Hearing Tomorrow on GSA Pattern of Wasting Taxpayers’ Money

Washington, DC – A Congressional oversight hearing tomorrow will focus on the General Services Administration’s (GSA) squandering of taxpayer dollars through a pattern of mismanagement, excess and waste.

The Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management Subcommittee hearing tomorrow comes in the wake of recent revelations about an $823,000 GSA conference in Las Vegas, a wasteful employee award program that handed out hundreds of thousands of dollars in iPods, electronics, gift cards and other prizes, an intern conference at a luxurious Palm Springs spa, a junket to Hawaii for a simple ribbon-cutting, and other scandals.

GSA, the agency that manages federal real property, is also responsible for mismanaging these taxpayer-owned assets. The agency’s 2009 operating costs for underutilized buildings was $1.7 billion, and $134 million for excess building.

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John L. Mica (R-FL) and Subcommittee Chairman Jeff Denham (R-CA), who since last year have been seeking detailed information about the steadily increasing administrative costs of the Public Buildings Service within GSA, will lead tomorrow’s hearing.

WHAT: Hearing of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management:

“GSA’s Squandering of Taxpayer Dollars: A Pattern of Mismanagement, Excess and Waste”

WHEN: 8:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 17, 2012

WHERE: 2167 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515

A live webcast of this hearing will be available at http://transportation.house.gov

INVITED WITNESSES:

  • The Honorable Daniel Tangherlini, Acting Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)
  • The Honorable Brian Miller, Inspector General, GSA
  • The Honorable Martha Johnson, Former Administrator, GSA
  • Ms. Susan Brita, Deputy Administrator, GSA
  • Ms. Alison Doone, Chief Financial Officer, GSA
  • Mr. Robert Peck, Former Public Buildings Service (PBS) Commissioner, GSA
  • Mr. David Foley, Public Buildings Service Deputy Commissioner, GSA
  • Mr. Jeff Neely, Region 9 Public Building Regional Commissioner, GSA
  • Ms. Lisa Daniels, Event Planner, Public Buildings Service, GSA