Virginia Republican may become chair of key civil service panel

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., is the top contender to become chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information and Technology after the current chair, Rep. Stephen Horn, R-Calif., gives up his chairmanship when the next Congress convenes in January.

Both Davis and Horn are keeping mum on the chairmanship shuffle, but Davis, who is the most senior Republican on the committee after Horn, is likely to take over the subcommittee.

The House has 19 standing committee chairmanships, and, in 1994, the Republican leadership limited committee chair terms to three two-year terms in an effort to dismantle the entrenched seniority system.

Davis, who recently won reelection to his fourth term, represents thousands of federal workers and has introduced several employee-friendly measures during his tenure, including a bill allowing federal retirees, legislative branch employees and members of the armed services to pay their health insurance premiums out of pre-tax earnings. On Monday, Davis hosted a symposium to help federal employees learn how to change health plans under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program during "open season," which runs from Nov. 13 to Dec. 11.

In the 105th and 106th Congresses, Davis introduced legislation to raise overtime pay for those federal managers whose overtime compensation is capped at the GS-10, Step 1 level. The bill never made it out of committee.

Davis has also introduced legislation to create a federal chief information officer's position. The CIO would be responsible for advising the President on information technology and security. The new federal office created by Davis' bill would assume many of the responsibilities currently performed by the Office of Management and Budget, and would encompass all IT management functions that rely on technology within the federal government. It also would create an Office of Information Security and Technical Protection. This office would develop a federal framework for devising and implementing mandatory controls over government information security.

Both Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore have expressed interest in establishing a federal CIO office.