mr. neeley, as chairman mica already said, mr. neeley through his attorney refused to appear this morning. and miss lisa daniels, the event planner for public building service. if you'd join us at the table up front. i ask unanimous consent that our witnesses' full statement be included in the record without objection. so ordered. since your written testimony has been made part of the record, the subcommittee would request that you limit your oral testimony to five minutes. and as far as this committee today, we will be going by the strict five-minute rule. we have a lot of questions. this is going to be a very long hearing. we want to make sure we have as many opportunities to go through members' requests as possible. mr. miller, you may proceed. >> good morning, chairman denham. chairman mica. ranking member norton. thank you for inviting me here this morning. to testify about our report. i think everyone is familiar with the facts of our report. okay. and so i would simply ask that my written statement and the report itself be i

mr. neeley. the other thing i'll just note is that a lot more facts have come out since about what happened at that conference. but we certainly -- >> you still believe he deserved only a letter of reprimand? >> not based on what i know now. >> no, at the time. what you knew about the conference. you think deserved no more than a letter of reprimand? >> at the time we took it into account, i took it into account in his rating. i spoke to him p. i spoke to the other regional commissioners about conferences. i took other actions at that time given what we knew about what ha happened at the conference. particularly with respect to him. and we donate know a lot of other things about his travel expenditures, other things. we thought that that was an appropriate response. at that time it was kind of like a shot across the bow rather than -- >> thank you, mr. peck. chairman mica, before we do, in consulting -- we're three minutes over. in consulting with democrats in a bipartisan fashion, we have made t

mr. neeley, m it stops now. it was found death that his wife handled party details, ordering food at not their expense but at the expense of taxpayers. in one case, his wife reportedly impersonated a federal employee so she could join him in a private sector conference. the impression conveyed by these documents is that he and his wife believe they were agency royalty, using taxpayer funds to bankroll their lavish lifestyle. they disregarded one of the most basic tenets of government service. it is not your money. it is the taxpayers' money. some of my questions today will be about the inspector general recommendation to get some of that money back. i want to know how we can recoup that, including from mr. neeley and other gsa employees personally. i understand they may be examining his actions and that he intends to invoke the fifth amendment today. that is his right under the constitution, and the committee acts responsibly in respecting his decision. however, i do not support granting him community at this ti

mr. neeley what he was doing was wrong. mr. neeley should have known that from the beginning. it wouldn't have mattered if we had an agency director in place or not. we did have acting agency directors in place at the time. he can't stand by and say, oh, i did this because we didn't have an agency director. no. what he did was wrong. he knew it was wrong. logic dictates it was wrong and a reasonable person dictates it's wrong. i don't put much credibility on the issue is because congress failed to appoint a full-time agency director. we did have interim directors at the time all of which were charged with accountability for that office and none of which should be exonerated because they didn't exercise that accountability. host: martha johnson in her opening statement talked about she used to head up the g.s.a. under clinton. she left. she came back. she talked about the condition she found g.s.a. in and then what she did under her leadership. we'll take a look and then we'll get your reaction. >> by the time i was sworn in the sequence of four acting administrators had overse

mr. neeley, did you approve the funding for the 2010 western regional conference? >> mr. chairman, on the advice of my counsel i respectfully decline to answer based upon my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: former gsa administrator martha johnson made her first statement since these pictures, 2,400 square foot hotel suite showing where gsa vips stays in the las vegas resort during the agency's $820,000 convention. gsa video's mocked the easy spending policies in videos. >> i am extremely a grieved by the gall of a handful of people to misuse federal tax dollars, twist contracting rules and defile the great name of the general services administration. >> reporter: johnson said the white house did not ask her to quit, but she resigned on her own to symbolize the need for new leadership. >> i will mourn for the rest of my life the loss of my appointment. >> thank god this time what happened in vegas didn't stay in vegas. >> reporter: members of congress expressed outrage and asked why the official who planned the conference, who refused to testify today

mr. neeley di

not something mrs. neeley who does not work for the government should have. yesterday there was a small group protesting in clown suits pretending to be pining for a gig at a gsa party like the one in 2010. that was outside of the capital while inside the hearings made their way to the senate side. just like on the house side the day before they questioned whether or not the gsa is still a relevant agency. >> what is it about the structure of the gsa that leads us back to this scandal. fool me once, okay, but again and again? three administrations. >> republicans and democrats there has been abuse throughout the gsa over a number of decades. would it not be fair to ask has gsa out lived its usefulness as a federal agency? >> inspector general for the gsa who is being questioned thinks the gsa hadz lots of employees over 12,000 and many millions of dollars. odds are there are going to be some trouble makers like neeley. >> thank you so much peter. that's what bill o'reilly is talking about. he has been at the forefront taking a stand. >> specifically he says b

mr. neeley was legendary for his road shows. ♪ i have a road show like neeley ♪ every time he sees me rollingng chief of the gsa talked about how he is trying to clean up the agency. mike emanuel is live on capitol hill for us this evening. new revelations, one every day it seems like and lo and behold another one today, mikey. >> well, shep, sources say that it involves the neeleys. jeff and debra neeley. finding out just tonight that debra neeley apparently had her own parking space at a gsa facility in san francisco. the inspector general of the gsa gave us this preview a little earlier today. >> even today, we found out that the wife of the regional commissioner had a parking space throughout the entire year of 2012 at the federal building. >> >> as federal investigators make their case against the neeleys for this excessive spending at this las vegas conference. this is a taxable benefit, this parking space so this may add to their whoas. shep? >> shepard: the two men who testified today, mike are charged with trying to fix this agency. it sound like some on the hill are questioning whet

mr. neeley has the first down payment on you being commissioner for a day. >> exactly. >> we clearly have a lot more recruiting on guam. congratulations, man. proud of what you have done. >> maybe we all need government jobs. >> the real penalty is they all have to work with such awful other people. a horrible group to be around every day. >> honestly, though, aside from them who is going to find that funny? the whole country is in dire straights right now. people are unemployed, who is going to find it funny other than those guys? do you find it funny? >> no, i find it tragic. gsa employees would go awol and scouting. i don't think they are bad people. it's a system that has to be changed. we have to reign in the debt for our children. ice a serious problem. >> and the spokesperson for the president weighs in on augusta. how did tiger do today? does anyone know? i was watching him last week. he did really well. here's the thing. they don't allow women in the club s that okay? for example, if you had an all-jedediah bila golf club. >> it would be fun. >> you go out with a night out with y

mr. neeley, did you approve of the funding for the 2010 western regional conference? >> mr.n, on the advice of my council, i respectfully decline to answer based on my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> but the former evidence the gsa sounded much more accountable. >> i personally apologize to the american people as the head of the agency i'm responsible. i deeply regret this. i will mourn for the rest of my life the loss of my appointment. >> tomorrow morning first thing, a separate house committee takes over. the second of four hearings on this government agency this week. shep? >> shepard: mike emanuel on capitol hill, thanks. the u.s. is now warning the north koreans not to test a nuclear weapon. now that they have admitted last week's rocket launch was a big bust. the u.s. cancelled the food aid deal after the launch which violated u.n. resolution. state department officials say north korea should focus more on feeding its starving people and less on building weapons. just yesterday, north korea's new leader kim the younger gave his first public speech at a mi

mr. neeley a significant factor enabling him to continue his inappropriate actions for years?> congressman, it is a significant factor. they apparently had a very hostile environment and when someone spoke up, they were according to a witness squashed like a bug. >> the gsa inspector general says he's also looking into allegations of bribery and kickbacks within the agency. >> we'll bring in fox 5 political analyst mark plotkin for more perspective here. president obama's reaction that he'll be angry if the secret service story is true, is that a weak response, do you think? >> i don't think it's a weak response. it's a personal response. this is -- i worked in four presidential campaigns. i never witnessed anything like this. the secret service was almost a sacred institution, unimpeachable in their integrity and their methodical and good image and now it is being unbelievably marred and darrell issa who is investigating gsa will also be investigating the operations of the secret service. so once this almost mythical organization is now going to come under very, very serious

mr. neeley's personal possession. the subpoena from apple told us his daughter was downloading itunes and that sort of thing. ultimately, there were just so few controls and so little restrictions preventing people from even going into the store and taking things out that we could not tell for sure who stole what from that store. >> my time expired. i yield back. >> mr. peck, my anger and frustration have gotten to a boiling point. . . november 4th, we held a hearing on the l.a. courthouse for reagan requested the budget. december 7, written request once again on the administrative costs. february 9, we held another hearing to requested dbs administrative cost once again. march 20, another written follow-up letter of the december 7 requests. march 28 and we went to the administrative cost information received in the gsa to let you know how lackey not very topline, one-page buzz. march 22nd had another hearing reagan we asked for administrative cuts in march 30th this year, we had a staff meeting on the administrative

mr. hot tub jeff neeley who organized the gla conference in vegas that cost us nearly a million bucks. where they gave awards for videos like this one bragging about wasting taxpayer money. today the house voted to limit the number of government get aways and how much they cost. the bill also creates a web site where we can see how federal agencies are spending our money. the senate is working on a similar bill. >> well, apparently living with john edwards' mistress was no picnic. that's just some of what we heard today from the star witness at the former senator and presidential candidate's trial. edwards is facing 30 years in prison on charges of using campaign cash to cover up his affair with rielle hunter and their love child. edwards claims he didn't know about the payments. this all happened back when he was running for president and his wife elizabeth was dying of breast cancer. today andrew young was back on the stand. he is the former campaign staff who once pretended to be the baby's father. he says edwards told him hiding the affair important job on the campaign. young even

and the gsa official in charge of the lavish conference jeff neeley asserted his right to remain silent six times. >> mrchairman, i respectfully decline to answer any questions here today based upon my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: but neeley seemed less reticent about his vegas experience in these photos posted on his wife's google plus page. they appear to be enjoying a luxurious suite at the m resort, which hosted the conference during a scouting trip a year before. the conference cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. it drew bipartisan scorn. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, that's where there's frustration just steaming out our ears. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayer's money. >> reporter: taxpayers paid for black jack vests for conference leaders, and a commemorative coin and vegas book for all 300 attendees. today, former gsa administrator martha johnson, who resigned over the scandal, took responsibility. >> i personally apologized to the american people. >> republicans question the $9,000 bonus neeley was given last year while he was under inves

mr. hot tub jeff neeley could face criminal charges for the spending spree.news live at the white house. neeley is not the only one in hot water in this scandal, is he? >> absolutely, harris, unless you consider it no trouble to lose your job. it's led the director of the agency and her chief aid to resign and a number of other officials have been placed on drab leave. that leaves a leadership vacuum at the agency that's essentially the government's landlord. also made the president angry which is something you don't want to do if you are a federal worker. they say the overall crackdown on waste that's been successful controversial gsa conference 2010. jay carney said last year president obama tightened the rules on such conferences. >> the administration's everything stream line part of the president's broader campaign to cut waste initiative which is led as you noted by the vice president and which has already reduced costs by tens of billions of dollars by eliminating inefficient or unnecessary spending. >> carney says the vice president's group has also s

and the gsa official in charge of the lavish conference jeff neeley asserted his right to remain silent six times. >> mr, i respectfully decline to answer any questions here today based on my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: they appear to be enjoying a luxurious suite at the m resort which hosted the conference a year before. the conference cost taxpayers almost a million dollars. >> when you see this widespread abuse of money, that's where there's frustration just steaming out our ears. >> it's not your money. it's the taxpayer's money. >> reporter: taxpayers paid for black jack vests. today, former gsa administrator who resigninged over the scandal took responsibility. >> i apologize to the american people. >> republicans question the $9,000 bonus neeley was given last year while he was under investigation. >> how can you justify a bonus for somebody that you knew at the time of his bonus was at the center of this misconduct. johnson said neeley had performed well in other key areas skaen she didn't want to interfere with the investigation. she's n neeley's now on administrative

mr. weasel, in a vegas hotel room using a hot tub with a champagne chaser or two. and we pay for this. ah. i would be smiling, too huh, jeff? neeley also took trips to hawaii and south pacific. we hope they had hot tubs in both those places. mr. president, you are telling me i should pay more taxes so jeffrey can run around the world jumping hot tubs. is that what you are telling me? >> federal government needs to be down sized and reorganized. one thing after the other. if it isn't secret service chasing hookers, bankrupt solar energy companies or research studies that put shrimp on a treadmill. remember that? and that reminds me, neeley was the guy who okayed the $4 shrimp advertiser in vegas that so upset jon stewart. it is beyond galling to continue to pound the table for more tax dollars. education they want more money. the united states spends more than any other country on earth to educated students. jobs more money. green energy? more money. it never ends. i think god sent us jeffrey neeley. the deity allowed investors to uncover what that guy was doing. if american voters still don't understand the giant con that is going

mr. weasel, in a vegas hotel room using a hot tub with a champagne chaser or two. and we pay for this. ah. i would be smiling, too huh, jeff? neeley also took trips to hawaii and south pacific. we hope they had hot tubs in both those places. mr. president, you are telling me i should pay more taxes so jeffrey can run around the world jumping hot tubs. is that what you are telling me? >> federal government needs to be down sized and reorganized. one thing after the other. if it isn't secret service chasing hookers, bankrupt solar energy companies or research studies that put shrimp on a treadmill. remember that? and that reminds me, neeley was the guy who okayed the $4 shrimp advertiser in vegas that so upset jon stewart. it is beyond galling to continue to pound the table for more tax dollars. education they want more money. the united states spends more than any other country on earth to educated students. jobs more money. green energy? more money. it never ends. i think god sent us jeffrey neeley. the deity allowed investors to uncover what that guy was doing. if american voters still don't understand the giant con that is going

mr. chairman, on the advice of counsel i respectfully decline to answer based upon my fifth amendment constitutional privilege. >> reporter: jeff neeley is on his leave from his job. he quickly left capitol hill after the hearing. the western regions conference included a clown, a mind reader and has received tremendous attention with much of it captured on camera. neeley's wife's photos reveal the lavishly good time they had in las vegas. a leading democrat called the situation in defensivible and intolerable and read an e-mail sent suggested he invited friends to join in on the taxpayer funded fun. >> we'll get you guys a room near us and we'll pick up the room tab, could be a blast. >> reporter: the woman who recently resigned as gsa administrator who is accused of sitting on inspector general's report on the conference for 11 months offered this explanation how this event grew out of control. >> the western regions conference and economical training event in the late 1990s had evolved into a raucous extravagant arrogant self-congratulatory event thoughtly belittled federal workers. >> reporter: those -- that ultimately belittled f

neeley's wife's protos show a lavish time in las vegas. it was indefensible and intolerable. >> mr. neely and his wife they used tax payer funds to bank roelt their l-- brooij theiroll lifestyle. it's not your money. it's the tax payer's money. >> congressman elijah cummings written about vacations he took h with his wife. they had taken trips to hawaii and las vegas. photos of the laugh vish vacations were on her page. they had briberies and kickbacks with the agency. with that the possibility the justice department may launch a criminal investigation. it's not surprise neely kept so quiet yesterday. back to you. >>> it is time to look at who is talking. >> charles crowd hammer is talking and why it will be a flooeks on big government and hurt president obama. >> representative cummings what he said was quite interesting. he said it was a basic tenant of government that it is not your money. it's the tax payer's money. but he is making the point. it is human nature if you are spending other people's money you will be less care than you are your own. that's the central argument agai

we spotlighted gsa administrator jeffrey neeley taking more than 100 trips, including a hot tub junket to las vegas. so, mrent, you're telling me, i should pay more taxes so jeffrey can run around the world jumping into hot tubs. is that what you're telling me? federal government needs to be down sized and reorganized. but the gsa scandal is minuscule compared to the larger issue of government waste. joining us now from washington tom schatz. the citizens against government waste. give us the headlines, mr. schatz. >> the culture of waste is alive and well in washington, bill. we're spending more money than ever. over the past five years spending has gone up 27% under the obama administration. record deficits. record debt. and nobody is watching how the money is being spent. >> bill: all right. enough to convince me what you are saying is true. that's easy for you to say. i mean, give me some data to back it up. convince me what you are saying is that the government doesn't care about the tax dollars throwing. in throws it anywhere, shape or form. we have the gsa thing. that was uncovered by government aud

we spotlighted gsa administrator jeffrey neeley taking more than 100 trips, including a hot tub junket to las vegas. so, mre telling me, i should pay more taxes so jeffrey can run around the world jumping into hot tubs. is that what you're telling me? federal government needs to be down sized and reorganized. but the gsa scandal is minuscule compared to the larger issue of government waste. joining us now from washington tom schatz. the citizens against government waste. give us the headlines, mr. schatz. >> the culture of waste is alive and well in washington, bill. we're spending more money than ever. over the past five years spending has gone up 27% under the obama administration. record deficits. record debt. and nobody is watching how the money is being spent. >> bill: all right. enough to convince me what you are saying is true. that's easy for you to say. i mean, give me some data to back it up. convince me what you are saying is that the government doesn't care about the tax dollars throwing. in throws it anywhere, shape or form. we have the gsa thing. that was uncovered by government auditors. the