, the Labor Department paid the money in late 2009 to a company that negotiated a media buy on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” and “The Rachel Maddow Show.” The ad was set to run more than 100 times — 14 times a week for two months.
It’s unclear how many people might have gotten involved in the green job training program because of the ads. But in terms of direct economic impact, the official online entry on the contract listed zero jobs created as a result of the payment.
“On the surface, this doesn’t pass the basic sniff test,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, who sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told FoxNews.com.
Chaffetz, who said he’s writing a letter to the Labor Department seeking more information about the contract, complained that the federal government already spends “way too much” on advertising as it is.
He said the targeting of these ads also raises questions about “political motivations.”
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