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Report: Big-ticket conferences cost taxpayers $340 million

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    Peter Doocy reports from Washington, D.C.

  • Duration 2:49
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We know it happens in Vegas stays in Vegas right except when it doesn't.

Doesn't work out bailout remember the 800000.

Dollars that you spent city's government employees to party and drink wine and attack other.

800000.

Dollars in taxpayer money pretty amazing right that's in new numbers are showing that Uncle Sam spent actually much -- -- that.

I'm conferences.

For a lot of different government departments sat here alone.

Peter this is live in Washington -- so how much taxpayer money was spent on conference is just last year.

More than 340 million dollars Martha and that's just the number that you get.

If you add up the 894.

Conferences that cost more than 100000.

Dollars each and that's because the house oversight committee isolated these so called big ticket events and they found.

The Defense Department.

Spent almost 89 million dollars on conferences in 2012 about 783 million at the Department of Veterans Affairs roughly 59 million.

At the Justice Department and 56 million at the Department of Health and Human Services.

The chairman of the house oversight committee is now saying these conferences cost a lot but attendees don't do very much.

We looked at some of the things the money was spent on in some cases it was spent just like the GSA sort of on -- motivational activity and and so on.

And so you looked and said wait a second they call it team building and and the like.

One of the problems is if you do this locally in -- usual round facility and you pay for you know.

Brown bag lunches you can do this for a few hundred or couple thousand dollars.

And remember that -- sequestration.

Kicks in spending on everything and an agency's budget will be cut by the same percentage so at the DOD for example they'll lose equal percentages for these conferences.

As more essential programs.

So is 2.3 percent of 89.

Million dollar budget on conferences.

But it is.

It's just equal percentages of everything so some of some congressmen -- arguing these converts is not as essentials other parts.

Maybe load up on some of the cuts there but that's not the way that it works right now.

And lawmakers what -- at a depending on best.

There is a democratic congressman from New Jersey Martha Rush Holt who is also a physicist and he testified yesterday that scientists like him need comfort.

-- Firsthand how important scientific conferences and meetings are the informal conversations as well as the former formal presentations.

That go into a conference.

Lead to real collaboration these are not fancy -- And congressman holt thinks the federal government should spend more money.

On conferences my -- -- in the conference room down the hall with the brown bag as allies has suggested.

Boy thanks -- unbelievable they're certainly.

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