Dropping $822,751 on a
conference for about 300 people would be a scandalous waste in the private
sector (maybe not if you're Instagram)—but put that bill
on a government tab, and it's unfathomable: In fact, that sum is the amount of
taxpayer dollars dropped on a Las Vegas junket by an agency that most Americans
haven't even heard of.
If the U.S. General Services
Administration wasn't a household name before the wasteful office retreat,
it sure is known now: The conference resulted in the resignation of
administrator Martha Johnson; a congressional hearing; and some incriminating photos of the conference
organizer, Jeff Neely, and his wife, living the preconference "suite" life in
the Las Vegas hotel.
So what exactly does this agency do, aside
from waste your money? Well, here's the thing: The independent agency is tasked
with developing government-wide cost minimizing policies. But along the way, the
organization seems to have done the exact opposite.
It all started back in 1949, when President
Truman authorized the General Services Administration as an independent
government agency. It was the result of combining several government agencies:
the national archives, the U.S. Treasury Department's contract department, and
the Federal Work Agency.
Its first task: A complete renovation of
the White House. Today, the agency is responsible for overseeing federal
buildings and supplies. It is in "the business of government," as its website
states, offering "private sector professional services, equipment, supplies,
telecommunications, and information technology to government organizations and
the military. GSA policies promote management best practices and efficient
government operations."
These are the guys who are in charge of
presidential transitions, historic preservation, and, yes, even running the
rules and regulations of travel and conferences for federal agencies, as the
acting deputy administrator Dan Tangherlini points out in his mea
culpa message on the site's blog.
It certainly has its work cut out.
A government department given the task to minimize government cost spending and they blow over $820,000 on a single conference for only a few people.
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