mr. tangherlini has some ideas about changes. you've heard my general recommendation ta we need to have a strong system where people are held accountable. regional people need to be held accountable and people need to manage. you can't legislate good management and good judgment. but you can try and put into place some systems where people do manage. and i'll let mr. tangherlini speak more about that. >> go ahead, offer your thoughts. >> thank you very much, senator. i think the inspector general described it very well. i think we need to look at the way we've structured the organization, look at their reporting lines of authority, and ask ourselves, is this structure that will ensure clear accountability. again, autonomy allows for the opportunity for a certain amount of innovation. the point though is that that innovation has to happen within the constraints of accountability so we know what's taking place. we have a shared view of what's taking place, that there are appropriate checks and balances so that nothing like this can

mr. tangherlini? >> i already, with only a couple of weeks of experience with the organization, already have strong indication that we need to centralize certain functions. late last week i took steps, administrative steps to centralize the finance function so that our chief financial officer of the general services administration actually served in that capacity straight out to the renals as well. from what i understood, the regions had some autonomous ability to once their budgets were allocated spend within those allocations. and so one of our initial moves is to make sure that that chief financial officer actually has visibility straight down into the expenditures at the regional level. there's a lot of work we have to to build the systems necessary to have visibility into the regional expenditures. we've also taken steps to consolidate the procurement oversight function, as well. and what we think we can do is continue to have some level autonomy so that there's innovation and that the regions ca

mr. tangherlini? >> he all right. >> good morning, chairman boxer, ranking member inhofe, members of the committee. good morning, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. while my report details what went wrong at gsa in connection with the person region's conference, i would like to take a moment to focus on what went right. impt the system worked, the excesses of the conference were reported by my office. were reported to my office by a high-hanking political appointee and our investigation ensued. no one prevented us from conducting that investigation or obstructed what turned out to be a lengthy investigation. as each layer of evidence was peeled back, we discovered that there was more to look into and so our investigation continued. while some have suggested that the investigation took too long to produce the final report, anyone familiar with law enforcement investigations understands that when you turn over one stone, you often find more stones that need to be turned over, as well. and m

mr. tangherlini coming in and suspending the 35 conferences that are scheduled. how are they even scheduled? how didn't you stop those conferences? i'm amazed that with a recommendation from mr. miller that more wasn't done to stop this over the last year. mr. miller, i want to go back to something you said. you're going to be exhausted by the end of this week. in fact, i assume all of you will be. i don't know that -- i'm a freshman, only been here for a year and a half, but i have not seen four committee hearings on any topic yet. but in yesterday's testimony, mr. cummings, congressman cummings asked you a question. it took nine months to investigate. 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 specificall

mr. daniel m. tangherlini. mr. tangherlini was kind enough to call me almost immediately after his appointment, and we look forward to your opening statement and in light of the first panel, and your listening to that, your comments on changes you anticipate. with that, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> good afternoon, chairman issa. >> i apologize. got to stick with the script. pursuant to the rules, all members will be sworn. would you please rise? do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? >> i do. >> let the record reflect, the witness answered in the affirmative. the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you. and good afternoon, chairman issa, ranking member cummings and members of the committee. my name is dan tangherlini, and i'm the acting administrator of the u.s. general services administration. i appreciate the opportunity to come before the committee today. first and foremost, i want to state that the waste a

mr. tangherlini, and this is transparency and sunshine is the best disinfectant for everything. err on the side of overgiving, just as my advice. and i yield back. >> thank you, mr. walz. >> i want to go back to this timeline. so this big extravagant trip takes place in october of 2010. there have already been nine different trips associated with it. ms. britta gets hired and she blows the whistle in november. the i.g. comes in. i.g. alerts you he's coming in. i.g. comes back with an initial document saying we have a problem here. he advises you to get a handle on the travel. then your chief of staff goes to the white house and lets them know there's an i.g. investigation going on regarding fraud and wasteful spending related to the western regions conference. then we have a new appointee, ruth cox, regional administrator for region nine. she's advised, get a handle on the regional commission. then in october of last year, and there are a number of other trips. i've looked at all the different trips that he has taken, and we are going to continue to investigate that as a separate

mr. tangherlini, on finding out how deep this goes. i appreciate the fact that you're doing an internal audit and going to share that with this committee. and i assume over the next couple of days or the next couple of hearings, especially with this investigation going on, when somebody does get fired, i'm sure we'll hear about it. i'd like to hear about it from you before i hear about it from the media. i assume when somebody goes to jail that will come from the doj. that will probably come from the press before we hear it from you. and i think a bigger issue here is what's -- what gets paid back? what are the taxpayers owed? i'd like to know who you're going after, what you're asking them to pay. and when they actually pay you the money, i'd like to know that too. mr. tangherlini, we're drafting legislation to obtain approval specifically for its administrative budget each year. we want to make sure there's transparency. we should have had this information a long time ago. but there's no reason taxpayers should not know where these e

mr. tangherlini to begin. mr. tangherlini. >> good morning, chairman dean ham, ranking member norton, my name is dan tangherlini, i'm the acting administrator of the u.s. general services administration. i appreciate the opportunity to come before the committee today. first and foremost i want to state that the waste and abuse outlined in the inspector general's report is an outrage and completely antithetical to the goals of the administration. the report details violations of travel rules, acquisition rules and good conduct. just as importantly, those responsible violated rules of common sense, the spirit of public service and the trust that america's taxpayers have placed in us. i speak for the overwhelming majority of gsa staff when i say we are shocked, appalled, and deeply disappointed by these indefensible actions as you are. we've taken strong action against those officials who are responsible and will continue to do so where appropriate. i intend to uphold the highest ethical standards at this agency inclu

mr. tangherlini? all right. >> good morning, chairman boxer, ranking member inhofe, members of the committee. good morning, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. while my report details what went wrong at gsa in connection with the person region's conference, i would like to take a moment to focus on what went right. impt the system worked, the excesses of the conference were reported by my office. were reported to my office by a high-hanking political appointee and our investigation ensued. no one prevented us from conducting that investigation or obstructed what turned out to be a lengthy investigation. as each layer of evidence was peeled back, we discovered that there was more to look into and so our investigation continued. while some have suggested that the investigation took too long to produce the final report, anyone familiar with law enforcement investigations understands that when you turn over one stone, you often find more stones that need to be turned over, as well. and most pe

mr. tangherlini, or have you done this, personal town halls with the gsa employees? it's my understanding that the good people there -- and you point to them -- are being forgotten. and that is the saddest, saddest, saddest thing. because my understanding -- and you can confirm this if i'm not correct -- that these current gsa employees following obama's directives, have saved more than $1 billion for taxpayers. am i right on that? >> they've helped us save $1 million by following -- >> i don't mean this. i mean by putting in energy efficiency. >> oh, right. yeah. >> and putting in better computing and printing. >> absolutely. the value proposition goes well beyond that when you start looking at what we do in terms of competing travel -- what we do in our procurement areas in terms of strategic sourcing. >> let's be clear here for the taxpayers to know. because of the president's directive to become efficient and save money, we have saved, is it fair to say, more than $1 billion for taxpayers? >> i think it's fair to say. >> okay. so, let's not lose that because that

mr. tangherlini?ll right. >> good morning, chairman boxer, ranking member inhofe, members of the committee. good morning, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. while my report details what went wrong at gsa in connection with the person region's conference, i would like to take a moment to focus on what went right. impt the system worked, the excesses of the conference were reported by my office. were reported to my office by a high-hanking political appointee and our investigation ensued. no one prevented us from conducting that investigation or obstructed what turned out to be a lengthy investigation. as each layer of evidence was peeled back, we discovered that there was more to look into and so our investigation continued. while some have suggested that the investigation took too long to produce the final report, anyone familiar with law enforcement investigations understands that when you turn over one stone, you often find more stones that need to be turned over, as well. and most peop

mr. tangherlini, senator or house member, and said go easy on this? >> uh, no. >> well, i want that clear. because we've got a chairman over in the house, who is saying that one of the senators is trying to stop this investigation. and that's an outrage. so i'm going to read in our close what the inspector general said. there's a glimmer of good news. the oversight system worked. my office aggressively investigated, audited, interv w interviewed and issued a report. no one stopped us from writing a report and making it public. and the whole ugly event is now laid bare for all to see. sunlight is said to be the best of disin fefectant. how true. so let it be clear, there is no senator or member of congress that is doing anything other than trying to get to the bottom of this. the two of you and, i have to say, miss britta, you're the good guys, the heroes in this. we should never forget that. we stand with you, and we will be with you every inch of the way. and don't let anyone stop you from doing the right thing here. because the days are over of thes

mr. tangherlini is trying to make sense of this. i know he's going to do a great job. he's watching you, so tell him -- give him your suggestion. >> mr. cummings, before i left the agency, i was discussing with 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 re

mr. tangherlini, i must say that i welcome the president's decision to bring you to the gsa, because i'm very familiar with your own record. as -- if you will forgive me, somewhat of a turn-around agent in government, because of the tough post you have had. first the president simply takes out the top of the agency, including the administrator who may not have been conversant, about what was happening below, but he did that. that's the way things are done in parliamentary democracies, in britain and in asia. but in our country, somehow we go beneath the top, and go after someone who had hands-on, as if the top has nothing to do with how the agency is run. i think that your experience running with the operational head with the district of columbia, running the operations of a big city and for that matter, of the metropolitan transit authority more than equips you to take on what needs to be done here. and you heard perhaps the administrator speak about how she felt the agency was in need of reforming. now, i can't imagine that you don't think so, as well. and maybe that you can continue w

mr. tangherlini, senator or house member, and said go easy on this? >> uh, no. >> well, i want that clear. because we've got a chairman over in the house, who is saying that one of the senators is trying to stop this investigation. and that's an outrage. so i'm going to read in our close what the inspector general said. there's a glimmer of good news. the oversight system worked. my office aggressively investigated, audited, interv w interviewed and issued a report. no one stopped us from writing a report and making it public. and the whole ugly event is now laid bare for all to see. sunlight is said to be the best of disin fefectant. how true. so let it be clear, there is no senator or member of congress that is doing anything other than trying to get to the bottom of this. the two of you and, i have to say, miss britta, you're the good guys, the heroes in this. we should never forget that. we stand with you, and we will be with you every inch of the way. and don't let anyone stop you from doing the right thing here. because the days are over of thes

mr. tangherlini and miss johnson about the structure of gsa, which are troubling in this regard. i'd like to ask mr. peck a question. mr. peck, there are many who have come to your defense. i have known you in this administration and a prior administrati administration. and so it's unusual for people to publicly speak well of someone who has had -- has encountered what you have, been discharged by the president. do you understand why the president took out the top of the agency, and do you believe that that was the right thing to do and the fair thing to do? >> i understand why he did it. and as i said in my testimony, it was on my watch. i was brought up in a military family. i was an army officer. and i subscribe to the axiom that someone in charge is responsible for everything their organization does or fails to do. >> yeah, i just want that on the record. the way in which -- normally in this country it doesn't operate the way it does in parliamentary democracies, where the top resigns somehow in our country often only people who have hands-on but not direct authority are the o

mr. tangherlini. i know there's going to be a number of questions about what you're implementing today and the reassurances you can give to the american public that you have put the safeguards in place to address this. i want to just touch on before we get started with the questions. what is being done on transparency? you heard -- i've been asking this committee has been asking for quite some time for a budget for the last five years. i assume that is something that you have readily available today. how long will it take to you get that to this committee? >> i have your letter of april 13th, you have given us an april 25th deadline. i intend to meet that deadline. >> five-year budget? full details. full disclosure. >> all of the information we can get. as you heard today, there are serious concerns about the way the data has been managed within the regional structure. but i'll get you everything i can. >> you are also doing an internal audit right now? the i.g. is still doing an audit or investigatio

mr. tangherlini. it's been a year and a half. we asked, sent letters to the committee, we demanded. kwhie are you hiding this information from this committee and the american public. >> mr. chairman -- >> you're not hiding it? you don't have the information? >> mr. chairman, i don't have access anymore to either your letters demanding information or our response. what i recall is that in december, this past december the committee asked for detailed information about overhead costs of the pbs nationally, the pbs headquarters in washington and the dmicommissioner's office. i believe we responded to that in february or march. there were a number of conversations had amongst my staff and -- >> were there details of these conferences? >> sir, i don't believe that -- again, not having access to what you asked, i don't know if that was covered. i believe the requests were for spending on things like travel and training. >> did you give us any information on travel and training? >> as i said, mr. chairman, i no longer have access to what we gave you or not. but i believe we gave you an answe

mr. tangherlini to restore faith in the agency. not only to members of this committee but also to colleagues in other government agencies and more importantly to the american taxpayer. i look forward to answering any questions you may have. >> good morning, chairman denham, chairman mica, ranking member norton, and members of the subcommittee. my name is alison doone, and i am the chief financial officer of the general services administration. i appreciate the opportunity to come before the committee today. i have served as the gsa cfo since december 27th, 2010. before arriving at gsa i served at the internal revenue service for five years as the cfo and deputy cfo, where i oversaw the financial management and accounting operations for a $12 billion budget and $2.3 trillion in tax revenue. i also have a held executive positions as deputy staff director and cfo of the federal election commission and deputy assistant administrator at the office of finance at the drug enforcement administration. until the acting administrator's recent

mr. tangherlini is trying to make sense of this and i know he's going to do a great job. e's watching you, so give him your suggestion. >> mr. cummings, before i left the agency of stressing with ms. doone and far right and doing what it mr. tangherlini is doing and providing more control over the financial operations of the region. that's one. to come out of 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're spending on the scene. for working hard to get numbers down because they're in the billions of dollars they could exercise her savings. >> s. res. conferences, you would have absolutely nothing to say about a person your position? >> unless someone brought something to my attention about their something out of line, i would not generally be supervising where and when regional congresses or have been. >> very well. as i listen to you, i think he made it sound like he played a very lightweight role

mr. daniel tangherlini is a no-nonsense leader from the u.s. department of the treasury who aims to clean up this mess. this is not the first episode of misconduct at the gsa. the carter administration uncovered one in 1978 and 1979 when a nationwide investigation noose long-standing corruption resulted in prosecutions for bribery, for fraud, and protections for whistleblowers in the agency. then there was more misconduct during the bush administration. the first occurred when the chief of staff to the gsa administrator traveled with jack abramoff to scotland even though mr. abramoff had business before the gsa. in 2011, this chief of staff went to prison. in 2006, the bush appointed gsa administrator steered a contract to a friend and. and in 2007, she organized a political call with 30 appointees to, quote, help her friends win their elections. that violated the hatch act. the administrator repeatedly clashed with the inspector general, this inspector general in one report comparing his enforcement efforts to quote, terrorism, unquote. she re

mr. tangherlini and ms. johnson, very troubling in this regard. i'm like to ask mr. peck a question. mr. peck, there are many who have come to your defense. i have known you in this administration and in a prior administration. um, and so it's unusual for people to publicly speak well of someone who has had, has encountered what you have, been discharged by the president. do you understand why the president took out the top of the agency, and do you believe that that was the right thing to do and the fair thing to do? >> i understand why he did it, and as i said in my testimony, i was -- it was on my watch. i was brought up in a military family, i was an army officer, and i subscribe to the axiom that someone in charge is responsible for everything their organization does or fails to do. >> yeah. i just want that on the record. the way in which -- normally many this country, it doesn't operate the way it does in parliamentary democrats where the resigns somehow many our country often, only people who have hands-on but not direct authority are the ones held culpable. so i can understa

mr. daniel tangherlini is a no nonsense leader from the u.s.department of the treasury who aims to clean up this mess. this is not the first episode of misconduct at the gsa. the carter administration uncovered one in 197 and 1979 when a nationwide investigation noose long-standing corruption resulted in prosecutions for bribery, for fraud, and protections for whistleblowers in the agency. then there was more misconduct during the bush administration. the first occurred when the chief of staff to the gsa administrator traveled with jack abramoff to scotland even though mr. abramoff had business before the gsa. in 2011, this chief of staff went to prison. in 2006, the bush appointed gsa administrator steered a contract to a friend and. 2007, she organized a political call with 30 appointees to "help her friends win their elections." that violated the hatch act. the administrator repeatedly clashed with the inspector general, this inspector general in one report comparing his enforcement efforts to "terrorism." she resigned in 2008. and now here

mr. tangherlini? >> he all right. >> good morning, chairman boxer, ranking member inhofe, members of the committee. good morning, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. while my report details what went wrong at gsa in connection with the person region's conference, i would like to take a moment to focus on what went right. impt the system worked, the excesses of the conference were reported by my office. were reported to my office by a high-hanking political appointee and our investigation ensued. no one prevented us from conducting that investigation or obstructed what turned out to be a lengthy investigation. as each layer of evidence was peeled back, we discovered that there was more to look into and so our investigation continued. while some have suggested that the investigation took too long to produce the final report, anyone familiar with law enforcement investigations understands that when you turn over one stone, you often find more stones that need to be turned over, as well. and m