Wednesday, April 18, 2012

HOT Rand Paul: How Many Government Agencies Have Been Holding Meetings in Vegas?

Sen. Rand Paul today issued a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) requesting an investigation into the matter of the Obama  Administration and government agency conferences held in Las Vegas. He specifically requests in his letter that an investigation be conducted into how many agencies have been holding conferences in Las Vegas, since Senator Reid sent a letter to  then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, regarding special permission for government agency conferences to be held in Las Vegas.

Below is the text of Sen. Paul’s letter, and attached is a copy of the 2009 correspondence mentioned below.


April 18, 2012

The Honorable Darrell Issa
Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
B350A Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Chairman Issa,

I would like to bring to your attention to the attached letter, a June 2009 correspondence between Senate Democrat Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, regarding special permission for government agency conferences to be held in Las Vegas, Nev. In this letter Senator Reid actively encourages the Administration to reverse recent policy on conferences in Las Vegas.

In light of the recent extravagant spending within the Government Services Agency, and the subsequent House and Senate hearings, I respectfully ask you to investigate how many government agency conferences, from any agency throughout government, were held in Las Vegas since the Administration reversed its previous policy.
Sincerely,

Rand Paul, M.D.
U.S. Senator




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3 comments:

  1. Don't hate on Vegas.

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  2. Now they will go to Atlantic City.

    No, I am not kidding.

    Google search for conference rooms with full-wall screens for presentations, table-seating (as opposed to theater...very important if people will be writing, working on laptops, etc), with a capacity of about 2500 in the conference room.

    The list will not be long. The price discriminators will be huge. One need only ask where the supply of such convention halls is greatest to know where the price will be lowest.

    I could care less where the convention hall is located if it costs less in aggregate (travel, hotel, convention hall, etc) while maintaining the necessary infrastructure.

    The issue here needs to be not WHERE the conference was located, but what people were doing during working hours. If they were allowed to enjoy the locale during working hours rather than work, then their supervisors should be fired. If they played hookie from work to enjoy the locale, then the employees should be fired.

    There is a reason why conventions gravitate to places like Vegas that is wholly apart from entertainment for the convention goers...the supply of venues is great, the services are plentiful, transportation and lodging costs tend to be lower than other cities.

    From the venue-owner's point of view, the only difference between a banking convention, a government convention, an electronics convention, an RV industry convention, a retailer convention, a COMIC convention (COMICON), or a Star Trek conventions is the layout of the desks/booths and venue dividers.

    Simple supply and demand folks.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is there a difference between a government and private sector employee? Yes, you can fire a private sector employee.

    ReplyDelete