Author Archives: GovExec

FAA’s last-minute denial of conference funds irks black employee group

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Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive

An abrupt decision in late July to deny employees previously approved travel funds to attend a training conference for black aviation employees in Las Vegas has left many at the Federal Aviation Administration disappointed and confused, Government Executive has learned.

A directive from the top levels of the Transportation Department -- handed down, a spokeswoman confirmed, as the Obama administration seeks to reduce conference budgets in the wake of this April's scandal over lavish spending in Las Vegas by General Services Administration employees -- required more than 200 federal employees to either cancel plans for the annual black aviation event or attend using their own money and annual leave.

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GSA freezes per diem rates at 2012 levels

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Originally posted by Kellie Lunney on Government Executive

Government travel per diem rates will not change in fiscal 2013, according to the General Services Administration.

GSA announced Tuesday that it will freeze fiscal 2013 travel reimbursement rates for lodging and other related expenses at fiscal 2012 levels. The move is part of the Office of Management and Budget's directive to agencies to reduce all travel spending in fiscal 2013 by 30 percent compared to fiscal 2010.

"By keeping per diem rates at current levels, we are supporting federal agencies in controlling costs and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used wisely," acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini said in a statement.

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VA limits purchasing authority amid probe of pricey conferences

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Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has rescinded the purchasing authority of employees in the departmental division under investigation for two conferences that cost $5 million and may have involved inappropriate gifts. Shinseki also has set up a 90-day independent review of Veteran Affairs Department training policies, VA announced.

In a statement released after news broke Monday that human resources employees at conferences in Florida in July and August 2011 may have accepted thousands of dollars' worth of gifts that included alcohol, concert tickets and spa visits, the department also said it is conducting new ethics training for all personnel involved with the planning and execution of conferences and recertification of contract specialists.

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Veterans Affairs faces probe of spending on two conferences

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Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive

In yet another agency conference controversy, the Veterans Affairs Department is under investigation for allegedly spending $5 million on two human resources training conferences at which employees may have received improper gifts, according to a Federal Times story published Monday night.

Citing unnamed sources in the VA inspector general's office, the report said tens of thousands of dollars may have gone to multiple trips in preparation for two conferences in Orlando, Fla., in July and August 2011. Employees are said to have received thousands of dollars in promotional items as gifts, including alcohol, concert tickets and spa visits, the publication said.

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Senator ‘sickened’ by new GSA controversy

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Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive
Leaders of the key Senate panel overseeing the General Services Administration responded to news of another conference featuring questionable spending by releasing a redacted version of a letter from the acting GSA chief summarizing progress on his "top-to-bottom" review of the troubled agency's management procedures.

"At a time when Congress must make the toughest budget choices we have ever made, I am sickened to hear more stories about the reckless disregard GSA shows for taxpayer dollars," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, after House Republicans revealed details of a November 2010 Federal Acquisition Service conference held in Arlington, Va.

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