An educated horse betting Nassau County taxpayer should be telling Cardinal Andrew Cuomo that he must think he works for the GSA to see that Nassau OTB is closed on Cardinal Cuomo's Palm and Easter Sunday ut not that of the Greeks who this year observe April 8 as Palm Sunday and April 15 as Easter Sunday. Cardinal Cuomo spoils people having fun and betting. Send him to the GSA or at least to Las Vegas?
Taxpayer money paid for GSA intern conference, documents show
Last Updated: 1:32 PM, April 12, 2012
Posted: 1:31 PM, April 12, 2012
Print WASHINGTON — The fallout continues over wasteful spending by some employees at the General Services Administration, with new documents showing interns also got their own taxpayer-paid junkets.
New revelations in GSA inspector general documents show the agency flew interns, at taxpayers' expense, to Palm Springs for a "networking" and a "thank you" conference in 2010. At the Vegas conference, the GSA spent money on yearbooks, souvenir books and spent more than $146,500 on sumptuous buffets with beverages, the documents indicate.
And that might not have been the only conference.
"This was a yearly event," said a Congressional investigator. "The interns were flown in to Palm Springs from around the country."
No dollar cost has been cited yet, but GSA had an estimated 150 interns in 2010, and a big number of them attended this conference, as well as top GSA officials, said Congressional investigators for Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), who is overseeing one of several hearings in Congress next week on the issue.
The GSA is an independent government agency charged with managing and supporting the basic functioning of federal agencies.
Furthermore, Congressional investigators said they have documents from the inspector general that show one of the top GSA officials who attended the intern conference had a suite at the Palm Springs Hotel, complete with two fireplaces and a spa.
The government agency, which polices federal spending on conferences and real estate, is now under fire for spending more than $822,000 in taxpayer money on a lavish conference in October 2010 at the luxury M Resort Spa Casino just outside Las Vegas for 300 federal workers.
Moreover, GSA top officials instructed those planning the conference to make it "over the top," bigger and better than previous conferences, despite the White House's push to cut waste.
Other documents show the GSA spent more than $136,000 in taxpayer money just on workers scouting out locations for the October conference, with those workers staying in luxury rooms at the Ritz Carlton.
Acting GSA chief Dan Tangherlini in an online video statement expressed outrage over the scandal, "What took place was completely unacceptable, there were violations of travel rules, acquisition rules and good conduct," as well as violations of "rules of common sense, the spirit of public service and the trust that America's taxpayers have placed in all of us."
New revelations in GSA inspector general documents show the agency flew interns, at taxpayers' expense, to Palm Springs for a "networking" and a "thank you" conference in 2010. At the Vegas conference, the GSA spent money on yearbooks, souvenir books and spent more than $146,500 on sumptuous buffets with beverages, the documents indicate.
And that might not have been the only conference.
No dollar cost has been cited yet, but GSA had an estimated 150 interns in 2010, and a big number of them attended this conference, as well as top GSA officials, said Congressional investigators for Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Calif.), who is overseeing one of several hearings in Congress next week on the issue.
The GSA is an independent government agency charged with managing and supporting the basic functioning of federal agencies.
Furthermore, Congressional investigators said they have documents from the inspector general that show one of the top GSA officials who attended the intern conference had a suite at the Palm Springs Hotel, complete with two fireplaces and a spa.
The government agency, which polices federal spending on conferences and real estate, is now under fire for spending more than $822,000 in taxpayer money on a lavish conference in October 2010 at the luxury M Resort Spa Casino just outside Las Vegas for 300 federal workers.
Moreover, GSA top officials instructed those planning the conference to make it "over the top," bigger and better than previous conferences, despite the White House's push to cut waste.
Other documents show the GSA spent more than $136,000 in taxpayer money just on workers scouting out locations for the October conference, with those workers staying in luxury rooms at the Ritz Carlton.
Acting GSA chief Dan Tangherlini in an online video statement expressed outrage over the scandal, "What took place was completely unacceptable, there were violations of travel rules, acquisition rules and good conduct," as well as violations of "rules of common sense, the spirit of public service and the trust that America's taxpayers have placed in all of us."
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/taxpayer_money_paid_for_gsa_intern_ffMMY1p0O0xzUzM4kGLaaJ#ixzz1rtI9S300
No comments:
Post a Comment