(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )

BY ALYSSA CARTEE

ANCHOR CARISSA LOETHEN

What happens in Vegas, doesn’t always stay there — and it’s costing some federal employees their jobs. KGO has the story.

“A senior official at the federal government’s general services administration has resigned. It comes a day after a report found her agency improperly spent over $800,000 on a lavish training conference.”

That senior official is GSA chief Martha Johnson. She has stepped down — saying the spending was a “ significant misstep ” and “taxpayer dollars were squandered”.

A few GSA employees have been dismissed in light of the review from the Inspector General. The report indicates the money was spent on a team-building conference just outside of Las Vegas. The New York Post breaks down some of the budget.


“The conference spent $3,200 on the mind reader in addition to hiring a clown and a comedian. Another $6,300 was spent on a commemorative coin set complete with velvet boxes, and $75,000 on training on how to build a bicycle.”


A contributor for CNN says the political hot topic makes this report even more damning for the agency.

“On the heels of a conversation about whether or not we need to increase taxes to compensate for our spending habits, I think this is small in the federal budget but it’s big in our condemnation.”

The White House was quick to respond to the scandal. CBS reports.

“President Obama isn’t happy either. His chief of staff says the president is outraged. He actually started a program with the vice president in charge to cut government waste.”

A blogger for the Washington Post points out there is an easy solution to stop this sort of spending -—  stop holding team-building conferences.

“Stop spending money on conference schwag—buy people a few rounds of drinks and new equipment or software to help them do their jobs faster or better.”

The GSA issued a statement saying it is appalled with the excessive spending on the conference. GSA officials say they will put in place the changes suggested by the Inspector General’s review.