Association Meetings: GSA Scandal Mushrooms, Almost $1 Million in Meeting Cancellations
By Dave Kovaleski
Fallout continues from the U.S. General Services Administration’s Western Regions Conference that made national headlines for its spending excesses, contracting missteps, and ethics violations. New details about the conference emerged last week during three days of congressional hearings. And in reaction to the scandal, nearly $1 million worth of GSA meetings have been canceled, the GSA’s employee reward program has been eliminated, and other government meetings could be affected.
At separate Senate and House of Representatives committee hearings on April 16, 17, and 18, lawmakers grilled acting GSA Administrator Dan Tangherlini and GSA Inspector General Brian Miller. “What is so outrageous about this is how these bad apples, very bad apples, perhaps criminal apples, have sullied the reputation of very good people,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., at the Senate hearing on April 18, according to CNN.
