SAN FRANCISCO — On the heels of the scandal surrounding one government agency’s lavish Las Vegas-area conference, federal judges in the western US circuit are catching flak from Congress for a planned Maui getaway that could cost taxpayers more than $1 million.
The Maui meet-up is scheduled for August under the banner of the 2012 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, and will include judges, attorneys, staff and “special guests” from various federal courts spread across nine western states — including judges on the California-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
While in Hawaii, the guests are scheduled to stay in the upscale Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa. And they will have the chance to kick back with an array of recreational activities — sport fishing, golf, paddle-board lessons, yoga, Zumba, even a floral design workshop.
The official website for the conference stresses that “government funds are not used for any recreational or sporting activities.”
But Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), in a letter to Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, called the activities “unrelated to the business of the court” and questioned whether the Ninth Circuit really needed to ship everyone out to the islands.
A statement from the senators estimated the trip could cost more than $1 million — pegging the cost of accommodations alone at more than $500,000.
The government also provides a per diem, which starts at a base level of $289 according to the conference website.
The resort features a full-service spa, a salon, 1,800 feet of beachfront property, two pools with waterfalls, a rope bridge and an outdoor whirlpool.
The Republican senators, in their letter, referenced the scandal over the General Services Administration conference in Las Vegas, which cost taxpayers more than $800,000.
In a statement, Grassley said “a judicial circuit court should be capable of using technology to share information without requiring a trip to an island paradise.”
“It’s especially tone-deaf to plan a pricey conference after the GSA debacle. The taxpayers can’t sustain this kind of spending, and they shouldn’t have to,” he added.
A representative with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has not returned a request for comment.
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