Senator seeks probe of federal conferences in Las Vegas

WASHINGTON - A Republican senator from Kentucky is seeking an inquiry by Congress into how many government agency conferences have been held in Las Vegas in the past three years, following the spotlight this week on the GSA's "over the top" training at the M Resort in 2010.

Sen. Rand Paul said his request was prompted by a set of letters from the year earlier in which Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., urged White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel to disavow an "informal policy" discouraging bureaucrats from holding meetings in Las Vegas and other resort cities.

"In this letter Senator Reid actively encourages the administration to reverse recent policy on conferences in Las Vegas," Paul said in a letter Wednesday to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight Committee.

"In light of the recent extravagant spending within the General Services Administration, and the subsequent House and Senate hearings, I respectfully ask you to investigate how many government agency conferences, from any agency throughout government, were held in Las Vegas" since then, Paul wrote.

Neither Paul nor aides were available Thursday evening to expand on the letter, and there was no immediate reaction from Issa.

Reid in a statement sought to put context on the 2009 letter but did not comment directly on Paul, a Senate freshman and tea party favorite whose father, Ron Paul, campaigned in Nevada for the Republican presidential nomination.

Reid and Rand Paul have tangled before, most notably during debate on the Patriot Act in May when Reid accused the GOP freshman of holding up progress on the anti-terrorism bill by insisting on a gun amendment. They also sparred this week over an amendment Paul sought to add to a Postal Service bill to strip $2 billion in foreign aid from Egypt.

PAUL LETTER DRAWS CRITICISM

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., didn't show the restraint that Reid did.

"Kentucky Senator Rand Paul's irresponsible, politically-motivated witch hunt is jeopardizing convention business, jobs and our state's economic recovery," Berkley said.

Vince Alberta, spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, questioned why Paul would single out Las Vegas for scrutiny.

"We are all frustrated that a handful of employees with GSA made some poor decisions and didn't use common sense and wasted taxpayer dollars, but this goes beyond Las Vegas," Alberta said. "I would be interested to know if Senator Paul is making similar requests in states such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida."

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said the issue has nothing to do with Las Vegas.

"Our city shouldn't be singled out for bad choices made by federal employees, as this type of abuse could have happened anywhere," Goodman said. Instead of pointing fingers at Las Vegas, "we should be investigating how federal employees were able to mismanage our federal dollars."

"More than 350,000 Las Vegas jobs are connected to the tourist industry so any attempt to drive conventions away from Las Vegas would be extremely detrimental to the health of our city," she said. "About 16 percent of our visitors are here for business-related reasons - that translates to more than 6 million people a year. Clearly, the vast majority of those meetings take place here without the issues demonstrated by the GSA."

REID OFFERS CONTEXT

Reid said the 2009 appeal to the White House, which was widely publicized at the time, came after he learned that Nevada cities were being "blacklisted" from hosting government conferences.

He said the blacklist originated during the Bush administration, "and President Obama deserves enormous credit for removing this misguided prohibition."

The Nevadan's plea to the White House also came four months after Obama, in remarks aimed at companies that accepted bailouts during the recession, said, "You can't take a trip to Las Vegas or down to the Super Bowl on the taxpayers' dime."

Obama's off-the-cuff comment in an Indiana speech sparked worry from Las Vegas officials and within the gaming industry that gamblers and tourists might find it another reason, in addition to the recession, to stay home.

Reid in his June 26, 2009, letter told Emanuel that "even during these difficult times, Las Vegas remains an unmatched destination."

But, Reid told the White House official that the FBI, the GSA and the Bureau of Indian Affairs recently had moved conferences out of Las Vegas.

He asked Emanuel to tell federal agencies to base travel destinations on cost and space availability, not on the basis "that they are too leisure-oriented."

Emanuel wrote back on July 14: "I agree that federal policy should not dictate the location of where such government events are held."

GSA CONFERENCE PROBED

Paul's letter takes a step down a road that Nevada leaders scrambled to avoid this week as four congressional committees - including the one headed by Issa - held hearings on the Western Regions Conference hosted by an arm of the General Services Administration in Henderson over four days in October 2010.

An inspector general's report this month detailed $823,000 in what it called "excessive, wasteful and in some cases impermissible" spending.

Costs for the 300-person conference included $136,504 for multiple "scouting" trips to Las Vegas to plan the event, $6,325 for commemorative coins, $75,000 for a bicycle-building exercise and the hiring of a mind reader to give a motivational speech.

In speeches, remarks to reporters and in letters to colleagues, Reid, Berkley and Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., placed the focus squarely on the GSA officials who planned the extravagant conference.

They argued Las Vegas should not be tarred as a destination that encourages excesses, or at least not when it comes to taxpayer money.

Some in Congress accepted the message, some did not.

"What happened in Las Vegas could just as likely have happened in Chicago, New York or someplace else," said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. "It's totally unfair for people to draw a line there."

On the other hand, Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., opened a hearing of the House public buildings subcommittee Tuesday saying that meetings could be held in places such as Des Moines, Iowa, or Modesto, Calif., "but the purpose of these lavish conferences is to go to Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Napa."

Review-Journal writer Benjamin Spillman contributed to this report. Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.