Public Affairs Expenditures

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on fiscal year (FY) 1995 expenditures made by the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology associated with external and internal public affairs activities. GAO noted that: (1) the four agencies spent a total of $107.3 million in FY 1995 for such activities as disseminating information to the public, providing public affairs information to agency and contractor employees, sponsoring nontechnical conferences, awarding national prizes to businesses and scientists, publicizing opportunities for obtaining technology, and informing local communities about cleanup efforts at agency facilities; (2) DOE and NASA accounted for 93 percent of the total public affairs related expenditures; and (3) the four agencies used 637 full-time equivalents to provide external and internal public affairs activities.