Secret Marriage Contracts

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on

Syndicated columnist and Institute for Marriage and Public Policy president Maggie Gallagher received $41,500 from the Bush administration in 2002 and 2003, to promote Bush's $300 million initiative encouraging poor couples to marry. Although Gallagher repeatedly praised the initiative in her columns and during interviews and television appearances, she never mentioned receiving government funds. After being questioned by the Washington Post, Gallagher filed a column saying she "had no special obligation to disclose this information" but would have done so anyway, "if I had remembered." One contract with the Department of Health and Human Services was for conducting briefings, writing brochures and ghostwriting articles for officials. Another with the Justice Department was for writing a report titled "Can Government Strengthen Marriage?" President Bush reacted by ordering his Cabinet secretaries not to hire commentators, saying, "Our agenda ought to be able to stand on its own two feet."

Main Source: 
Washington Post, January 26, 2005
Topics: 
Media
Politics

Comments

mattlock replied on

In the interests of being fair and balanced like some news shows claim to be, It was only $21,500 NOT $41,500. Honest mistake I'm sure. We need to maintain fact at all times or we become like those that we ar trying to stop. Thanks for the story!! :)

Diane Farsetta replied on

Today's Washington Post story describes two federal contracts Gallagher received related to the Bush marriage intiative; a $21,500 contract with Health and Human Services and a $20,000 one with the Justice Department (detailed in [dis:Maggie Gallagher|the SourceWatch article on Gallagher]). So the total is $41,500.