That Swedish meatball would cost a lot more now.
In 2005 40.2, 2006 45.9, (2007 congress didn't inquire,) 2008 47.8 & 2009 73.3....
They certainly indulge themselves!
The cost of muffins & brownies is worse..page 33.
We credit the EOIR for generally complying with JMD refreshment price limits by limiting the number of food and beverage items served and deciding to only serve refreshments and not full meals at its 5-day conference. However, with service and gratuity charges, the refreshments served were very expensive. According to conference invoices that detail the price of food and beverages,
the EOIR spent $4,200 on 250 muffins and $2,880 on 300 cookies and brownies. By itemizing these costs, with service and gratuity, muffins cost over $16 each and cookies and brownies cost almost $10 each.
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Department of Justice (DOJ) components host and participate in conferences to work with officials from other DOJ and federal entities, state and local law enforcement agencies, Native American and Alaskan Native tribes, and non-profit organizations. A DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) audit issued in September 2007 examined expenditures for 10 major DOJ conferences held between October 2004 and September 2006.1 The audit found that DOJ had few internal controls to limit the expense of conference planning and food and beverage costs at DOJ conferences. We identified several conference expenditures that were allowable but appeared to be extravagant. For example, one conference had a luncheon for 120 attendees that cost $53 per person, and another conference had a $60,000 reception that included platters of Swedish meatballs at a cost of nearly $5 per meatball. The audit further found that DOJ components permitted event planners to charge a wide array of costs for logistical services, such as venue selection and hotel negotiations. We made 14 recommendations intended to help the Justice Management Division (JMD) and other DOJ components implement stronger oversight of conference expenditures. In response to these recommendations, JMD implemented guidelines in April 2008 that established DOJ-wide conference food and beverage spending limits based on meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) rates set by the General Services Administration (GSA).
Since 2008, DOJ appropriation acts have required that the Office of the Attorney General report conference costs quarterly.2 For fiscal years (FY) 2008 and 2009, DOJ reported that it hosted or participated in 1,832 conferences. As shown in the exhibit below, the reports detailed that the conference activity over these 2 years cost a total of $121 million.
DO SOMETHING!
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