Cost of Administration's Public Affairs Activities Relating to SALT II

The Administration's public information activities relating to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II) were centered in the Department of State and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) and cost about $600,000 in 1978. For the first 6 months of 1979, expenditures were about $624,000, thus bringing the Administration's overall cost for SALT II public affairs to about $1.2 million. State and ACDA use a variety of means for keeping the public informed, including furnishing officials for speaking engagements, arranging conferences, and preparing and distributing publications.

While the nature of these activites has basically remained unchanged, the level at which they are carried out has increased. During the 6-month period ending June 6, 1979, State and ACDA officials participated in over 650 speaking engagements before local groups and conferences in 48 states. In recent months the White House Office has assumed a greater role in the Administration's SALT II public information efforts. Between January 20, 1977, and June 27, 1979, the Office of Media Liaison distributed about 15,300 SALT II-related documents at a cost of about $3,000. These documents, which included SALT II background reports, speeches, and booklets, were sent primarily to daily newspapers, columnists, radio and television stations, and congressional staffs. Additional costs identified by the White House Office for mailing by other units totalled about $10,000 and represented expenditures for document preparation, binding, and postage and handling.