Ever since news broke earlier this year about the General Services Administration spending $823,000 on a conference in Las Vegas, we have wondered whether this was just a GSA thing, or were there other examples of large amounts of travel spending elsewhere in the federal government.
It's starting to look more and more like the GSA might not be the overall gold medal winner.
Last week, news broke that the Inspector General at the Veterans Affairs Department was reviewing how the VA held two employee gatherings in Orlando, Florida, with a combined tab of $5 million - and that $4 million more was set aside for other get togethers.
Like the GSA trip to Vegas, there were multiple planning trips on Uncle Sam's tab as well, and lots of spending that quickly got the attention of lawmakers in Congress.
"VA employees are reported to have received gifts, including alcohol, concert tickets, and spa treatments, and tens of thousands of dollars were spent on promotional items for attendees," said Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Miller told me over the weekend that he was briefed on the matter several weeks ago by VA officials, all this at a time when Congress has been hyper-sensitive about expensive government travel stories.
And it again raised the question - just how many other stories are there like this one?
Evidently the reason this story made it to internal investigators at the VA - was because of the GSA party in Vegas - as someone tipped off the VA Inspector General.
The VA conference story is an interesting one, because Miller and other lawmakers recently pushed through a bill that included a provision which forces the VA to tell Congress about employee gatherings that cost more than $20,000.
That was included in a bill signed by President Obama on medical care for veterans at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
Section 707 of H.R. 1627 requires "quarterly reports to Congress on conferences sponsored by the Department, with a run down on the costs of a host of items as listed in the new law:
"(A) transportation and parking;
(B) per diem payments;
(C) lodging;
(D) rental of halls, auditoriums, or other spaces;
(E) rental of equipment;
(F) refreshments;
(G) entertainment;
(H) contractors; and
(I) brochures or other printed media."
Should make for some interesting reading.
