Posted on 11/12/2010 5:15:54 AM PST by radioone
Ferreting out waste in government is, as you can well imagine, strenuous work. First, there's so much of it. Second, those responsible for looking into the dark corners and recesses of our government for profligate use of the taxpayer coin need to be at their best in order to do a good job.
Yeah...but staying at a 5 star resort hotel to find it?
Byron York:
Members of a key panel created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus bill, have scheduled a meeting on November 22 to consider ways to prevent "fraud, waste, and abuse of Recovery Act funds." The meeting will be held at the super-luxe Ritz Carlton Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.
The group is the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, a sub-committee of the larger Recovery Accountability and Transparency board (sometimes known as the RAT board). The stimulus bill set up the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, or RIAP, to make recommendations to identify and prevent waste of the bill's $814 billion in stimulus spending.
"The purpose of the November 22, 2010 meeting is to allow the RIAP to have an open dialogue, with input from the public, on issues relating to fraud, waste, and abuse of Recovery Act funds," says a notice in the Federal Register. Specifically, participants in the meeting will discuss various techniques to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse, as well as larger issues of transparency and public awareness. Portions of the meeting will be open to the public, while other parts will be closed.
The Ritz-Carlton is located "in the midst of the picturesque Camelback Corridor, the city's premier shopping, dining and financial district," according the hotel's website. Hungry waste-and-abuse hunters can dine in the "casual elegance, relaxed atmosphere and uniquely inviting ambiance of the European-inspired bistro 24." Or they can enjoy Afternoon Tea in the "uniquely warm and inviting" Lobby Lounge. And at any time, waste-and-abuse watchdogs who also enjoy golf will be "just minutes from some of the best courses in the world," including the Tournament Players Club, the Arizona Biltmore, and several others.
My heart goes out to members of the RAT board. It certainly is hard work spending taxpayer's money wastefully with one hand, while seeking out waste with the other. But, bureaucrats are sometimes called upon to be creative and this is absolutely one of those times. So I say good luck and godspeed to all the RATs who will be living the high life at my expense. Get a massage on me, mkay?
O.K., so a Motel 6 doesn’t have meeting rooms. So why not choose a local Holiday Inn?
I am speechless.
Are these people brain dead or they really don’t give a sh*t?
Both.
one word..Pelosi
Hay! when it's OPM why should these clowns give a sh*t?
Interesting the debt commission report didn’t include killing this pig..
Every time a politician talks about cutting spending, they go right for cutting policemen, firemen, medicare, etc. Walk right past porkulus, IRS, EPA, NEA, CIA, etc.
Too bad the pols are incapable of being shamed to move this to a more modest location. I hope they have protesters, and videos of every luxurious amenity they enjoy at our expense while they’re there. Gag.
Those dopey pencil pushers are getting pissed that some regular gummint bureauRAT can make more money than they are doing, and it ain't fair.
Don’t spend the money.
This method has the added benefit of having a greater positive effect on the economy than spending the non-existent Stimulus Bill money.
The Four Seasons must have been booked solid.
At least we can count on the Obama/Holder Justice department to investigate. Well, assuming that Chris Christie or some other high-profile Republican is involved.
There are only 4 members on this panel. http://www.recovery.gov/About/board/Pages/AdvisoryPanel.aspx
You would think it would be quite easy to find an open lecture hall or even a large conference room where one of them works (Harvard, Yale) or in some government building. But, hey, November is a nice time to go to Phoenix.
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