News & Opinion

First there was the General Services Administration’s Las Vegas blowout. Now there’s the Department of Veterans Affairs’ “Patton” parody. And it’s attracted the attention of an influential pair of Republicans, House oversight committee chair Darrell Issa of California and Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chair of the Senate Republicans’ campaign committee. Read more »

The Department of Veterans Affairs is being investigated by the Office of the Inspector General for allegedly spending millions on two human resources conferences held in Orlando last year. Read more »

-- Are you a veteran with a job? Then thank Michelle Obama, because she is taking credit for it. In a speech Wednesday at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., Mrs. Obama touted the Joining Forces campaign, which seeks to assist veterans and their spouses in finding employment. The program claims to have helped 125,000 find jobs in the past year, and it is securing commitments for future veteran hires. “These companies are not making these decisions just because it’s the right thing to do — which it is,” said Mrs. Obama. “They’re doing it because it’s the smart thing to do for their bottom lines.” Read more »

The chairman and ranking Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee today pushed Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, retired General Eric Shinseki, to clarify conflicting testimony about VA conferences. Read more »

A second federal agency in a year to be accused of wasting taxpayer at conferences with a House committee finding a long list of questionable expenses from Veterans Affairs Department get-togethers. Read more »

Veterans Administration Workers Sing 'Beat It' In Latest Government Conference Embarrassment Read more »

The Veterans Affairs Department has turned over to Congress 54 DVDs showing every moment, including some embarrassing ones, of the controversial 2011 human resources conferences held in Orlando, Fla., that cost taxpayers a combined $5 million. Read more »

More than $2 million has been paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the production company that made a parody of the movie "Patton" for showing at agency conferences last year, according to federal spending records. Read more »

New details released by a U.S. House committee late on Friday on show the Veterans Affairs Department spent almost $3 million on one conference in Orlando, Florida last year, with over $370,000 spent on food and refreshments for the four day event. Read more »

Here's a stiff jolt to wake you up. The Department of Veterans Affairs spent $90,747 on coffee and refreshments during morning and afternoon breaks at a pair of training conferences in Orlando last year. Read more »