News & Opinion

Did the Department of Veterans Affairs overspend – and waste taxpayer dollars -- last summer when it paid $5 million for two training conferences in Orlando? Read more »

The Veterans Affairs Department paid $52,000 to produce a video parodying the war movie “Patton” that was shown at two training conferences last year. The spending and contracting associated with the two conferences — which had a combined price tag of $5 million — are now subject of an inspector general’s investigation. Read more »

Ever since news broke earlier this year about the General Services Administration spending $823,000 on a conference in Las Vegas, we have wondered whether this was just a GSA thing, or were there other examples of large amounts of travel spending elsewhere in the federal government. Read more »

It turns out the General Services Administration isn’t the only government agency throwing opulent events on the taxpayer’s dime. Expenditures at two conferences held in Orlando last year for Human Resources employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs totaled up to $9 million, according to an investigation by the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Among these expenditures were $84,000 for branded promotional items, such as pens, $3,000 for two event photographers, and a whopping $52,000 to produce a pair of eight-minute videos spoofing the film “Patton” that were shown at the conferences. The videos, provided by the committee, are below. Read more »

The Veterans Affairs Department allegedly spent $52,000 to produce an 18-minute video parodying the movie “Patton” as part of two training conferences now being investigated for wasteful spending. Read more »

Gen. George Patton probably would not be pleased with a parody video paid for with tax dollars by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). But there is no doubt about where U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa stands on it. Read more »

It turns out the General Services Administration isn’t the only government agency throwing opulent events on the taxpayer’s dime. Read more »

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spent about $5 million for conferences that are drawing scrutiny from Congress and the agency's internal watchdog amid concern about potentially lavish government conferences and improper gifts to planners. Read more »

Did the Department of Veterans Affairs overspend — and waste taxpayer dollars — last summer when it paid $5 million for two training conferences in Orlando, Fla.? Read more »

A U.S. House committee has released a video spoof on the movie "Patton" produced for a pair of VA conferences held last year in Orlando - the cost to taxpayers of the video was about $52,000. Read more »