So why did they pick Palm Springs?

GSA Party Palm Springs 2010!!!

GSA employee: They had a carver. How do you pick up prime rib with your fingers? They had oysters on the half shell. Yeah, you can pick them up, but why are we eating that?...

According to the transcript of the interview, the GSA employee said he and his colleagues would joke about the award ceremonies. He said a colleague would say to others, "You guys know why we're doing this, don't you?" Someone would reply "We have to have awards because that's how we have... "And everyone says 'food.'" "It's a joke," the employee said. "It is a joke." Go To Site

Nearly $700,000 in taxpayer money was wasted on penthouse suites, tuxedo rentals, a mind reader, a clown, $75,000 on a team building bicycle training exercises, commemorative coins rewarding conference attendees (and those who couldn’t make it), expensive catering -- spending that was mocked by the GSA’s own workers in video. The GSA’s theme for the conference was “A Showcase of World-Class Talent.” Go To Site

Moreover, the GSA blew more than $136,000 in taxpayer money just on workers scouting out locations for the October conference, where “location solvers” stayed in luxury rooms at the Ritz Carlton. Go To Site

GSA interns live high on the taxpayer dime

Democrat, Liberal, Incompetence, Obama, Financial, Fraud, Waste, Debt

According to information from the GSA Inspector General and interviews with GSA employees, the May 10-14, 2010 intern conference at the Palm Springs Riviera Resort and Spa included approximately 120 interns and 20 GSA Region 9 executives. The five-day event included a catered awards ceremony, at an estimated $75 to $100 per person, which wouldn't count against the $71/day employee per diem for meals, because GSA called the food “light refreshments.”

Taxpayers Paid for GSA Intern Conference

Democrat, Liberal, Incompetence, Obama, Financial, Fraud, Waste, Debt

It’s not just workers at the General Services Administration who enjoyed lavish trips. GSA interns also got their own taxpayer-paid junkets. New revelations in GSA inspector general documents show that the GSA flew interns at taxpayer expense to Palm Springs for a “networking” and a “thank you” conference in 2010, which wasn’t the first time. “This was a yearly event,” says a Congressional investigator, and “the interns were flown in to Palm Springs from around the country.”

Palm Springs: GSA interns treated to conference at resort

Democrat, Liberal, Incompetence, Obama, Financial, Fraud, Waste, Debt

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday released a partial transcript of the internal watchdog's interview with a GSA employee who attended the conference. The panel is one of three congressional committees investigating wasteful spending at the agency in charge of federal buildings and supplies. The employee, whose name was redacted, said the executives used one of their tricks to get around a $71 daily expense allowance, by concocting an awards ceremony that included light refreshments, or finger food.