PPAI Petitions Obama to Reconsider Executive Order

Some of the promotional items outlined in the order include plaques, clothing and commemorative items. This mandate is part of a larger effort to reduce spending on federal employee travel, vehicles, printing and technology by 20%.

"While it might be tempting to limit the purchase of promotional products in order to yield some short-term savings, in the long term, this prohibition may unintentionally diminish the good work of federal agencies," said Paul Bellantone, president and CEO for PPAI, in the petition. "Time and again, promotional products have proven themselves to be the most cost-effective way to reach a targeted audience in a tangible, long-lasting and memorable manner.”

The PPAI Advocacy team also reached out to the White House and small-business advocates within the government. “While PPAI was not able to stop this order, we believe we were able to mitigate the overall impact, further demonstrating why the industry needs grassroots participation to be effective,” says Bellantone. "We need to make sure we have members of Congress watching out for us.”

PPAI’s goal is to ensure that promotional products are viewed in a positive light.

While some media reports refer to a “ban” on promotional products, the executive order is more limited in scope. It calls for each executive agency to establish a plan for reducing the combined costs associated with travel, employee information technology devices, printing, executive fleet efficiencies and extraneous promotional items by not less than 20% below fiscal year 2010 levels in fiscal year 2013, which begins October 2012. Only executive branch agencies must comply with this order, including departments such as Treasury, Defense and Agriculture, as well as the entities that are part of them. The order “requests” independent agencies to comply.

For more information, visit ppai.org. — S.G.