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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>This woman was a total piece of work. I am hopeful that she will be prosecuted for this mismanagement, although I confess I have no idea what statute applies. In the meanwhile, she seems to have hit the mark throughout her tenure.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Bannister Complex Controversy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>In a letter to Martha Johnson dated November 30, 2010, Missouri Senators <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Bond" title="Kit Bond">Kit Bond</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claire_McCaskill" title="Claire McCaskill">Claire McCaskill</a> and Representative <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emanuel_Cleaver" title="Emanuel Cleaver">Emanuel Cleaver</a> assert that GSA Public Buildings Service employees failed to ensure and maintain a safe working environment for employees and tenants at the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannister_Federal_Complex" title="Bannister Federal Complex">Bannister Federal Complex</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City,_Missouri" title="Kansas City, Missouri">Kansas City, Missouri</a>. The letter directed Martha Johnson to take the appropriate steps to identify those responsible for the lax safety culture at the Bannister complex and take the appropriate steps to hold those individuals accountable.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-14">[15]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-15">[16]</a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The letter came after three weeks of phone calls and e-mails from NBC Action News in Kansas City to GSA media contacts. Despite numerous requests from NBC Action News for an interview with Martha Johnson regarding the health concerns at the Bannister complex, Johnson failed to respond to the requests for interviews. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act" title="Freedom of Information Act">Freedom of Information Act</a> (FOIA) request turned up documents that indicated senior GSA officials knew of the health concerns, including a list of more than 100 sick and dead former employees of the complex; however, senior GSA officials originally denied knowledge of the information.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-16">[17]</a></sup> Emails later obtained by NBC Action News proved that high level Public Buildings Service officials had actually obtained the list of sick and dead former employees three months before the NBC investigation began. In a later FOIA request from NBC Action News, GSA also withheld a letter from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources that was critical of the GSA’s investigation into contamination near a day care center at the Bannister complex. After weeks of requests for interviews, Martha Johnson failed to comment on the situation regarding GSA's withholding of information or the subsequent Inspector General report that indicated GSA officials misled employees about health concerns at the Bannister Complex.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-17">[18]</a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Additional investigations revealed that GSA paid $234,000 to a Kansas City public relations firm to manage negative publicity that GSA was receiving as a result of mismanagement of the investigations into the Bannister complex. As a result, Senator Claire McCaskill announced that she would launch an investigation into the use of tax dollars used by federal agencies to hire public relations consultants to “spin” their images. In a November 2010 letter to Martha Johnson, Senator McCaskill reminded GSA that "publicity experts" cannot engage in "publicity and propaganda" unless authorized by Congress and requested a detailed report of the government's use of these services.<sup><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-18">[19]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-19">[20]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-20">[21]</a><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson#cite_note-21">[22]</a></sup><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_N._Johnson</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Rose Huskey<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Wayne Price<br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, April 02, 2012 4:27 PM<br><b>To:</b> Moscow Vision 2020<br><b>Subject:</b> [Vision2020] And we're going to buy a building off these folks?<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><br><span class=apple-style-span>US agency chief quits after reports of lavish spending</span></span></b><span class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Published April 02, 2012<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=org><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>| Associated Press</span></span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The head of the federal agency that oversees supplies, transportation and office space for the federal government has resigned following reports of lavish spending at a Nevada training conference in 2010.</span></span><o:p></o:p></p><div><div id=introduction><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Martha Johnson, who led the General Services Administration, has submitted her resignation as the agency's inspector general prepares to release a report on the training conference outside Las Vegas.</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Washington Post reports that organizers spent $835,000 on the event, which was attended by 300 employees. Some of the expenses included $3,200 for a mind reader, $6,300 on a commemorative coin set and $75,000 on a training exercise to build a bicycle.</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/topics/us/white-house.htm#r_src=ramp"><span style='color:#183A52;text-decoration:none'>White House</span></a> chief of staff Jack Lew says the White House "acted quickly to determine who was responsible for such a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars."</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Like nancy Regan said: "JUST SAY NO"</span><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Same agency that wants "local" taxing agencies to commit 10% (non-refundable) of the bid price and NOT tell the tax payers what the building cost?</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>And note, not jailed, not fired, she "quit".</span><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></body></html>