RENO, Nev. – Thursday, it was George’s mansion; Friday it was Val and Paul’s house. 

The day after President Barack Obama joked around with movie star George Clooney at a high-dollar dinner, he sat down in Val and Paul Keller’s kitchen to talk about how they reduced their monthly mortgage payments by taking advantage of a program to help responsible homeowners refinance their mortgages.

The trip to Reno – the only official event on an otherwise fundraising-heavy West Coast swing – was meant to highlight the administration’s efforts to expand access to refinancing and to push the president’s five-point Congressional “to-do” list.

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Speaking outside the Kellers’ home after meeting with them privately, the president first touted the measures he implemented last fall to help homeowners who are current on their government-sponsored loans but had fallen behind because their homes were underwater (their values dropped below what owners owed on them).

He noted the Kellers were beneficiaries of that program but added that it could only help people with government-sponsored loans, the most the president could do without getting the program passed through Congress.

“We want to include everybody; people whose mortgages aren't government-backed. And in order to do that we've got to have Congress move,” he told a crowd of the Kellers’ neighbors seated outside their home.

Three Democratic-sponsored bills on homeownership will be introduced next week, one of which would help those with non-federal loans to save more money through refinancing, exactly what Obama called for on Friday.

He added that Congress should also remove more regulatory barriers for responsible homeowners, including costs for manual appraisals, which aren’t always necessary to determine whether a homeowner is eligible for refinancing, as well as pass a bill that would give homeowners the option of refinancing into lower monthly payments or funneling those savings into rebuilding equity in their homes.

“There’s absolutely no reason why they can’t make this happen right now. If they started now, in a couple of weeks, in a month, they could make every homeowner in America who is underwater right now eligible to be able to refinance their homes -- if they're making their payments, if they're responsible, if they're doing the right thing.”

The visit to the Keller’s followed two fundraisers in Seattle in addition to the Clooney dinner.

Earlier Friday morning, the president played basketball with Clooney and actor Tobey Maguire. Asked on the rope line who won the game, the president responded, “"As you might expect, George and I won.” But he quickly added, “I think we are all winners ‘cause no one got hurt."

Obama did get hurt in a Nov. 26, 2010, post Thanksgiving basketball game with family and friends. He needed 12 stitches after Rey Decerega, a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute aide, elbowed him in the lip.

Earlier: Day after supporting gay marriage, back to fundraising for Obama

The head of the U.S. agency that provides products and services to support the federal government resigned Monday, after the agency’s inspector general reported excessive spending at a training conference in Las Vegas that included line items such as "mind reader," and "clown," according to a story first reported by The Washington Post.

GSA administrator Martha Johnson tendered her letter of resignation to the White House Monday and two of her deputies were forced out — Public Buildings Service chief Robert A. Peck and Johnson's top adviser, Stephen Leeds, White House officials told the Post. Four GSA employees who organized the four-day conference have been placed on administrative leave pending further action.

The report released Monday by the inspector general details the outlays at a GSA training conference for 300 employees held at a luxury hotel near Las Vegas in October 2010 that cost more than $835,000.

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The costs included $147,000 in airfare and rooms at the hotel for six planning trips by a team of organizers. They also paid $3,200 for a mind reader and $75,000 on a training exercise to build a bicycle and $6,300 on commemorative coin sets.

In her resignation letter, Johnson said that the agency had made a "significant mis-step," in which "taxpayer dollars were squandered." She said she had launched an internal review, taken disciplinary action and instituted tough new controls to prevent similar problems in the future.

She resigned, "so that the agency can move forward at this time with a fresh leadership team," according to her letter.

Johnson was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as head of the GSA on Feb. 5, 2010.

The GSA manages contracts for government needs such as transportation, office space and communications. It is also tasked with developing cost-minimizing policies for the federal government.

White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew said in a statement that President Obama learned of the inspector general’s findings prior to his recent trip to South Korea, "and he was outraged by the excessive spending, question questionable dealings with contractors, and disregard for taxpayer dollars."

"He called for all those responsible to be held fully accountable given that these actions were irresponsible and entirely inconsistent with the expectations that he has set as president," the statement said.

The Repulican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee responded to the news with a statement linking the spending scandal to administration policies.

"After President Obama lectured the private sector about not wasting funds on Las Vegas conventions, it's hypocritical that such a large agency with critical management responsibilities across government would hold this luxurious conference at the height of the recession and even spend thousands on custom made coins touting the stimulus," said a statement from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. 

"Employees congratulating themselves and promoting one of the most politically controversial initiatives of this Administration with taxpayer funds is indicative of the waste that exists in a bloated federal government."

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