The Obama Administration has used federal resources to send unsolicited emails supporting government-run health care to federal employees, Richard Grenell reports for CBS News. Essentially, federal resources are now being used for propaganda efforts targeted towards employees on the federal payroll.

The White House Office of Health Reform Director Nancy-Ann DeParle has been feverishly sending out unsolicited email messages to federal employees in an effort to build support for President Barack Obama’s health reform package over the last several weeks.

DeParle’s unsolicited emails have been regularly coming to some federal employees’ official government email inboxes for weeks without permission or request, causing some federal employees to feel threatened by the overt political language.

The Department of State employees, who receive hundreds of official government emails every day, have complained about the annoying and partisan emails but are nervous to go public for fear of retribution. The emails are addressed to the federal employees by name and use the official .gov address.

What does the Department of State have to do with health care reform, you ask? Nothing. The purpose of the campaign isn’t to coordinate efforts as would be done between Congressional Democrats and the White House. No, these are partisan emails aimed at influencing federal employees to take Obama’s side.

The unsolicited emails also request that the federal employees take action in order to ensure that Obama’s health reform package is passed and the federal budget isn’t at risk for bankruptcy. One federal employee was so concerned about DeParle’s language in one email that he questioned whether his department’s budget would be cut or eliminated without passage of Obama’s bill. DeParle uses scare tactics that some assume are meant as threats:

“No ifs, ands or buts about it — if we do nothing to reform our broken health care system, costs will continue to skyrocket and break the budgets of American families, small businesses and the Federal Government,” read the March 12th email from DeParle.

That’s not language intended to coordinate people who are already on board. That’s language intended to persuade federal employees to take a partisan stance. Put simply, it’s campaigning using federal resources.

It continues:

DeParle’s solicitation requests federal employees act on behalf of the President’s agenda by making this directive: “You can help raise awareness by sharing this email with your friends, family and online networks,” read the March 11th email from DeParle.

Again, more campaigning. It’s basically something you would expect from the DNC or Organizing for America — not official correspondence between sectors of the federal government. Especially since a partisan agenda is being pushed on federal employees — employees who have nothing to do with the Congressional agenda — during work hours.

Whether or not it’s illegal we’ll have to wait and see. But it’s definitely wrong.