FOXNews.com: Former GSA head rejects push to 'blame' Bush administration over Vegas conference

FOXNews.com FOX News Network - We Report. You Decide. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Former GSA head rejects push to 'blame' Bush administration over Vegas conference Apr 9th 2012, 12:02 The former head of the General Services Administration blasted the Obama administration Monday for blaming its predecessor over the lavish Las Vegas conference thrown by a division of that agency.  Lurita Doan, who headed the agency under then-President George W. Bush until her resignation in 2008, told Fox News that President Obama's team is trying to "divert attention" from its own scandal.  Obama officials last week pointed to rising costs under the Bush administration to suggest that the $820,000 Vegas conference could have been avoided -- if only the Bush-era GSA had acted.  "Blaming anyone else for their own errors is an Obama administration stock and trade," Doan said Monday. "They love to blame George Bush for all of their problems. The fact of the matter is that there can be no comparison whatsoever. And when you look at it, it's one of these situations where there's simply no way that you can excuse the kinds of excesses that went on."  An inspector general's report on the 2010 conference led to the resignation of GSA's most recent administrator last week, as well as the firing of two top officials within the agency.  The report detailed a host of ill-advised expenses, including thousands of dollars for seemingly frivolous items ranging from novelty yearbooks to souvenir canteens. Congressional lawmakers are now investigating, with one lawmaker saying the Obama administration knew about the expenses as far back as May 2011.  The administration has not attempted to defend the 2010 conference. Top Obama officials have condemned the expenses and pledged to implement protections to clamp down on wasteful spending.  But late last week, the administration noted that the budget for the so-called Western Regions Conference, which is held every two years, has skyrocketed since 2004. According to figures obtained by Fox News, the budget rose from $93,000 in 2004 to $323,855 in 2006. It then jumped to $655,025 in 2008.  "At least we have taken, bold, swift forceful action to hold those responsible accountable and put in place protections to make sure this never happened again," an Obama administration official said. "If Bush administration folks had acted under their watch, the 2010 debacle could have been avoided."  Doan, though, said Obama officials are just "circling their wagons."  "They know this is very damaging. You simply cannot justify the kind of wasteful," she said.  Doan was embroiled in her own set of controversies during her tenure in the Bush administration. She was accused of trying to hook up a friend with a contract as well as dabbling in politics potentially in violation of federal rules. Doan, who eventually resigned, claims she was the victim of Democratic lawmakers eager to target Bush administration officials.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions