Increased oversight on conference spending saved hundreds of millions at the IRS, GSA, VA and DoD since fiscal 2010, according to a reported issued by Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who chairs a House Government Operations subcommittee.
An embarrassing conference-spending scandal at GSA led to new restrictions on conference spending, including new reporting requirements, spending limits and an executive order requiring a senior official to be placed in charge, at each agency, of developing and implementing policies to ensure more responsible spending on conference activities.
Savings across the IRS, GSA, VA and DoD could be as much as $500 million in the past few years because of these reforms, according to the report.
It said the IRS spending on conferences decreased 87 percent from $37.6 million in fiscal 2010 to $4.9 million fiscal 2012. At GSA it dropped from $10.9 million in fiscal 2010 to $1.3 million in fiscal 2012, at the VA it dropped from $86.5 million in fiscal 2011 to $7.5 million through the first nine months of fiscal 2012, and at DoD, spending on conferences that cost over $100,000 decreased from $89 million in fiscal 2012 to $12.3 million through the first six months of fiscal 2013.
