Originally posted on Federal Times

Federal travel and conference spending is predictably tanking under the combined pressures of severe budget cuts and the repercussions of a string of high-profile conference scandals that started in April 2012.

The scandals -- embarrassingly lavish conference events held by the General Services Administration, the Veterans Affairs Department and the IRS that were brought to light by inspectors general investigations -- provoked a quick and harsh response from Congess and the White House. Travel and conference activity across government slowed to a trickle within weeks.

Continue reading →