As the head of the VA on Wednesday blasted a video produced for a pair of VA conferences last year in Orlando, two House committees pressed for even more answers, saying the video spoof of the opening scene of the movie "Patton" was yet another example of wasteful government spending.
“This parody should never have been produced and this misuse of taxpayer funds is completely unacceptable," read a statement from the VA sent out to reporters after the video was released by a U.S. House committee.
"This event took place over a year ago and we have already adopted new rules that reflect our continuing commitment to safeguarding taxpayer dollars," the release added.
If you didn't see the video, it was part of a training conference for human resources employees at the VA held in Orlando in 2011, which has drawn congressional scorn.
"I question the excessiveness in which taxpayer dollars are being used to fund multi-million dollar conferences," said Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
The cost of the two conferences reportedly came out to around $5 million - the cost of the video was $52,000.
Even though VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has vowed to work with Congress, lawmakers aren't easing up on their investigation, determined to drive home the message that more information on this spending is needed - and needed now.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said on Wednesday that he had asked the VA for information about big conferences back on April 20 of this year - and been assured that he would get answers by mid-May.
"To date, the VA has not provided the information I requested on April 10," Issa said in a pointed letter to Secretary Shinseki.
Issa's experience is a familiar one, as other panels have found that journalists have been able to get more information about certain federal government conferences through Freedom of Information Act requests.
In his letter to Shinseki, Issa gave the VA until next Monday to turn over information about the 2011 H.R. conferences:
"All documents, including e-mail, referring to or relating to the July 2011 and August 2011 Human Resources conferences in Orlando," Issa requested, along with "all contracts, invoices and receipts" on the planning for the gatherings - plus the "names and titles" of everyone who helped plan the conferences.
