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WASHINGTON — The Bush administration spent at least $1.6 billion on public relations and advertising campaigns over 30 months, said a report released Monday by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

The report, requested by congressional Democrats, shows that government agencies are relying on outside consultants to help pitch their messages to the public, whether it's to bolster public support for the war in Iraq, deter buying prescription drugs from Canada or recruit for the armed forces.

"To communicate these messages to the general public or particular target audiences, departments contract with media-related vendors … for a wide range of services, including communication plans, marketing design strategies, public relations campaigns, public service announcements and educational materials," according to the report.

Democrats complained that the White House was using "propaganda" to spin the public its way on the war on terror and other initiatives.

"No amount of money will successfully sell the Bush administration's failed policies, from the war in Iraq to its disastrous energy policy to its confusing Medicare prescription drug benefits," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, leader of the House Democrats, who criticized what she called the "White House PR machine."

The White House did not return calls for comment Monday, but the Education Department in the past has defended its public relations spending as a "legitimate" way to disseminate information to the public.

The GAO report did not single out any project for special attention but, in a separate study a year ago, the agency said the Bush administration had illegally engaged in "covert propaganda" for paying conservative commentator Armstrong Williams to praise the No Child Left Behind Act, the 2002 education law, in newspaper columns and on television.

The Bush administration also was rapped for issuing prepackaged "video news releases" that touted administration initiatives to broadcast media outlets, some of which aired the programs without disclosing their source.

Some broadcast newscasts showed the video packages unedited, passing them off as serious, independent journalism.