Tag Archives: NextGov

GEOINT POSTPONED Due to Language in “Pay Our Military Act”

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"We {GEOINT 2013} are one of the few events this year to fill downtown Tampa nearly to capacity. However, new legislation, subsequent legal interpretations, and resultant directives have drastically changed the environment." Keith Masbeck, CEO USGIF

After the October 1 announcement that the GEOINT 2013 Symposium would take place in spite of the government shutdown, USGIF CEO Keith Masbeck announced this week that the symposium will, in fact, be postponed.  Originally scheduled for October 13-16 in Tampa, GEOINT will now be held in the spring of 2014.

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New GSA Offering Could Avert the Next Conference Scandal

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Originally posted by Joseph Marks on NextGov

The General Services Administration is considering building a menu of contractors offering services that can help agencies avoid the sort of conference spending scandals that rocked GSA itself in 2012, according to solicitation documents posted Tuesday.

Contractors listed on the menu would help centralize agencies' conference and meeting spending in unified databases, ensure competitive pricing for conference-related purchases, minimize the risk of cancellation fees from hotels and food vendors and archive important information to pass along to GSA and government watchdogs, the request for information said.

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VA held nearly 1,000 conferences during the past two and a half years

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Originally posted by Bob Brewin on NextGov

The Veterans Affairs Department held 948 conferences -- about one per day -- attended by 50 or more employees between January 2009 and June 2012, according to a contract notice posted Friday on the Federal Business Opportunities website seeking outside help analyzing the department's conference planning and spending practices after VA Secretary Eric Shinseki ordered a comprehensive review.

In an Aug. 16 letter to Shinseki, Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, pointed out that W. Todd Grams, the department's chief financial officer, disclosed at a Nov. 15, 2011, hearing that VA's conference spending totaled "a little more than $100 million" in fiscal 2011 and $92 million in 2009.

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