Obama's GSA

[BDKJMU]

GSA chief resigns amid reports of excessive spending

The chief of the General Services Administration resigned, two of her top deputies were fired and four managers were placed on leave Monday amid reports of lavish spending at a conference off the Las Vegas Strip that featured a clown, a mind reader and a $31,208 reception.

Administrator Martha N. Johnson, in her resignation letter, acknowledged a “significant misstep” at the agency that manages real estate for the federal government. “Taxpayer dollars were squandered,” she wrote. At the start of her tenure in February 2010 she called ethics “a big issue for me.”

Public Buildings Service chief Robert A. Peck, a fixture in the Washington area real estate community on his second stint running the department, was forced out, along with Johnson’s top adviser, Stephen Leeds. Four GSA managers who organized the four-day conference in October 2010 have been placed on adminstrative leave, officials said.

The leadership collapse came hours before GSA Inspector General Brian D. Miller released a scathing report on the $823,000 training conference, held for 300 West Coast employees at the M Resort and Casino, an opulent hotel in Henderson, Nev., just south of Las Vegas. From $130,000 in travel expenses for six scouting trips to a $2,000 party in Peck’s loft suite, event planners violated federal limits on conference spending.

The episode is an embarrassment for the Obama administration at a time when the role and size of government have taken center stage in the presidential campaign. How much government should spend, and on what, will be at the heart of the election-year battles between Democrats and Republicans.

The White House, which has led a campaign against government waste, was alerted in March to the year-long investigation. It moved swiftly to get in front of the scandal. Chief of Staff Jacob J. Lew briefed President Obama before last week’s trip to South Korea.

Obama “was outraged by the excessive spending, questionable dealings with contractors, and disregard for taxpayer dollars,” Lew said in a statement to The Washington Post, calling for “all those responsible to be held fully accountable.”

But Capitol Hill lawmakers were quick to criticize the scandal as fresh evidence that the White House is tolerating wasteful spending.

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) called the episode “a stupid and infuriating waste of taxpayer dollars.” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said it reflects the “waste that exists in a bloated federal government.”

Johnson will be replaced by Dan Tangherlini, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for management, a widely respected manager who was city administrator for the District and acting director of Metro.

Johnson, through a spokesman, declined to comment. Peck, reached while traveling in Ohio, also declined to comment.

The GSA, with 12,600 employees in 11 regional offices and the Washington headquarters, also handles much of the government’s procurement and holds a “Western Regions” conference every other year for employees assigned to West Coast offices. The focus is on training in job skills and “an exchange of ideas between ‘higher-ups,’ ’’ the inspector general said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/ ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

But wait, it gets better:

GSA Federal Worker Does Rap Video Bragging About Lavish Perks
http://nation.foxnews.com/general-servi ... estigation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://news.yahoo.com/gsa-again-under-f ... itics.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Your tax dollars at work.

[AZGrizFan]

One of the many government agencies that should just disappear.

[∞∞∞]

One of the many government agencies that should just disappear.

My friend received an internship at the GSA a few summers ago and after it was done, he said he learned nothing and had no idea what the agency actually did.

[Vidav]

One of the many government agencies that should just disappear.

My friend received an internship at the GSA a few summers ago and after it was done, he said he learned nothing and had no idea what the agency actually did.

[SuperHornet]

One of the many government agencies that should just disappear.

Given the penchant for the military nowadays to go the open purchase route, this is probably the correct thing to do. About the only thing I would buy from GSA is SF-63 Memorandum of Call. For some reason, I really liked this as opposed to what could be obtained through open purchase. But my like for this one thing is NOT enough to keep a department like this running.

[Ibanez]

One of the many government agencies that should just disappear.

I work with GSA employees. They are such idiots. If you want to lower defense and fed. projects, do away with GSA.

[Ibanez]

One of the many government agencies that should just disappear.

Given the penchant for the military nowadays to go the open purchase route, this is probably the correct thing to do. About the only thing I would buy from GSA is SF-63 Memorandum of Call. For some reason, I really liked this as opposed to what could be obtained through open purchase. But my like for this one thing is NOT enough to keep a department like this running.

Don't have much influence anymore?

[93henfan]

I don't dabble in small purchasing much, but when I do I try to avoid GSA schedules and go open market. Something about scheduled pricing really bothers me. I'm not a member of Citdog's tribe, but I love negotiating prices with vendors. Most Gov contract specialists don't, which is why they take the GSA easy cop out option. Many don't even know that schedule pricing can even be negotiated. They're too lazy to bother.

[Ibanez]

I don't dabble in small purchasing much, but when I do I try to avoid GSA schedules and go open market. Something about scheduled pricing really bothers me. I'm not a member of Citdog's tribe, but I love negotiating prices with vendors. Most Gov contract specialists don't, which is why they take the GSA easy cop out option. Many don't even know that schedule pricing can even be negotiated. They're too lazy to bother.

GSA= Waste of Money. I love open market. I went OM with Oracle for 22 servers at $17,000 a piece. (regularly $19K). You can actually do quite well.

[Bronco]

-
[quote]President-elect Barack Obama vowed today to get rid of federal programs that no longer make sense and run others in a more frugal way to make Washington work in tough economic times.

Obama said that to make the needed investments to create jobs, "we also have to shed the spending we don't need."

"In these challenging times, when we are facing both rising deficits and a sinking economy, budget reform is not an option. It is an imperative," Obama said. "We cannot sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness, or exist solely because of the power of a politicians, lobbyists, or interest groups. We simply cannot afford it. This isn’t about big government or small government. It’s about building a smarter government that focuses on what works.

That is why I will ask my new team to think anew and act anew to meet our new challenges.... We will go through our federal budget – page by page, line by line – eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those we do operate in a sensible cost-effective way."

Obama vows line-by-line budget review
November 25, 2008 12:13 PM
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/pol ... _line.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
[/quote]

[AZGrizFan]

Yeah, Bronc, but that was BEFORE he took office. Now, he's trying to get re-elected.

[Bronco]

Yeah, Bronc, but that was BEFORE he took office. Now, he's trying to get re-elected.

Yep
But will make a good ad

Going to be a fun summer

[Cap'n Cat]

Yeah, Bronc, but that was BEFORE he took office. Now, he's trying to get re-elected.

Yep
But will make a good ad

Going to be a fun summer

Never mind that he asked for and got her resignation. Conks woulda kept her and sent her to a re-ed camp in Texas.

[AZGrizFan]

Yep
But will make a good ad

Going to be a fun summer

Never mind that he asked for and got her resignation. Conks woulda kept her and sent her to a re-ed camp in Texas.

Never mind that it's too late...the money is already spent. Never mind that she got 100% increases in her budget for 2 straight years in ADDITION to pissing away almost a million on a party.

[Cap'n Cat]

Never mind that he asked for and got her resignation. Conks woulda kept her and sent her to a re-ed camp in Texas.

Never mind that it's too late...the money is already spent. Never mind that she got 100% increases in her budget for 2 straight years in ADDITION to pissing away almost a million on a party.

It's Obama's fault, too?

[BDKJMU]

Never mind that it's too late...the money is already spent. Never mind that she got 100% increases in her budget for 2 straight years in ADDITION to pissing away almost a million on a party.

It's Obama's fault, too?

Yes. She was an Obama admin appointment.

[Cap'n Cat]

It's Obama's fault, too?

Yes. She was an Obama admin appointment.

Cheney and Rummy were Bush appointees and shoulda been run out in '02. Are they Bush's fault?


Obama went after her right away after that.

[Col Hogan]

Never mind that it's too late...the money is already spent. Never mind that she got 100% increases in her budget for 2 straight years in ADDITION to pissing away almost a million on a party.

It's Obama's fault, too?

the president was told about the convention 11 months ago...yet she was not asked to resign until it became public...

You bet it's his fault...

[Cap'n Cat]

It's Obama's fault, too?

the president was told about the convention 11 months ago...yet she was not asked to resign until it became public...

You bet it's his fault...

He was following documentation protocol and collecting facts so she couldn't come back and do a wrongful term thing on him, asswipe.

[Baldy]

the president was told about the convention 11 months ago...yet she was not asked to resign until it became public...

You bet it's his fault...

He was following documentation protocol and collecting facts so she couldn't come back and do a wrongful term thing on him, asswipe.

Cappy, you know better than that. If you resign, as in asked to resign, wrongful termination doesn't apply.

[BDKJMU]

the president was told about the convention 11 months ago...yet she was not asked to resign until it became public...

You bet it's his fault...

He was following documentation protocol and collecting facts so she couldn't come back and do a wrongful term thing on him, asswipe.

Agency head. Political appointee that serves at the pleasure of the POTUS, who can fire for no cause, so there is no "wrongful term thing" Obama could, and should have fired her earlier.

[BlueHen86]

He should have fired her immediately, but that might hurt his re-election chances, so he tried to sweep it under the rug. Sad, but not surprising.

And while the Conks can jump all over Obama because of this, I don't think a GOP president would have done any different. If Dubya was President right now he probably would have given the GSA head a vote of confidence this week.

"You're doing a heck of a job Martha."

[BDKJMU]

Another embrassing GSA video is released:
http://news.yahoo.com/gsa-video-puts-gs ... itics.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BDKJMU]

GSA employees travel to Hawaii five-days for a one-hour ribbon cutting
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04 ... z1rlcMOD00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;