Staying in Vegas

Last year, as the recession deepened, some federal agencies decided that in an effort to keep up appearances, they would avoid Las Vegas and other tourist hotspots as meeting destinations. Lawmakers representing those hotspots were not pleased. They declared that government was damaging local economies by discriminating against certain locations on the grounds they were fun.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was particularly annoyed. "Now more than ever, taxpayer dollars need to be spent wisely and should maximize benefit to the government," he wrote in a July 2009 letter to agencies. "By following these principles -- and ignoring ill-conceived biases or perceptions about resort destinations -- our government decision makers will serve the interests of all taxpayers, and Nevada will receive its deserved share of meeting-and-convention business from federal agencies."

The Census Bureau apparently heeded Reid's message, because last month the agency sent 140 managers to Sin City for a series of meetings that cost a total of more than $100,000, according to a Foxnews.com report. And look what it got them: A ripping from another lawmaker. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., told CBS4 Denver it looked like "these folks took a vacation and they took it at taxpayer expense. I mean, I think it's the equivalent of theft."

Census Bureau officials defended the trip, saying it was important for managers to get together in person to discuss lessons learned from the recent census (which they say came in at $1.6 billion less than expected), and Vegas is cheaper than a lot of other locations in the region.