An Iowa senator’s bill that would restrict federal spending on promotional products has advanced out of a U.S. Senate committee.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst’s (pictured) Stop Wasteful Advertising by the Government Act, or SWAG Act, would prohibit federal agencies from purchasing and distributing branded merchandise, unless the agencies can prove the promo products generate ROI or are explicitly authorized by statute.

On Wednesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed the SWAG Act by a unanimous vote. Still, the bill has a way to go before it becomes law. It would need approval from the full Senate, the House of Representatives and a sign-off from the president – a process for which there’s not a definitive timeline.

Professionals in the promotional products space have panned the legislation. They want the bill nixed, or at the very least, modified.

“This proposal is flat-out wrong, and we intend to do everything we can to continue educating this lawmaker and others on the proven economic power and worldwide reach of our industry’s products using long-proven ASI research,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and CEO of the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), a U.S.-headquartered organization and technology provider that serves a network of 23,000 suppliers, distributors and decorators of logoed promotional products in 55 countries. ASI is Counselor’s parent company.

Andrews continued: “Promotional products are a cost-effective way to communicate, build momentum, guide behaviors and educate people about services and opportunities offered by government agencies at all levels. This is not a time to stifle commerce – especially that of small businesses, the lifeblood of our country.”

To Andrews point: The advancement of Ernst’s bill comes as the promotional products industry – like society in general – contends with growing disruption from novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Supply chain troubles, inventory shortages, event cancellations, lost sales, health concerns for employees and clients, and a deteriorating economic environment for conducting business are among the issues with which promo is grappling. Read Counselor’s full coverage on coronavirus and the promo products industry here.

$1.4 billion in taxpayer money is spent annually by government agencies on PR and advertising campaigns—twice the amount dedicated to breast cancer research. It’s time to bag the swag. Today I introduced a bill to end this reckless spending. https://t.co/brOpjY9TZa

— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) October 29, 2019

Some promo professionals have taken umbrage with Ernst’s targeting of branded merchandise, saying that the senator is a hypocrite. “She has used funds for merchandise to elect herself and promote causes she believes in,” Memo Kahan, president/owner of Top 40 distributor PromoShop (asi/300446), told Counselor when Ernst introduced her bill in October 2019. “I take offense to her singling out our industry. Does she not have better things to do? The U.S. spent $4.4 trillion dollars in 2018, and she is concerned about $1.4 billion – or .0318%? There are so many things Iowa needs, and Ernst is focused on this?” Images on Ernst’s Instagram show her sporting branded gear/promotional products:

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Thank you to everyone who supported our campaign at events across the state for the 4th of July! Our campaign is built on grassroots activists, and we couldn’t do it without you. #iowa #independenceday #4thofjuly #iapolitics

A post shared by Joni Ernst (@joniernst) on Jul 8, 2019 at 6:28pm PDT

In addition to targeting promo products, Ernst’s bill would require agencies to publicly disclose spending on public relations and advertising. The bill would also prohibit the federal government from spending money to create mascots to promote an agency, program or agenda, unless the character is authorized by statute, such as “Smokey Bear.”

“There’s zero reason for the federal government to blow a quarter of a million dollars of your hard-earned money on mascots and millions more on needless trinkets and gimmicks,” said Ernst in a statement. “I thank my colleagues for their support of this commonsense bill that will create more transparency and curb Washington’s frivolous PR spending habits. We all agree, it’s time to bag government swag!”

Ernst maintains that the federal government spends more than $1.4 billion every year on public relations and advertising campaigns. Data from Counselor’s 2019 State of the Industry report indicates the governmental market accounted for 4.2% of total industry sales in 2018. That year, total promo distributor sales were $24.7 billion, meaning spending by all levels of government – from local to federal – tallied up to a little over $1 billion. Promo distributor revenue in 2019 was $25.8 billion. Data on how much of that came from business with the government will be available from Counselor later this year.