Alan C. Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 House report says 'big-ticket' conferences cost taxpayers $340M ...a new congressional report shows taxpayers picked up the tab for at least 894 conferences in 2012 -- to the tune of $340 million. . . . The Labor Department held just four, keeping the total bill under $1 million. Even the GSA -- which has cut back on its conference spending in light of the Las Vegas scandal -- held only three. But the Defense Department, which is also the biggest department in Washington, held nearly 300 conferences at a cost of $89 million. The Department of Veterans Affairs held 127 at a cost of $72.7 million; the Justice Department held 107 at a cost of $58.7 million; and the Department of Health and Human Services held 140, at a cost of $56.1 million. The hearing and report follow a slew of revelations on pricey conferences. While the VA did not report its numbers to the committee, the agency came under fire last year for two conferences allegedly costing more than $6 million the summer before. Included on the list of expenses was $52,000 spent to produce a video parody of the movie "Patton."
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