The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) continues to receive flack for a
report by its Inspector General (IG) accusing it of "excessive" spending at a 2010 meeting of government employees in Las Vegas. The latest charge: Congressman John Mica (R-Fla.) said GSA officials flew to Hawaii in 2011; although they were there for a one-hour ribbon-cutting ceremony for a federal building, they allegedly spent a week or more on the islands on taxpayer dollars.
"The Las Vegas conference was the tip of the iceberg, and every new example demonstrates the mind-boggling culture of waste and blatant disregard for the taxpayers' money within GSA," Mica said in a statement.
Despite the ongoing outrage, however, the Society of Government Meeting Professionals (SGMP) — the trade association representing government meeting planners — has cautioned against a rush to judgment. In an official response to the GSA incident, released last week, SGMP Executive Director and CEO Charles Sadler said:
The findings in the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Inspector General's report regarding GSA's 2010 Western Regions Conference (WRC) is disturbing for anyone who understands the government meeting planning process and certainly for any American citizen. But this apparent instance of excessive spending is newsworthy in part because it's unusual. Decades of experience demonstrate that the vast majority of government conferences are productive and cost effective. Government travel plays a significant role in the U.S. economy as a whole and no one will want to endure the economic hardship individuals and businesses would experience if leaders take the knee jerk approach and drastically reduce or shutdown government meetings and travel. The federal government maintains strict rules regarding spending and ethics when it comes to travel and, as in this case, when those rules are broken those responsible should be held accountable. The entire government meetings industry should not be judged on this one grossly "over the top" executed event. It clearly demonstrates the importance of agencies having a professional meeting planner versed in the proper processes of solicitation, contract awards and event execution, as required by government policy, the procurement process and ethical conduct standards.
GSA's black eye for this 2010 WRC meeting will be SGMP members' and leaders' golden opportunity to advocate for the training and certification of government planners. This acknowledgement of the importance of providing education and resources for meeting planning is the first step toward ensuring that government policy and best practices for efficient, cost effective meetings are the standard—starting with the career government employee and continuing all the way up to the appointee who may head a federal agency.