More watchdogs could be on the way for GSA

The General Services Administration should appoint special overseers in each region to prevent the misuse of government funds and ensure scandals like the one related to its Western Regions conference don’t happen again, a Senate committee chairman said Wednesday.

GSA’s newly minted acting administrator should assign 11 “special oversight officers” to work in each of its regions for a period of time to improve accountability, suggested Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., during one of several hearings this week investigating waste, fraud and abuse at the agency stemming from a 2010 lavish Las Vegas conference costing taxpayers more than $820,000. Congress began holding hearings in earnest this week to further investigate the scandal and publicly make the case for better management and oversight at GSA.

“What is so outrageous about this is that these bad actors have sullied the reputation of so many people,” said Boxer, who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She urged acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini to continue to reach out to GSA employees to encourage communication at all levels and also to emphasize reform and accountability. She recommended that Tangherlini send “the best people” to oversee operations at each of the agency’s 10 regions and at headquarters in Washington. There are new acting administrators in four regions now, including Region 9, which hosted the conference, according to Tangherlini, who said he would consider Boxer’s idea to assign special regional overseers.

Tangherlini, who has made an effort to communicate regularly with agency employees since taking the helm just a few weeks ago, said many of GSA’s nearly 13,000 employees are outraged and embarrassed by the scandal. “I asked employees to reach out to me. They have not been shy,” said Tangherlini, who testified along with GSA Inspector General Brian Miller.

Since the IG report was published earlier this month, former GSA Administrator Martha Johnson resigned and several top officials are under investigation. Ten career employees are on administrative leave. Tangherlini said he plans to implement additional checks and balances and centralize more agency functions, including financial operations, to ensure public funds are spent properly. The former Treasury Department official already has moved aggressively to manage the fallout from the scandal: He’s canceled 35 conferences, eliminated a controversial employee rewards program and demanded reimbursement from officials who threw private parties in their rooms during the Las Vegas conference.

Miller, who took the unusual step of briefing Johnson on his findings in the middle of the investigation last May, said the release of the report has strengthened the federal oversight process. “The oversight system worked,” Miller said. “My office aggressively investigated, audited, interviewed witnesses and issued a report. No one stopped us from writing the report and making it public.” He noted the investigation has prompted the workforce to speak out. “GSA’s honest and hardworking employees have been empowered to bring issues to our attention, and they are now doing so,” he said. “We have more work than ever.”

The IG did not offer any specifics related to other ongoing investigations, but made it clear that his office continues to uncover waste, fraud and abuse at GSA. “Every time we turn over the proverbial stone, we find 50 more things,” he said.