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bjbjLULU JUDY WOODRUFF: More details have emerged about over-the-top spending at the
U.S. government's General Services Administration. And that was the subject at several committee
hearings on Capitol Hill this week. NewsHour congressional correspondent Kwame Holman has
our report. REP. TIM WALZ, D-Minn.: It goes beyond public trust. It goes beyond the thought
that how can we get to a point of that type of selfishness, when others are being asked
to do more with less. KWAME HOLMAN: Even with bipartisanship at the Capitol in short supply
these days, one issue has had Democrats and Republicans speaking with a unified voice:
the spending scandal at the General Services Administration. REP. LOU BARLETTA, R-Penn.:
I don't know where to start. I mean, we could probably spend weeks talking about all the
abuse and the different items of abuse. And to be honest with you, it actually makes me
sick to my stomach. KWAME HOLMAN: The uproar stems from a report by the inspector general
at the GSA, the agency that oversees federal property and supplies. It detailed a lavish
2010 Las Vegas conference for 300 people that cost $823,000. The event featured a mind reader,
a clown and a $31,000 reception. The over-the-top details prompted members of Congress to hold
four separate hearings on the GSA this week, even though the revelations already had resulted
in the resignation of the GSA administrator, the firing of two deputies and 10 career employees
being put on administrative leave. Included in that group is the organizer of the Las
Vegas conference, Jeffrey Neely, who also took agency-approved trips to the wine country
of Napa Valley, Calif., and to Hawaii, both after the 2010 event sparked an investigation.
At a House investigative hearing Monday, Neely declined to answer any questions related to
the investigation to preserve his legal rights. REP. DARRELL ISSA, R-Calif., Oversight and
Government Reform Committee chairman: Mr. Neely, was the original -- what was the original
budget for that conference? JEFF NEELY, regional commissioner, General Services Administration:
Mr. Chairman, on the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon
my Fifth Amendment constitutional privilege. KWAME HOLMAN: The GSA's inspector general,
Brian Miller , was asked at a Senate hearing yesterday if his initial report was just the
tip of the iceberg. BRIAN MILLER, inspector general, General Services Administration:
Every time we turn over a stone, we find 50 more and we find other instances. Even today,
we found out that the wife of the regional commissioner had a parking space throughout
the entire year of 2012 at the federal building. And we just find one thing after another.
And it's difficult for me, even now, to say -- to quantify it. KWAME HOLMAN: Ed O'Keefe
has been covering the story for The Washington Post. He says the Las Vegas conference brought
to light a problem with the GSA's culture. ED O'KEEFE, The Washington Post: The agency
has a lot of interaction with corporate America, whether it's I.T. vendors, defense contractors,
food vendors, office supply companies, technology firms of all sorts, because they do most of
the purchasing for the federal government. So I think because they interact so often
with big business, they feel like they should act like a business, not only in how they
spend their money and manage the agency, but also in how they party and how they interact
with potential customers and with each other. KWAME HOLMAN: The furor also may become fodder
for the fall campaign. Likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said yesterday he would
clean House at the GSA and at the Secret Service rocked by the prostitution scandal involving
agents there. A day earlier, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney weighed in. JAY CARNEY,
White House press secretary: The president believes that everyone who serves the American
people by working for this government needs to hold themselves to the highest standards
of public service. KWAME HOLMAN: Still, GOP lawmakers are saying the administration deserves
some blame. Congressman Jason Chaffetz of Utah. REP. JASON CHAFFETZ, R-Utah: Management
in this case has to be responsible. There have to be checks and balances in place. And,
you know, there's a very good whistle-blower who stood up and she said, you know what,
this isn't right. This shouldn't have happened. And what's concerning is the pervasive nature
of it. It's not just one or two people. It's just so widespread. KWAME HOLMAN: The Senate's
number-two Democrat, *** Durbin of Illinois, said Congress has a responsibility to investigate,
regardless of the party in power. SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL), Majority Whip: Well, I can
tell you, if it happened under a Democrat or a Republican, Congress' job is to ask the
hard questions. This is our responsibility. We appropriate taxpayers' money to these agencies.
When it's wasted, people have to be held accountable. KWAME HOLMAN: And the House speaker, Republican
John Boehner, expressed a similar sentiment at his weekly news conference yesterday. REP.
JOHN BOEHNER, R-Ohio: This is outrageous behavior regardless of whose administration it is.
And, you know, I wrote my checks out on Sunday to pay my taxes. I can imagine millions of
other Americans wrote their checks out. And they're taking their hard-earned money and
they're sending it to Washington, and this is outrageous that their tax money is getting
wasted in this fashion. KWAME HOLMAN: The Post's Ed O'Keefe says it remains unclear
if the universal outrage will get lawmakers to work together to address problems at the
GSA. ED O'KEEFE: There are lawmakers who said, yes, I'm going to bring up legislation, we're
going to push for this. We will see. Right now, with Congress unable to do most of anything,
it's possible that this could because something that gets rammed through before Election Day.
But if it doesn't get done before Election Day, and the longer we get away from this,
and the longer that we forget about this scandal, it may just be that it goes the way of all
the other scandals. KWAME HOLMAN: In the meantime, the spotlight will stay on the GSA, at least
for now, with additional hearings expected next week. urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags
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City urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags place JUDY WOODRUFF: More details have emerged
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