Posted on 04/04/2012 3:23:20 AM PDT by Carriage Hill
The chairman of the House transportation committee is calling for a hearing following a report that an obscure federal agency blew $820,000 on a conference near Las Vegas.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, called the expenses "outrageous" but said it's "just the tip of the iceberg."
"We have been trying to get the administrative costs from the agency and now we see why they have been stonewalling," he said in a statement.
Mica's official said the committee has questions about increases in the agency's budget in recent years. He's planning to hold a hearing as early as mid-April.
In the wake of the report, the White House accepted the resignation of General Services Administration chief Martha Johnson. Johnson also dismissed two deputies and suspended other career employees over the affair.
The employees at the conference dropped thousands of dollars on luxury items and convention giveaways -- including more than $6,000 on commemorative coins, $8,000 on a "yearbook" and $3,200 for an in-house mind reader.
"It's unbelievable that red flags didn't immediately go up well before this junket," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said.
The 300-person event at the M Resort Spa and Casino in Henderson, Nev., included a $95-per-person dinner and reception, as well as several violations of federal laws and policies.
We'll soon see if Rep. John Mica (R-FL), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has enough brass to follow through with it to its logical and legal conclusion. But as with 99% of all US Congressional investigations, I'm not holding my breath.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2867658/posts
and which I just found early this morning. Unfortunately, if past US Congress investigative actions are any indication, this is all smoke-and-mirrors, and will go nowhere substantive, except down "the rabbit hole". I hope it goes to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave and shines the light of day on all the cockroaches, therein.
This wouldn’t be a problem if the “rich” would just pay up....../sarc
I expect that crap to be used frequently to cloud/justify this whole “just a tip of the iceberg” scenario, T, don’t you?
Of course it’ll go down the rabbit hole, because who’s ultimately responsible? Congress. They’re the ones shoveling the money and power, hand over fist, at the executive branch.
This works well for our representatives. They get their royal titles, generous compensation/benefits and they don’t have to make “icky” decisions. They simply kick back and appear outraged when what they’ve abdicated to the Executive is abused—as if they’re really doing something.
“Three years ago my company held its annual salesmeeting at the Bellagio. Close to 200 people attended and nothing was sparred, our bill was around $250M. This is obscene. “
Darn, that must have been SOME PARTY, at over a million dollars per person. I know that I couldn’t have survived that.
All hail, our glorious leaders from Capital City!
Let’s work hard, so they can party even harder!
Republican Candidates could improve their Primary vote count by campaigning with the following idea:
Due to the FHA, Fannie and Freddie Bankruptcies of September, 2008, American home owners lost 30 % of the value of their homes. That is a 30 % cut in just one month. Home values are still down 30 %.
Thus, let us cut the total compensation to all elected Federal politicians, and their staffs by 30 %, and an additional 10 % cut to elected Federal politicians each year until Federal Spending is LESS THAN the average of the previous 2 years of Federal income.
BTW, since slightly less than half of the US House, and 2/3 of the US Senate are Millionaires, it will be a great opportunity for Congress to lead by example that EVERYONE should give up their “fair” share of the American Dream.
What better way can there be to demonstrate that Federal politicians are on the same page as the voters?
Ain’t that the truth? What was that bumper sticker I saw a few months ago: “I work hard so millions on welfare can depend on me.” Yep. We work; other enjoy the fruits of our labor. That’s 0bummer’s *Income Redistribution Plan*.
When I worked in NYC, the same thing happened far too many times. I quit and opened my own (unrelated) business in Farm Country, and was very careful to watch/account for every penny - not cheap, but careful. Amazing how easy it is for them to spend others’ monies, isn’t it? If it was their out-of-pocket, they’d be careful. That’s the problem with the US Taxpayers’ Tax Trough: seemingly endless supply of money.
US Taxpayers = Money Trough = Spend!
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