Tag Archives: Shinseki

VA held nearly 1,000 conferences during the past two and a half years

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Originally posted by Bob Brewin on NextGov

The Veterans Affairs Department held 948 conferences -- about one per day -- attended by 50 or more employees between January 2009 and June 2012, according to a contract notice posted Friday on the Federal Business Opportunities website seeking outside help analyzing the department's conference planning and spending practices after VA Secretary Eric Shinseki ordered a comprehensive review.

In an Aug. 16 letter to Shinseki, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, pointed out that W. Todd Grams, the department's chief financial officer, disclosed at a Nov. 15, 2011, hearing that VA's conference spending totaled "a little more than $100 million" in fiscal 2011 and $92 million in 2009.

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VA limits purchasing authority amid probe of pricey conferences

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Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has rescinded the purchasing authority of employees in the departmental division under investigation for two conferences that cost $5 million and may have involved inappropriate gifts. Shinseki also has set up a 90-day independent review of Veteran Affairs Department training policies, VA announced.

In a statement released after news broke Monday that human resources employees at conferences in Florida in July and August 2011 may have accepted thousands of dollars' worth of gifts that included alcohol, concert tickets and spa visits, the department also said it is conducting new ethics training for all personnel involved with the planning and execution of conferences and recertification of contract specialists.

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Veterans Affairs faces probe of spending on two conferences

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Originally posted by Charles S. Clark on Government Executive

In yet another agency conference controversy, the Veterans Affairs Department is under investigation for allegedly spending $5 million on two human resources training conferences at which employees may have received improper gifts, according to a Federal Times story published Monday night.

Citing unnamed sources in the VA inspector general's office, the report said tens of thousands of dollars may have gone to multiple trips in preparation for two conferences in Orlando, Fla., in July and August 2011. Employees are said to have received thousands of dollars in promotional items as gifts, including alcohol, concert tickets and spa visits, the publication said.

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