WASHINGTON — May 4, 2012 – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — already the subject of controversy over its management of the nation’s fisheries, particularly in New England — Thursday found itself under additional fire, when it published an advertisement for a motivational speaker on the “magic of change” for an upcoming summer training conference.
NOAA officials pulled the ad later in the day, after several media reports cited the recent firestorm of criticism over a 2010 General Services Administration conference in Las Vegas, which had included the hiring of a clown and a mind-reader. Disclosure of the $823,000 taxpayer-funded GSA gathering last month resulted in the resignation of the GSA administrator, along with the firing of two top GSA officials.
“It’s outrageous that NOAA is advertising to hire a magician for an upcoming government conference,” declared Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., who has repeatedly criticized the agency’s management practices in recent months while demanding President Barack Obama fire NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco.
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