The Prof
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The Department of Veterans Affairs wasted at least $762,000 in taxpayer money for two lavish conferences in Florida and a top department official has resigned in the wake of the disclosure, the VA inspector general reported Monday.
The inspector general released the findings of its investigation into two human resources conferences held last summer in Orlando, Fla., and confirmed that Assistant Secretary for Human Resources and Administration John Sepulveda has resigned over the scandal.
The total bill was more than $6 million, but investigators said they're still not sure how much the department actually spent on the two conferences. “VA's estimates of the conference expenditures changed multiple times during the course of our administrative investigation,” the inspector general said.
“We questioned about $762,000 as unauthorized, unnecessary and/or wasteful expenses,” the report found. That includes $50,000 for a training film that featured an actor as Gen. George Patton, nearly $100,000 for “unnecessary promotional items” and about $50,000 for repeated trips to the site prior to the conference and reimbursement for employees who arrived a few days early or stayed late.
Additionally, the conference organizers gave themselves $43,000 in bonuses, which the inspectors said was “questionable … in light of the mismanagement and lack of professional care exercised in controlling and tracking conference-related costs.”
IG hits VA spending, top official resigns - Stephanie Gaskell - POLITICO
no wonder we have to raise taxes
gsa, anyone?
HuffPo: GSA Las Vegas Conference Sparks Outrage