WASHINGTON, DC-The General Services Administration’s Commissioner of Public Buildings Service, Bob Peck, has stepped down from his post following the release of a report from the agency’s Inspector General that criticized spending at a department event in Las Vegas in 2010. Also resigning in response to this report is the agency’s chief, Administrator Martha N. Johnson, and her top adviser, Stephen Leeds.
Four managers who organized the conference have been placed on administrative leave, according to news accounts. Johnson is being replaced by Dan Tangherlini, the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for management.
The 23-page report, released on April 2, 2012, noted that the total cost of the conference was $820,000 and that in many instances GSA did not follow federal procurement laws or its own policy on conference spending. In some cases, it said, the spending was “impermissible” with GSA employees conducting scouting trips, off site planning meetings, many of which took place at the venue, the M Resort, and a dry run for the conference.
Peck’s departure will leave a void in GSA’s real estate management division. This is his second stint at the agency following a period with Jones Lang LaSalle. Peck held the same role at GSA during the Clinton Administration.
As commissioner, Peck oversaw GSA’s portfolio of 362 million square feet of space in 9,624 assets across all 50 states, six US territories and the District. He also was instrumental in the agency’s move to a zero environmental footprint via green building innovation—an activity that won him an award from the District of Columbia Building Industry Association for his contributions to the city’s economic growth and quality of life and development.
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