For the second year in a row, the General Services Administration has canceled its Training and Expo conference.
Increased fiscal strain on agencies, including reduced travel budgets, led the agency to this decision, according to its website.
“After careful review of projected attendance and continued travel budget reductions, GSA has made the decision to not hold an Expo in 2014,” GSA said on its conference website. “GSA remains committed to addressing the need for training and will identify the most effective way to offer Expo 2015 to deliver better value and savings for our government partners, our vendors and the American people.”
There has also been a change with the GSA SmartPay Training Forum. GSA announced on its website this year the conference will be held virtually. The virtual event will offer the chance for employees to take more than 100 training courses, earn CLP credit and interact with GSA, the contractor banks and other attendees.
Many of these cutbacks come after the Office of Management and Budget tightened the reins on agencies following a scandal involving a 2010 GSA conference in Las Vegas an agency audit found excessive. In 2012, OMB directed agencies to reduce travel spending by 30 percent and put a spending cap of $500,000 on conferences.
This news was first reported by Federal Times.
