Editorial: Time well spent

It has been refreshing in recent months to hear from Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security Subcommittee. Coburn is a relatively new — but welcome — voice on government management issues.

Coburn was one of the main sponsors of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which was signed into law by President Bush last week. That law requires the government to create an easy-to-use Web site that will allow citizens to track the recipients of all contracts and grants. We have been big proponents of transparency, and we look forward to seeing how this legislation is implemented. The database legislation was an important action from Coburn, who has started to wade into government management issues. Most lawmakers show little interest in management issues. Those issues do not draw votes in re-election campaigns, and yet they are important because they are essential for good government.

That being said, we were a bit concerned when Coburn made comments about the amount of money agencies spend sending employees to conferences. Specifically, he praised the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency for issuing agency directives on how to reduce travel to conferences. Those directives emphasize greater use of e-mail and videoconferencing.

Coburn also cited examples of alleged waste, fraud or abuse.

Nobody favors waste. Coburn is playing a necessary role as a watchdog, and organizations that select conferences based on their locations rather than the content ought to be taken to task. Government employees should attend only conferences and training that can be justified.

But it is also important not to eliminate conferences as a venue for education and training, which too often is the first thing cut amid budget tightening. Because a conference is held at a nice location or government employees take a vacation day or two afterward does not mean the content is not worthwhile.

We should note that Federal Computer Week’s parent company, FCW Media Group, has an events business. That disclosure notwithstanding, conference and training are important for government employees. This week’s feature story on IT security training is just one example. Conferences can provide federal employees an opportunity to think in new and innovative ways and talk to other organizations about how they do business.

Education and training are touted as the way to effect change in organizations. In today’s world, where people are tied to their BlackBerries, there are too few opportunities to take a step back and look at how government conducts business. That is time well spent.