GSA’s Las Vegas Party Gives Taxpayers a Hangover

A trip to Las Vegas for a crazy weekend can be fun, but too much indulgence can cause a monumental hangover.  In 2010, when the General Services Administration (GSA) held a conference in Henderson, Nevada, (just south of Las Vegas) their party left taxpayers with an $800,000 hangover.  Some refer to GSA as the federal government’s landlord, but the GSA’s website says that the agency provides “centralized procurement for the federal government, offering products, services, and facilities that federal agencies need to serve the public. GSA offers businesses the opportunity to sell billions of dollars worth of products and services to federal agencies.”  And, as many federal agencies do, they hold regular conferences for information sharing and team building.  What happened in Vegas went well beyond normal conference specifications as attendees stayed in fancy hotels and dined on expensive food.  And remember, this all happened during national debates about spending cuts and raising the debt ceiling.

Between October 25 and 29 in 2010, GSA held their biennial Western Regional Conference.  What stood out about this conference was the exorbitant amount of taxpayer dollars used.  After 6 (yes 6!) pre-conference planning trips and the actual conference, taxpayers were left with a tab of more than $800,000.  On April 2, 2012 the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a scathing report “Management Deficiency Report: General Services Administration Public Buildings Service:  2010 WESTERN REGIONS CONFERENCE,” which outlined a whole host of spending excesses by GSA.  “The OIG found that many of the expenditures on this conference were excessive and wasteful and that in many instances GSA followed neither federal procurement laws nor its own policy on conference spending. Conference costs included eight off-site planning meetings and significant food and beverage costs.”

The OIG report pulled no punches.  “GSA spending on conference planning was excessive, wasteful, and in some cases impermissible.To select a venue and plan the conference, GSA employees conducted two “scouting trips,” five off-site planning meetings, and a “dry run.” Six of these planning events took place at the M Resort (the conference venue) itself. Travel expenses for conference planning totaled $100,405.37, and catering costs totaled over $30,000. GSA spent money on refreshment breaks during the planning meetings, which it had no authority to do, and the cost of catered meals at those meetings exceeded per diem limits.”

Below is a list of 10 of the most ridiculous/wasteful spending by GSA at the conference:

$75,000 for the Most Valuable Performers (also known as Delta4) to “provide a morning team-building exercise during the conference, followed by an afternoon bicycle-building project that would use the new teamwork skills. As part of the contract, the vendor purchased the 24 bikes used for that project.”

$31,208 on a “networking reception” that featured $19-per-person for artisanal cheeses and “1,000 sushi rolls for $7.00 apiece.”

$8,130 for “a ‘yearbook’ containing pictures of all those attending the conference, taken when they checked into the hotel. GSA also printed souvenir books for the regional ambassadors.”

$6,325 for commemorative coins given to all conference participants whether they were even there.

$3,749.40 for t-shirts for all conference participants for their team building exercises.

$2,781.50 for canteens and carabiners for each participant.

$3,000 for a mind reader (as cited by The Hill).

$1,960 for a celebratory party hosted by the PBS for GSA senior officials.  According to the OIG, “Neither of these parties fit any legal authority for GSA to spend funds on food.”

$1,840 for “vests for the 19 ‘regional ambassadors’ and other employees.”

$393.90 for “the rental of tuxedos worn by three employees who acted as masters of ceremonies at the awards dinner.”

If there is a glimmer of good news is that there was some bit accountability in that GSA Administrator Martha Johnson resigned on April 2, 2012 because of this fiasco.  And, according to the Washington Post, “Public Buildings Service chief Robert A. Peck, a fixture in the Washington area real estate community on his second stint running the department, was forced out, along with Johnson’s top adviser, Stephen Leeds. Four GSA managers who organized the four-day conference in October 2010 have been placed on administrative leave, officials said.”

This is all fine and good but where was the critical thinking two years ago during the planning of the conference?  Taxpayers are happy that the OIG is conducting proper oversight, but taxpayers also want some common sense from their elected and non-elected officials to prevent these sorts of things from happening.  This should be a wake up call for any agency that is considering throwing an extravagant party at taxpayers’ expense.