Blake Farenthold: “Earlier this year, the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform held a hearing concerning the wasteful spending that…”

“Earlier this year, the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform held a hearing concerning the wasteful spending that occurred during the planning and execution of the General Services Administration 2010 Western Regional Conference. As you may recall, the GSA spent more than $820,000 on a conference originally budgeted at $250,000. The GSA has no triggers or controls in place to stop this flagrant overspending. GSA employees, including Jeff Neely, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, failed to follow GSA policy, Federal procurement law, and basic common sense. H.R. 6016 helps ensure Senior Executive Service, or SES, employees are held accountable for their actions. It allows an SES employee to be fired for misappropriation of funds and gives the agency head discretion to place an SES on unpaid leave, all while maintaining that employee's existing due process rights. I'd like to commend my colleague, Mr. Kelly, for his work on this bill, and urge all Members to support its adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.”