Obama panel probes stimulus waste -- at Ritz Carlton

[Rheo]

Washington Examiner:

Members of a key panel created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus bill, have scheduled a meeting on November 22 to consider ways to prevent "fraud, waste, and abuse of Recovery Act funds." The meeting will be held at the super-luxe Ritz Carlton Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona.

The group is the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, a sub-committee of the larger Recovery Accountability and Transparency board (sometimes known as the RAT board). The stimulus bill set up the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, or RIAP, to make recommendations to identify and prevent waste of the bill's $814 billion in stimulus spending.

"The purpose of the November 22, 2010 meeting is to allow the RIAP to have an open dialogue, with input from the public, on issues relating to fraud, waste, and abuse of Recovery Act funds," says a notice in the Federal Register. Specifically, participants in the meeting will discuss various techniques to detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse, as well as larger issues of transparency and public awareness. Portions of the meeting will be open to the public, while other parts will be closed.

And of course, there's one other element to the story: The board is holding a meeting in Arizona, home of the immigration law that President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have condemned and are challenging in court, and a state that is also the target of boycotts by a number of left-leaning groups and local governments around the country.

According to the Federal Register notice, members of the public who want to attend are instructed to send their comments to panel@ratb.gov and write "November 22, 2010 RIAP public comment" in the subject line.

[clearvision]

I'm sure these fine government workers will not be staying at the "Ritz" but at the nearby Comfort Suites... I'm also sure they will not be dining in the restaurant there, playing golf on the course and getting catered meals from one of the most expensive hotels in Phoenix.

 

Nope,I'm sure of it.

[AceRimmer]

I'm sure these fine government workers will not be staying at the "Ritz" but at the nearby Comfort Suites... I'm also sure they will not be dining in the restaurant there, playing golf on the course and getting catered meals from one of the most expensive hotels in Phoenix.

 

Nope,I'm sure of it.

 

If we ever needed proof that the RATS haven't gotten the message about last week...

[ErnstBlofeld]

They should hold it at the Watergate Hotel. The last time I was in Washington(many moons ago) it was falling apart.

Edited November 12, 2010 by ErnstBlofeld