Two VA conferences last year cost those of us who actually pay federal income tax — about half of U.S. households — $5 million. One of the outrageous misuses of tax funds came in the form of a Gen. Patton parody video (see it here) — at a cost of $52,000. We have Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to thank for helping uncovering this outrage, along with the potential for many additional abuses of the public treasury and trust.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is also investigating more than 150 conferences since 2005. Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) using the $823,000 regional conference hosted by the General Services Administration last as a “benchmark” for excessive conference spending. Conferences that cost more than $3,000 per attendee or $600 per attendee per day “raised a red flag,” Issa said.
