Veterans group is disappointed in $5 million tab for two events.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has rescinded the purchasing authority of employees in the departmental division under investigation for two conferences that cost $5 million and may have involved inappropriate gifts. Shinseki also has set up a 90-day independent review of Veteran Affairs Department training policies, VA announced. 

In a statement released after news broke Monday that human resources employees at conferences in ,Orlando Florida in July and August 2011 may have accepted thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts that included alcohol, concert tickets and spa visits, the department also said it is conducting new ethics training for all personnel involved with the planning and execution of conferences and recertification of contract specialists.

“While the inspector general has stated that the conferences were for legitimate training purposes, that would not excuse the misconduct or poor judgment that is alleged of even a few individuals,” the department said in a statement on the Florida events.    full article