Another GSA administrator has been put on leave, the eighth one so far, as more video of government employees go public. The scandal came to the public′s attention last week when it was learned that the Government Services Administration spent over $800,000 on a lavish party in Las Vegas for senior managers. Martha Johnson, the GSA Chief resigns as did David Foley and others. Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) will hold hearings next week with Brian Miller, the Inspector General of the GSA scheduled to appear amongst others. Naturally, the Barack Obama White House is blaming the scandal on the George W. Bush administration. But since Obama took office, the administrative costs of the GSA have exploded by a factor of six in just three short years.

GSA videos

As widely reported, the GSA is the nation′s broker, acting as a one-stop purchasing agency for everything from paper clips to computer networks. Private companies who have goods and services to sell will visit a GSA website, like FedBizOpps.gov, to learn what the government is looking to buy. Companies may also apply for a GSA contract, a lengthy and complicated process, and once approved will have their goods and services listed with pricing for all federal departments and agencies to buy from.

So a substantial amount of money flows through the GSA. Whenever that happens, you can expect there to be a good deal of waste and corruption, despite the objective of the GSA being to prevent either. For the most part, the GSA does succeed in getting good pricing for the goods and services needed by Uncle Sam.

The problem with the current scandal is that the General Services Administration is that it has begun to run amok thanks to the extra cash it receives from the Barack Obama White House. Its own operating budget has spiked from just over $300 Million under George W. Bush to nearly $2 Billion dollars per year under Obama. This is why events like that held in Las Vegas under the eye of former GSA chief, Martha Johnson, happened. We will learn more next week when Rep. Darrell Issa questions GSA Inspector General Brian Miller during hearings on Capitol Hill. But the latest videos which have surfaced show just how little GSA managers think of the taxpayers money they are spending.