Congresswoman Shelley Berkley

(July 27, 2009 -- Washington, D.C.) In a letter to the President, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and Congresswoman Dina Titus today urged an end to directives put in place during the Bush Administration limiting travel to Las Vegas and other select destinations by government agencies and federal officials. The letter comes in response to media reports of policies put in place between 2006 and 2008 that have prevented events from being held in locations like Las Vegas that are seen as too “leisure” or “resort” oriented. The Berkley-Titus letter calls for elimination of any remaining restrictions still in place from the Bush era.

“Government travel for meetings, conferences and seminars is an important source of economic activity for many communities throughout the United States, and every destination should have an equal and fair opportunity to host federal meetings and events. The federal government should make meeting location decisions based on factors such as overall cost, meeting facility space, and the quality of services provided in a particular city, convention facility or hotel,” the letter states.

“Therefore, we respectfully request that you issue a directive clearly stating that federal departments may not ‘blacklist’ certain cities, either officially or unofficially, but must instead choose locations for conferences and meetings based on cost, value and quality of services. Under those criteria, the meeting and convention facilities in our Southern Nevada districts would be able to offer significant savings to the U.S. taxpayer while providing unequaled services,” the Congresswomen wrote.

We are greatly disturbed by recent reports that, between 2006 and 2008, several federal departments began issuing directives banning government meetings and conferences in specific U.S. cities out of concern that these destinations are viewed as too leisure- or resort-oriented. If true, these allegations call into question the wisdom of federal agency decision making and contradict statements that have already been made by officials in the White House. Such “blacklisting” of specific destinations could result in a waste of taxpayer dollars and is counterproductive to ongoing efforts to strengthen the American economy.

Government travel for meetings, conferences and seminars is an important source of economic activity for many communities throughout the United States, and every destination should have an equal and fair opportunity to host federal meetings and events. The federal government should make meeting location decisions based on factors such as overall cost, meeting facility space, and the quality of services provided in a particular city, convention facility or hotel. Private businesses and corporations often follow the government’s lead on such issues. It is vital the government set a sensible example.

Therefore, we respectfully request that you issue a directive clearly stating that federal departments may not “blacklist” certain cities, either officially or unofficially, but must instead choose locations for conferences and meetings based on cost, value and quality of services. Under those criteria, the meeting and convention facilities in our Southern Nevada districts would be able to offer significant savings to the U.S. taxpayer while providing unequaled services. We must not waste taxpayer dollars or hurt cities that substantially depend on government and business travelers to support their communities.

BERKLEY, TITUS URGE WHITE HOUSE TO END BUSH-ERA DIRECTIVES AGAINST TRAVEL TO LAS VEGAS, OTHER DESTINATIONS