Goodlatte Applauds DOJ’s Efforts to Rein in Lavish Conferences and Calls for More Action

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today issued the statement below on the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General report on DOJ’s efforts to scale back spending on conferences during sequestration. In its report, the IG found that DOJ’s overall conference spending fell from almost $92 million for 1,740 events in Fiscal Year 2010 to less than $20 million for 445 events in Fiscal Year 2014. Although conference spending dropped, the IG identified multiple instances in which the costs of individual conferences exceeded the events’ estimated costs. Chairman Goodlatte: “I am pleased that the Department of Justice and its components have taken steps to rein in wasteful spending during these tough budgetary times. With our national debt over $18 trillion dollars, there is no excuse for the people’s government to waste their hard-earned taxpayer dollars on lavish conferences. “While the Justice Department has taken a good step in the right direction to stop wasteful spending, the Inspector General’s report makes it clear that more can and must be done. Since I became Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, it has been one of my priorities to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely and efficiently at the Justice Department. We will continue to keep a watchful eye on the Department’s use of taxpayer dollars.” Background: In April 2013, the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on wasteful and duplicative spending at the Department of Justice. Chairman Goodlatte outlined several examples of waste at DOJ in an op-ed in Politico.