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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DAG
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011
WWW.JUSTICE.GOV TTY
STATEMENT OF DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL JAMES M. COLE IN RESPONSE
TO OIG REPORT ON DEPARTMENT CONFERENCE COSTS
WASHINGTON – Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole today issued the following statement in response to the department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report on the department’s conference costs:
“The Attorney General will not tolerate wasteful or excessive spending of any kind. That is why, in 2009, Department leadership took steps to make reforms and ensure components were aware of spending policies to improve accounting and reporting requirements for conferences. And at the beginning of this year, the Attorney General issued a memo ordering the reduction of spending, including the suspension of all non-essential conferences. In fact, in the first six months of FY2011, overall conference spending has been reduced.
“We recognize that ongoing monitoring is necessary to ensure that components fully comply with department policies, and we will redouble our efforts in overseeing conference requests. Failure to comply with the Department’s policies is not acceptable.”
