Murray blasts Veterans Affairs Department for wasteful conferences

Chairwoman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Monday that she wouldn’t tolerate the kind of waste discovered by the inspector general (IG) at the Veterans Affairs Department.

The IG’s report found that the agency spent $6.1 million on two conferences held in Orlando, Fla., causing some VA Human Resources staff to resign.

The statement from Murray, whose committee has jurisdiction over the VA, came after the release of the report, which also found that some VA officials improperly accepted gifts. 

“I am deeply dismayed by what the Office of Inspector General has found regarding these conferences,” Murray said in a press release Monday. “The blatant waste of taxpayer dollars and government employees improperly accepting gifts cannot, and will not, be tolerated.”

She said she expects the VA to address the problems quickly.

“The IG report highlights failures in areas that have continually been problems for VA, including contracting and human resources,” Murray said. “I expect the department to act quickly to address these longstanding shortcomings.”

This report on the VA came months after another that found that General Services Administration held an excessive $823,000 conference in Las Vegas.

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