THE GSA - Wasting Your Hard Earned Money

As I'm sure you are aware, the General Services Administration (GSA) used your hard-earned tax payer dollars on a lavish conference in Las Vegas, costing a whopping $823,000. I know that taxpayers all over the country are outraged. At a time when the approval ratings of Washington are at an all-time low, I cannot believe top officials at the GSA would have the audacity to engage in such actions.

Last week, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held hearings investigating the gross misuse of taxpayer dollars by the GSA. These hearings revealed that the GSA's waste of taxpayer dollars goes far beyond what we were first led to believe by the GSA employees, according to an Inspector General's report. The conference, which by any measure was considered a huge mistake and gross misuse of taxpayer dollars, used taxpayer money to fund clowns, mind readers, and an awards program that gave out iPods and DVD players. The Senate also took action and agreed by voice vote on Tuesday to several reforms to government agencies.

Like you, I am outraged by the irresponsible actions taken by the GSA. Rest assured, I am fully committed to investigating this agency.

Sincerely,

Stephen L. Fincher

University of Tennessee Basketball

Pat Summitt, University of Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball Coach Emeritus, was in Washington this past week to receive an award for her advocacy of Alzheimer's research. I had the honor of speaking on the House Floor about her accomplishments, the impact she has had on women's collegiate sports as a basketball player at UT Martin, and her reputation as one of the most well-known women's basketball coaches of our time.