GSA corruption more far reaching than
suspected, says lawmaker, watchdog group
Jim Kouri Law Enforcement Examiner April
16, 2012
The scandal of the General Services Administration (GSA) and
its Las Vegas adventure on the taxpayers' dime is only a small
part of that agency's -- and the entire massive federal government's
-- tidal wave of corruption, mismanagement and waste, according to a top
Congressman and officials from one of the nations most respected government corruption
watchdogs.
According to Judicial Watch,
the overall questions are: Why didn’t Congress act sooner to
set limits on the GSA’s manic spending sprees? Why did it take a public scandal
with lots of mainstream media coverage for lawmakers—especially those responsible
for the agency’s oversight—to finally threaten to take action?
The GSA is one of the federal
government's largest agencies, with an
annual budget of nearly $45 billion. It’s one of the of the government’s
central management agencies and handles everything from office space for the
feds to communication and purchasing for government installations.
According to its mandate, it's also
responsible for contracting outside services such as building security,
janitorial and maintenance services, and construction projects involving
federal agencies and their properties.
Ironically, the GSA touts itself as an "innovation engine" that helps the
government cut costs, according to Judicial Watch.
"The news of a lavish conference the
GSA held for its employees in Las Vegas has further tarnished the reputation of
the federal government and caused many observers to ponder the stewardship of
government resources by the Obama Administration," said political strategist
and attorney Mike Baker.
It cost taxpayers nearly $1 million and
featured luxury accommodations for employees and their loved ones, fine
cuisine, parties and expensive gifts, according to the GSA's Inspector General's Report.
The scathing IG report revealed a "gross
misuse of taxpayer dollars" on an internal conference that
was "excessive, wasteful, and in some cases impermissible," according
to Judicial Watch.In addition, dozens of agency
workers were awarded cash bonuses for arranging the costly event.
The IG's report
-- coupled with the reaction of talk radio hosts, Internet news and
commentary web sites, and Fox News Channel -- has inspired Congress to finally
“investigate” the GSA. In fact, next week the House committee that has
oversight jurisdiction over the GSA will hold a special hearing to
address the agency’s “outrageous wasteful spending.”
The Florida
congressman organizing the session, House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee Chairman John Mica, now reveals that the GSA has a lengthy history of
wasting taxpayer dollars, according to Judicial Watch.
In 2010, investigations revealed that GSA
paid $234,000 to a Kansas City
public relations firm to
manage negative publicity that GSA was receiving as a result of mismanagement
of their own internal investigations.
In fact, Mica says the GSA’s mismanagement of
federal property has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars. “GSA’s
habitual mismanagement of taxpayer-owned assets is what makes spending hundreds
of thousands of dollars on a conference for bureaucrats so appalling,” the
congressman said in statement posted on his web site.
Mica added that for years GSA's top
bosses have stonewalled congressional requests for administrative costs,
clearly indicating that lawmakers have known for some time about the corruption
inside the agency.
Continued at ……http://www.examiner.com/article/gsa-corruption-more-far-reaching-than-suspected-says-lawmaker-watchdog-group