You really need to know more about the details about these supposedly extravagant banquet charges before being too critical. I negotiate bookings for meetings, and review bills, all the time, and frequently find that the types of properties where meetings and conferences are held can be real SOB’s on charges. They may give you a meeting room but then charge you $16 per muffin, $150/gallon for coffee, and $200 screen and flip charge rental; the group in the adjacent meeting room may have paid $500 for the meeting room but only $4.95 per person for coffee and muffins. Banquet charges are pretty squishy; you have to look at the total bill.
The Federal government owns half the buildings in DC, why do they need to get a private conference room?
That’s all well and good and whatnot, but I cringe at a govt dept having “banquets”
Then they need to have their conference somewhere else.