The measure, sponsored by Senator Robert C, Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, requires "clear notification within the text or audio of the prepackaged news," reinforcing an earlier ruling by the Government Accountability Office that White House officials have refused to embrace.

Meanwhile, Rep. George Miller "accused the Bush administration on Thursday of failing to cooperate fully with the inspector general at the Education Department in an investigation of the government's hiring of Armstrong Williams, a prominent conservative commentator, to promote the president's signature education legislation."

He said that the inspector general had been "denied access" to some current and former White House employees and that Education Secretary Margaret Spellings was considering invoking special privileges that would force the investigator to shield parts of his findings from the public.

If the president really wants to avoid deception, he should tell the Education Department to stop stonewalling.