Senator places hold on procurement nominee

A Senate Democrat wants to question David Safavian about his views on government contracting before allowing the full Senate to consider confirming him as the Office of Management and Budget's next federal procurement administrator.

Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., placed a hold on Safavian, nominated by President Bush in November 2003 to succeed Angela Styles as the head of OMB's Office of Federal Procurement Policy, in the hopes of arranging a meeting with him, said spokesman Tom Gavin Wednesday. Byrd, Gavin said, would like to discuss what he sees as the "shortsightedness" of the Bush administration's competitive sourcing initiative-a program aimed at allowing tens of thousands of contractors to compete for federal jobs.

Since the White House "adopted a policy promoting the contracting out of government services," the senator has tried to meet with each nominee for positions in this area, Gavin said. Byrd delayed Clay Johnson's nomination as OMB deputy director of management over similar concerns, but dropped his hold once he had aired his complaints.

The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee unanimously approved Safavian early this month, and the full Senate now must confirm him. Alternatively, the White House could consider making a recess appointment, which would not require Senate approval.

An administration official, who requested anonymity, declined to comment on the likelihood of a recess appointment. "We are working to get [Safavian] confirmed as soon as possible," the official said.

Ideally, Safavian would go through the regular confirmation process, said Cathy Garman, vice president for public policy at the Contract Services Association, an industry group based in Arlington, Va. But at the same time, the OFPP position, which has been vacant since Styles left about nine months ago, needs to be filled quickly, she said.

Without a leader, the office is essentially in a "holding pattern" and lacks a chief spokesman to testify on Capitol Hill and shape policies in areas ranging from acquisition workforce training to competitive sourcing, Garman noted. "All that just doesn't get addressed if you don't have somebody [in a leadership position] full time," she said, adding that her comments are not intended as a criticism of the current OFPP staff.