A stay at a quaint inn nestled in the woods of Virginia. A visit to
the lovely Harvard campus in Massachusetts. A trip to the ski slopes in
the mountains of Colorado.
All on the taxpayer's dime.
In
fact, over four years the federal government spent $57 million to send
top-level executives to training sessions — often hosted by private
organizations at comfortable locales. The hope was that those at the top
echelons of government would be able to improve their skills, hone
efficiency and become better managers.
But federal investigators
say few agencies questioned whether the training sessions were worth it
and whether the executives were actually learning anything that applied
to their jobs.
"The cost of these training sessions has raised
questions about the value they provide to the federal workforce," the
Government Accountability Office, Congress' watchdog arm, said in a
report released this week.
The departments collect feedback from
executives on how to improve the meetings, but few have followed federal
statutes requiring them to look at whether the training meetings are
helping the executives be better government employees.
"A majority
of agencies do not have a formal process for evaluating the impact of
training on the agency's performance goals and mission," the GAO said.
For
letting top executives take expensive trips without having any idea
whether the excursions benefit taxpayers, the federal government's
various agencies and departments win this week's Golden Hammer, a
distinction given by The Washington Times to examples of fiscal waste,
fraud, abuse or mismanagement.
The $57 million is a guess from filed federal reports, but the GAO noted
that "agencies lack complete and reliable data on the cost of external
executive training and are likely underreporting costs." Several
agencies did not report travel expenses or the costs of course
materials, investigators said, noting that it has been seven years since
agencies were required to report their actual expenses for the
conferences.
(Click link below to read more)
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About Me

- Judy Chaffee
- This site is the inspiration of a former reporter/photographer for one of New England's largest daily newspapers and for various magazines. The intent is to direct readers to interesting political articles, and we urge you to visit the source sites. Any comments may be noted on site or directed to KarisChaf at gmail.
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