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October 25, 2019 By cs

Government answers FAQs about feds attending conferences

Federal employees traveling to conferences now have some clarity about whether accepting registration fees is considered an in-kind payment.

The Office of Governmentwide Policy issued new regulations stating it is not an in-kind payment if a federal employee receives a waived or discounted registration fee while participating as a speaker, panelist, or presenter.

Therefore, the waived and discounted registration fees will not need to be reported to the Office of Government Ethics.

Read article and listen to audio podcast at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-newscast/2019/10/government-answers-faqs-about-feds-attending-conferences/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: conference expense, ethics, Office of Government Ethics, Office of Governmentwide Policy

March 7, 2013 By AMK

GSA cancels this year’s training conference and expo

Citing tight budgets, the General Services Administration on has announced it is suspending its signature Training Conference and Expo, which had been scheduled for May 14-16 in Orlando, Fla.

The annual event, designed for federal, state and local government employees and military members who make or influence procurement decisions, was attracting fewer than usual agency participants, GSA noted.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2013/02/gsa-cancels-years-training-conference-and-expo/61466/?oref=govexec_today_nl

Read GSA’s notice about the conference cancellation at: http://expo.gsa.gov/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: acquisition training, conference expense, GSA

August 20, 2012 By AMK

VA limits purchasing authority amid probe of pricey conferences

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has rescinded the purchasing authority of employees in the departmental division under investigation for two conferences that cost $5 million and may have involved inappropriate gifts. Shinseki also has set up a 90-day independent review of Veteran Affairs Department training policies, VA announced.

In a statement released after news broke Monday that human resources employees at conferences in Florida in July and August 2011 may have accepted thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts that included alcohol, concert tickets and spa visits, the department also said it is conducting new ethics training for all personnel involved with the planning and execution of conferences and recertification of contract specialists.

Keep reading this article at http://www.govexec.com/defense/2012/08/va-limits-purchasing-authority-amid-probe-pricey-conferences/57408/?oref=national_defense_nl.

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: conference expense, gifts, IG, training, VA

April 17, 2012 By AMK

GSA acting administrator to review travel policies

Just a few days after General Services Administration chief Martha Johnson stepped down amid a scandal that rocked the agency and ousted two other officials, her new replacement vowed to examine the agency’s conference and travel policies.

In an April 3 letter addressed GSA employees, Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini underlined the importance of staying focused on promoting efficiency and cost-savings following an inspector general report that revealed the agency’s lavish spending at a 2010 training event.

According to the IG, the conference cost more than $822,000, with expenses that included several “planning trips” and “test runs” in which GSA employees stayed at the luxury hotel where the event was held.

In addition to Johnson, Robert Peck, commissioner of the Public Buildings Service, and Johnson’s senior adviser Stephen Leeds were fired. In her resignation letter, Johnson acknowledged the agency had made a “significant misstep” and said she was stepping down to allow GSA to move forward with a new leadership team.

“We cannot allow mistakes or misjudgments of a small number of individuals to slow our progress or take our focus from our goals,” Tangherlini wrote in his letter. “GSA’s business is to solve customers’ problems; we are acting quickly to address them.”

Tangherlini, a former Treasury Department official, said GSA is taking immediate measures to maintain customers’ confidence in the agency. Some of those steps include reviewing upcoming conferences that involve travel and spending of taxpayers’ funds, and canceling events that pertain only to internal staff. GSA will also assess how its current policies around conference and travel policies, and improve risk management, Tangherlini said.

About the Author: Camille Tuutti is a staff writer covering the federal workforce for Federal Computer Week.  This article appeared Apr. 4, 2012 at http://fcw.com/articles/2012/04/04/gsa-dan-tangherlini-travel-policies.aspx?s=fcwdaily_050412.

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: conference expense, GSA, PBS, travel

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