Week in Review
Doan gives GSA a new shine
Talking to Lurita Doan for even a few minutes, one can tell that this is not Stephen Perry's General Services Administration. Just moments into Federal Computer Week¹s interview with the new administrator of GSA, Doan trumpeted, "I have the best job in government." Sure, the head of nearly every agency says that, but Doan is so passionate about her job and GSA that one believes her.
This job will undoubtedly be challenging for Doan, an entrepreneur who previously ran her own company. GSA is struggling with some big issues. But Doan's passion and focus are infectious. There is a very different feeling at 1800 F Street.
In her first month on the job, Doan has been more visible than her predecessor -- within GSA, with industry and with the press. She has a daily meeting with GSA's chief people officer to check on employees' concerns, she has been speaking with industry groups, and last week she sat down with us.
"Leadership matters," she said, and it is clear she believes she can help GSA be a better organization.
Other noteworthy news
The Homeland Security Department chose Roger
Rufe, a retired Coast Guard vice admiral, as its new operations chief.… NASA’s
supercomputer Columbia began assessing images of the space
shuttle Discovery to determine whether foam debris might have damaged
the shuttle during its launch July 4.… Lurita Doan, administrator
of the General Services Administration, said employee
buyouts should not be GSA’s first option for dealing with declining
revenue.… A new federal regulation gives agencies more flexibility
in deciding how to use earned value
management systems to track the health of their information technology
projects.… Raytheon acquired Virtual Technology, a modeling
and simulation company that makes software for the Defense Department’s
warfighter training.… Nine companies formed the HSPD-12
Interoperability Consortium to offer interoperable personal identity
verification cards, public-key infrastructures, middleware, card credential
management systems, and biometric and physical access systems for compliance
with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12.… The Department
of Veterans Affairs completed an IT acquisition study that it will use
in deciding whether to award a new contract for computer hardware and software
or use an existing governmentwide contract.… The Coalition
for Government Procurement said it wants GSA to eliminate restrictions
on how prime contractors bill the government for subcontractors’ work
when the agency solicits bids for IT products and services under the Alliant
program.… DHS completed the National
Infrastructure Protection Plan, which outlines policies and resources
for protecting critical infrastructure and facilities.… DOD has mishandled
the job of classifying secret documents because
of poor employee training and lack of coordination, the Government Accountability
Office reported.… Max Peterson, vice president of federal sales at CDW
Government, left the company, according to CDW-G, which declined to elaborate.… Agency
supervisors need better management training, said lawmakers and witnesses
at hearings on workforce
performance bills proposed by Sens. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Daniel
Akaka (D-Hawaii).… The House approved an appropriations bill amendment
that would block the use of taxpayer funds for implementing competitive
sourcing under the Office of Management and Budget’s three-year-old
revisions to Circular A-76.… Price, service and response time — rather
than established relationships with sales representatives — are the
most important factors in state and
local government IT purchasing decisions, according to a survey conducted
by software maker Citrix Systems.… DHS selected 25 companies for the
large-business portion of the agency’s IT acquisition program known
as Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for
Leading Edge solutions, or EAGLE.
For a collection of past weeks news, go to FCW.com's Online archive.