New details released by a U.S. House committee late on Friday on show the Veterans Affairs Department spent almost $3 million on one conference in Orlando, Florida last year, with over $370,000 spent on food and refreshments for the four day event.
The reaction was as one might expect from the Congress.
“As we learn more about these conferences, I am more and more concerned about the clear lack of leadership, accountability, and transparency at VA," said House Veteran Affairs Chairman Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL).
Here were the basic spending details as provided by the House Veterans Affairs Committee:
• $1.2 million: Participant Travel
• $786, 505.00: Program Funds
• $296,165.00: "Audio Visual Center"
• $184,800.00: Morning and Evening Refreshments
• $113,076.00: Staff Travel
• $98,189.70: Catering (4 days)
• $90,747.00: Coffee Break Refreshments
• $52,000.00: "Patton-style" Video
• $46,147.50: Labor for 35 Breakout Rooms
• $40,158.54: Miscellaneous Expenses
• $31,500.00: Video Production
• $862.50: Karaoke Night
Total: $2,940,151.24
Miller told me Friday evening that he wasn't quite sure what the "Audio Visual Center" line item was for - but it was almost $300,000.
"To see that VA employees were treated to tens of thousands of dollars in refreshments, a $300,000 Audio Visual Center, and a night of Karaoke does not invoke confidence in employees who are entrusted with the nation’s monies for veterans," Miller added.
Miller's panel also revealed that a second HR conference held by the VA soon after cost another $2.4 million - which means the VA spent over $5.3 million on two conferences, dwarfing the $823,000 spent by the GSA on their gathering in Las Vegas.
The VA issued a statement on the new details, again defending the HR training conference but acknowledging concerns about how much money was spent, and whether it was spent for the right purposes.
“Secretary Shinseki has clearly stated that the people who serve our Veterans are keepers of the public trust, and that working for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a privilege," read the VA statement.
"The Secretary said that VA will hold accountable any individuals who are found to have misused taxpayer dollars or violated our standards of conduct."
The two conferences were part of a planned VA training conference for human resource workers - about 1900 attended the first conference; it wasn't clear how many were at the second VA gathering.
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