ms. johnson. when's the next time we're going to get meaningful professional development conferences in gsa? not in our lifetime. that's the destructive outcome of this. and that's going to be detrimental for the services that need to be provided. so i ask you, mr. tangherlini. the ses folks. this mr. neely, i wish he was here today too because i'm kind of like ms. norton. this guy set up a fiftum. not since jack abramoff has anybody walked in with such swagger and ability is what it appears like this guy was able to do. here's what i would tell you. these ses folks, i have seen some of the most dedicated professional public servants that i have ever come across in both private and public sector in my life. and i have also seen some of the worst obstructionists. how are you going to deal with ses? these folks simply, many of them, have an attitude. they will outlive you. the next president will come and you will be gone. and they will continue. apparently that's what mr. neely did. this guy has be

ms. johnson's written testimony that was submitted today. we finally received the -- excuse me. let me back up. you had written, ms. british shared these findings with four of us in may, 2011. and you name the four people who were in that meeting, and according to your testimony, you were part of that meeting. is that -- >> yes. what i'm referring to. >> in your line of questioning with the chairman, at the beginning of this hearing, you had stated, quote, i was aware of a powerpoint slide deck, but i did not see it. yet in your written testimony, and so maybe you want to clarify, you said ms. british shared these findings with the four of us in may, 2011. the sentence prior says i believe the inspector general subsequently briefed her with a powerpoint deck. yet you're saying you never saw the powerpoint deck. so i want to be clear, if you saw that powerpoint deck in may, during that briefing? >> i have to apologize. it must be because i'm 59 years old. but i have no memory of seeing it. >> okay. >> this is based on my memories. if i could see my schedule and jog them and think

ms. johnson, i know you appreciate this. it's not your money. it's mr. robertson -- it's not your money. and this is what has the american people so worked up. $8,000 is a lot of money. $6500 goes a very long way. for most families today. and i would argue, that the invisible man there, mr. neely, if he had thought this was his money, we wouldn't be here today. mr. chairman, i yield back. thank you. >> i thank the gentleman. and i would note for the record that we have not been able to get a clarification whether it's 6 or 10. it appears it could be 10 round trips with family in some cases, costing over $100,000 to find out what vegas was like. with that, we go to the gentleman from another region. the gentleman from texas. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i generally applaud yours and the committee's selection of witnesses, but you've left out one important witness in that hearing. and that's the mind-reader. maybe he could tell us what some of these people were thinking when they did that. i do have a couple of comments and questions that hopefully you

ms. johnson indicated that she was surprised it took that long. were you communicating with her regularly about the progress in the investigation and you replied back, yes, we provided information, the briefing and i asked her to get a handle on the rc's travel. you testified to that yesterday. do you -- did you misspeak yesterday or are you misspeaking today? >> well, i must have misspoken yesterday. i specifically told the regional administrator in region nine to get ahold of his travel in august of 2011. i did brief administrator johnson in may of 2011 on the interim report. we went through the interim report. she saw the preplanning travel. i did tell her about the less than candid comments. of course, we also had the hats off report that she was fully briefed on. >> how often did you meet with ms. johnson? >> we met in may, may 17th, i think, and then we met again in august. i don't think we met before that. >> i can't imagine you had any of these meetings where you didn't say, we have a big issue here. >> we met in august. i think maybe twic

ms. johnson. whether he outlasts you or not. how are you going to address that? >> i think that's a great question, congressman. that's part of what we have to look at in our top to bottom review is what kind of performance system do we have in the general services administration, how do we create a system that measures conduct as well as performance. and then how do we hold people accountable to it. i look forward to working with you on it. >> the services we could provide, there are comparable people tharv

ms. johnson, we're unlikely to ask you back in the same setting. your experience, computer science corporation, your experience here, we may ask if you would voluntarily help us as we sort out the frustrations you saw between political appointees who, in fact, might -- you might have a hard time recruiting the kinds of people that need to oversee ses and other very senior individuals in the bureaucracy. and, of course, some of yours from tragss that may exist as to what it takes to eliminate a member of civil service, even after egregious behavior. >> i would be happy to be of any support i can be. >> and we'll make sure it's not at a cost of needing a council here again. >> thank you. >> and with that, we'll take a short recess before the second panel. >> thank you. >>> just taking a break here, re-setting the room, letting some of the witnesses go during this oversight and government reform committee hearing. we're going to be hearing next from dan tangherlini, acting gsa administrator. and, of course, earlier we heard from the official at the ce

ms. johnson or mr. robertson? >> i don't have a good sense of the numbers. the numbers of conferences that i attended over my tenure, i can talk about. they included about five internal conferences over 26 months. >> over 26 months. that's a fairly frequent number. are there guidelines within gsa for conducting conferences? i mean, it's kind of ironic, i think, that you have the agency that's responsible for facilities and at least in this particular case, you had to go to an -- they go to an -- a private facility outside of -- i don't know, that's an example, mr. chairman, of government spending, i guess stimulating the economy, but probably not in the right way if you have federal facilities that my house these -- >> yes, there are various -- there are various policies and rules per diem, for example, how much people can spend when they. yes, there are. >> would there be, for instance, any rules regarding the things that went on here, like, for instance, the hiring of a mind reader, entertainment bling, as we call it, these souvenirs? are there any guideli

ms. johnson. and at this time, if there are others who have opening statements, they'll be added to the record. and at this time, i'd like to introduce our witness. dr. john holdren is assistant to the president, and co-chair of the president's counsel of advisories on science and technology. prior to joining the administration, he taught at harvard and was director of the woods hole research center, chairman, as our witness should know, spoken testimony is limited to five minutes. but you're a very important, valuable witness. we would will a little more lenient with that, with you if you need such. and i say that. and if i didn't say it, ms. johnson would insist on it. so easier for me just to take that position too. so we're going to be fair with you is what i'm trying to tell you. after that, the members are going to have five minutes each to ask questions. and the chair is able to provide some flexibility, as i said, if you're our only witness today, doctor. and i thank you for your testimony

ms. johnson. >> thank you for inviting me to speak before the committee this morning. i'm carl johnson, director of the mayor's office on disability. i'm here to speak in support of this legislation that would prohibit placing obstructions on the sidewalk adjacent to a white zone. the reason my office takes a position on this is because it is an issue that actually affects people with disabilities and seniors and families. obstructed access to the public's right of way is a civil-rights matter. the white zone itself serves as a safe zone for safely disembarking from vehicles. those could be their personal vehicles, maybe with a friend or family that is dropping you off at your medical appointment, or it could be a taxi or a public transit vehicle. many people who have mobility disabilities may find it difficult to travel more than a short distance down a sidewalk, which is why it is so important to have direct access to these facilities like medical offices or senior housing, or places of worship and institutions. i have a personal story to my mother is 83 years old and

johnson to ms. cox when she was appointed. how did the trips not stop? >> when i say we have multiple contacts and we have contacts throughout my office, my senior staff contacts throughout gsa, it's on many issues. on this particular issue because it's an investigation and because of the nature of it, we wouldn't be going autoof our way to tell gsa people about this because it's an investigation. >> but you went out of your way in this case. you gave them a heads up. you let them know there was a problem here. you told them to get a handle on rc's travel. >> i told the regional administrator that in august. and we did the interim report in may. >> you were alerted to the 17-day trip which he was taking his wife on. of the party they were going to have and the places they were going to travel to. >> we contacted ms. brit ta about the travel and said do you know about this travel? is it really necessary? and she contacted the regional administrator. >> ms. cox? >> yes. >> did she let you know the trip was going to happen? >> i did not know about the trip

ms. johnson testified, and she was asked why mr. neely received a $9,000 raise, she said, there's two reasons you can receive a raise. one by performance, and the other is by conduct. and she tried to distinguish between the two and basically said she had to, because his performance was good, even though his conduct was bad. >> let me tell you something. if i don't contact is bad. that's cause enough to not only terminate your employment also a basis upon which cannot receive your retirement benefits, what's invested. these are issues that now have been brought to light for us. we plead to hold people accountable, the same way we should be held account in congress, we made to make sure these employees are held accountable as well. >> can you take mr. neely's pension away? his retirement benefits away? can you take his bonus away? >> i believe, i don't know this for sure. the only way this could happen if is his conduct in the furtherance of his duties resultsed in the commission of a felony upon which he was convicted might be able

ms. johnson? >> we met may 17th i think and then we met again in august. maybe twice in august. >> were you also meeting with others that worked in -- >> they are in constant contact. >> how often do you think you communicated whether it's between staff to staff or you with mrs. johnson. how often is it? >> we communicate several times a week between our staff and staff at gsa. and i know that my deputy communicates regularly with the deputy administrator and i believe they did so about this investigation. >> did anybody from the administration contact you? >> no one from the white house has ever contacted me. i have never spoken to them. >> so several times a week, the oig contacted gsa and let them know? >> did you let them know? >> no. because it's an investigation. and we need to keep it confidential. when we contact people throughout gsa, it's about many matters. we're involved in audits. we're involved in many things. so the contact between my office and gsa are on many topics. >> let me understand. my time is expired. i will come back to this. ms. n

ms. johnson for five minutes. >> you forgot to look to see who is over here. it's woolsey. >> i'm sorry. >> i make about a five-minute speech of ms. woolsey. we're going to lose her and i'm going to miss her. i recognize you. and if ms. johnson was here, i would recognize here. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. >> i have got to be more careful. >> yes, you do. more discerning about your women. so dr. holdren, thank you for all you do. we've put a lot on -- of importance on your office and we expect a lot. and we get a lot. how is the united states stacking up as compared to the rest of the world in our support for science and technology and the policies that we put in place? and feel free to tell us where we can do better. >> well, first of all, i would say that the united states continues to lead the world in science, engineering, and innovation across a very wide array of crucial fields of fundamental research and applied research. the united states leads the world. we remain by far the largest funder of research and development in the world. the sum of o

ms. johnson? >> chairman issa, ranking member, other members, thank you for the opportunity to allow me to have this testimony today. in 2009, i resigned from the general services administration and left my cherished korea as a public servant. i did so to step aside and allow a new team to rebuild the gsa from major missteps regarding the western region conference in october 2010. a previously served gsa in the clinton administration, leaving in 2001. at that time, the leadership was strong, and other programs were producing valley for a customer's. when i returned to gsa in 2010, the agency was not the same. some positions were empty, strategy nonexistent, and many d.r. partnership as a stand, and labour relations were acrimonious. the leasing portfolio had ballooned. nearly two years had elapsed without a confirmed administrator. my own confirmation was delayed by nine months even though it was unanimous. by the time i was sworn in, -- what i did not know was that there was yet another problem.

ms. johnson, it's a pleasure to hear from you again. i think that you were here back in 2007. i sat and listened to you extol the wonderful opportunities and passion of manufacturing, and i have used the illustration many times without asking your permission of you going into middle schools and telling the students what they can experience in manufacturing and the opportunities that were there and even seeing some of the parts that they produce go to the moon or go in space and so i would like to foster that passion as opposed to just dealing with excess of the limit regulation and in pensions upon you doing those things and i will inform you that i'm going to use your quote without innovation manufacturing is just a good idea commit so thank you for being here. let me ask you some questions in my district in michigan and a factor in state that's gone through some tough times and now just hearing from the governor how we are turning that around and seeing the value of manufacturing again. i hear so often from the manufacturers and business people, small business people the cha

ms. dune and with former administrator johnson doing what mr. tangherlini is doing, providing more direct control from the central office over the financial operations of the regions. that's one. two, i would have the regional commissioners unequivocally report directly to the pbs national commissioner. i was focused a lot on the business metrics for each of the regions including how much space the government was occupying, how much we were spending on leasing, and we were working very hard to get those numbers down because they're in the billions of dollars and they could exercise real savings. >> so as far as the conferences were concerned, you would have nothing to say about that? a person in your position? >> unless someone brought something to my attention and i thought there was something out of line, i would not generally be supervisoring where and when regional conferences were happening. >> very well. i just think you -- i think -- i meaner as i listen to you, you made it sound like you played a very lightweight role in this. and sir, i

ms. johnson testified and asked why he received a $9,000 raised and she said there is two reasons. one is by performance and other is by conduct. she tried to distinguish between the two and said she had to because his performance was good even though his conduct was bad. if your conduct's bad that in and of itself should be reason, cause enough to not only terminate your employment but also to be the basis upon which you cannot receive your retirement benefits, the expense they invested. these are issues that now have been brought to light for us. we need to hold people accountable the same way we should be held accountable in congress. we need to make sure these employees are held accountable as well. host: can you take away mr. neeley's pension away, retirement away? guest: the only way this can happen if his conduct and his duties resulted in a criminal penalty might be able to do that. to do so ipso facto, no. host: ok. don. caller: thank you for taking my call. i would pose to senator ross that i fail to see the difference between that g.s.a. administrator strength lavish fun

ms. johnson, i think it is appropriate. our pedestrian safety legislation is the last item that she will be sitting in on as a clerk. i do not know what the city is going to be doing without her, but we wish her the best of luck. it has been an honor for me to work with someone who is such a part of the institution. supervisor olague: i want to wish you the best and thank you for all of your help. i was recently appointed in january, and you have been very gracious and nights, and i want to say thank you for that. i hope you enjoy your free time now. i want to wish you the best. i'm sure you will be busier than you have been in the past 30 something years. thank you very much. supervisor campos: i was just going to thank you for way more than three decades of serving san francisco. it has been a pleasure working with you as well. thank you. supervisor avalos: it has been an honor to work with you. i recall a few times where i am going home at 9:30 p.m., maybe 10:00 p.m. at night. you are coming not from city hall, but somet

ms. johnson approved a change in organizational structure that resulted in eliminating the position that ms. walker was in. i recall seeing an e-mail from last summer. i do not recall the details around this. as i understand it, this person was serving in an at will position, and it is those that will positions that cannot be used for organizational restructuring in a way that one just decides we do not want that person any more. if the city has to pay these kinds of claims in damages for this and other past actions, it has ultimately cost us a lot of money. i would hope that you would look carefully again at these kinds of employee settlements, how much this costs, and what we can do in future to avoid these costs. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> motion to convene a closed session and incurred attorney- client privi week, two weeks in advance? >> the third, which is a tuesday. the thursday before is when the information will be provided. i do not know yet when the complete budget book will be ready, but we will certainly provide you enough information so that you can have an informed disc

ms. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for such time as she may consume. ms. johnson: thank you very much. let me express my appreciation to the leaders on this bill. this is a good bipartisan bill and it is nearly identical to the legislation that passed the house by an overwhelming majority last congress. and i'd like to certainly cite mr. lipinski and mr. mccaul for their leadership and work on this bill. the internet and our access to the internet through computers, tablets, smart phones, etc. has greatly increased our productivity and our connectivity. unfortunately this connectivity and dependence on our infrastructure, our commerce, and great deal of our day-to-day lives on information technology has increased our vulnerability to cyberattack. for example, you may recall last year the networks of 48 companies were penetrated for at least six months by a hacker and who was looking for intellectual property to steal. and it was reported that the personal

ms. johnson, it's a pleasure to hear from you again. i think that you were here back in 2007. i sat and listened to you extol the wonderful opportunities and passion of manufacturing, and i have used the illustration many times without asking your permission of you going into middle schools and telling the students what they can experience in manufacturing and the opportunities that were there and even seeing some of the parts that they produce go to the moon or go in space and so i would like to foster that passion as opposed to just dealing with excess of the limit regulation and in pensions upon you doing those things and i will inform you that i'm going to use your quote without innovation manufacturing is just a good idea commit so thank you for being here. let me ask you some questions in my district in michigan and a factor in state that's gone through some tough times and now just hearing from the governor how we are turning that around and seeing the value of manufacturing again. i hear so often from the manufacturers and business people, small business people the cha

ms. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i wonder if anybody is listening. the message from the american people is loud and clear. to extend the middle class tax cuts now. republican leadership is holding hostage tax cuts for 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest americans. democratic members of congress have commonsense solutions and we can't wait around any longer, as real proposals languish while the house g.o.p. gets their act together. i along with 181 of my colleagues have signed the discharge petition to automatically bring to the house floor the senate-passed middedle class tax cuts -- middle class tax cuts which the president has said he will sign immediately. this could be an opportunity for us to work together, resolve some of our differences and offer the american people the kind of congress they want. working together. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentlela

ms. johnson. i tend to agree with you, but the procedures outlined in the staff memo for both of the violations, i think both of those are good and we should use those. we should be following our mandate as well. is there any other comments. >> i agree with what you are suggesting, but rather than holding off until the next regular commission meeting, how about the idea of on a rotating basis, the chair appoints one of the commissioners to conduct the hearing and give a recommendation. we can't do it after a couple of days. >> my suggestion is that perhaps another way to speed it up is that to have the hearing before a single commissioner. we are making a recommendation at the next meeting as to what should be done. >> if you want to do that on a voluntary basis, that is fine but i'm not a position to take that on a mandatory rotating basis. >> i think the chair can take care of that. >> thank you very much. >> i would like to hear from staff as well on this. it seems that given that all your doin

ms. johnson to step forward with kitty wong, who is a personnel analyst and a six year veteran with the agency. i had the opportunity to spend a good part of yesterday afternoon getting briefed on the personnel process and what it takes to do what in many workforces is a fairly simple task -- hire somebody. it turns out in the mta and city government, it is not that simple. between union rules, civil service rules, and our own rules, it is a very complex system. it was a window into the complexity for managing resources. the daunting challenge of managing a chart and the agency gives me an even greater importance to somebody behind the scenes working to make the process as smooth and equitable as possible. she supervises the division services unit within our h.r. department, which handles referrals and processing, which are basic elements of the hiring process. she is an expert in many aspects of the very complicated and convoluted rules, such as premium pay and above the entrance requirements. she hopes the managers of the department figure out how to work through the process, and to do so pr

ms. johnson: to strike the last word. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. the bill i am speaking on is the transportation and infrastructure committee bill. the secretary of transportation, who has served on this committee, has clearly explained what this bill and -- in its present form will do for this country. i know probably no one wants to quote this particular secretary who has had inside experience as well as outside experience, and he is very aware because he served on this committee during the time we worked in a bipartisan fashion. and we are talking about highways and because someone will put a lot more extra curricula, extraneous kind of stuff in this bill that doesn't relate to these highways, then -- but the progress that could have been made was really stymied by this very kind of propaganda and bad policy. the current transportation bill , offered by the majority, could invest in our nation's highways and -- won't invest in our nation's highways and kill jobs. we want to do something about the crumbling infrast

ms. johnson. and at this time if there are others who have opening statements, they'll be added to the record. and at this time i'd like to introduce our witness. dr. john holdren is assistant to the president for science and technology, director of the white house office of science and technology policy and co-chair of the president's council of advisers on science and technology. prior to joining the administration, he taught at harvard and was director of the woods hole research center chairman, as our witness should know, spoken testimony's limited to five minutes, but you're a very important and valuable witness, we'd be a little more lenient with that, with you, if you need such. and i say that, and if i didn't say it, ms. johnson would insist on it. so it's easier for me just to take that position too. so we're going to be fair with you, is what i'm trying to tell you. after that the members are going to have five minutes each to ask questions, and the chair is able to provide some flexibil

ms. johnson. i would just like to say, as much as the taxi world is very difficult, she has always been a professional. i wish her the best of luck going to los angeles. thank you. >> good afternoon. the people do not get it. your pr is a little bit strange. if you would like to change your image, and you have to make muni -- we have a team in order to -- safety is not the only problem. you can use a sound. when i was young, i heard it. i came here 25 years already. only one song, a million tourists. i look at -- they are using manpower to catch up. in china, you can hire 10 firefighters in china. they did the same job. they never complain about the benefits or anything like here. chairman nolan: thank you. ok. the next item is the citizens' advisory council report. i do not see mr. murphy. public comment, i believe. good afternoon. >> i did send an internal memo to the board. >> we have a number of speakers who wish to address the board. he was not first. >> i did send a memo expressing some of m

ms. johnson. i will call out the speaker cards that i have. we have the former director of the mayor's office on disability. >> good afternoon. i am speaking as a private citizen but a person with a disability that has a longstanding history for working on this. i have known christina for several years. through the bay area of the disabled sailors, and the boaters to work on the america's cup. i strongly endorse her candidacy here. i find her to be not just smart but thoughtful. she is not just a leader but an organizer. she is able to be a spokesperson for the disability community but does not presume to speak for everyone until she has spoken to the people. she is someone who has worked in many different contexts with many different type of people with disabilities. i also think that it is important, the questions you have asked are important to go to the issue that she is not as a candidate to represent the disability community, she would have responsibility in terms of governance. i think she would be a very appropriate and a good candidat

ms. johnson seens sees as she walks around her house. how are you feeling right now? >> miserable. we don't have any food. all of our food is gone. we've had to stay at a hotel every night. >> reporter: carol minor hopes her lights come back on by this weekend. >> oh my heavens, yes. >> reporter: crews are going to have to come out here and clear away all of these trees and then pepco is going to have to bring in some new power lines. the only thing folks out here want is power. in chevy chase near sicamore street. >> a new virus that could affect internet service on monday. >> a lot of parents upset about a new onesi. >> well, you'll see what >>> verizon is helping people without internet or phone service to get connected. tomorrow, a one e 100 foot mobile service center will be set up outside t.c. williams. people outside the trailer can access the web and make free phone calls. cable and internet providers say downed power lines are the main reasons customers are offline. >> tens of thousands of people could go offline monday because of a computer virus. the dns changer once inf

ms. johnson received her evangelicals calling and began her christian event -- evangelist our reach to the committee. i believe this shows her true hard as a christian. she worked with a community to begin a tradition of feeding the poor and needy before thanksgiving at the property where she lived. carmen has worked hard to continue this tradition which has taken place for more than 22 years. she has done work in community violence and has raised ostrich -- foster care children as well. she is a true example of someone who has followed the christian lessons of compassion. i am proud today to present both of you with these commendations for african-american history month. [applause] >> thank you. i am so honored on today. kind of a blessing and an honor to be part of this celebration of black history month. it is long time coming. i have been here before the supervisors board on many occasions fighting for housing and asking you to support which is supported us when we were about to lose our housing critic supported this recently when we were getting into rehabilitated. we just want to tha