Congressman urges link between pay, performance for IT workers

A key member of Congress said Friday that future pay raises for federal information technology workers should be linked to the results achieved by the projects they work on. In a letter to Office of Personnel Management Director Kay Coles James, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., chairman of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy, said the subcommittee "agreed with the National Academy of Public Administration's conclusions that developing a results-oriented government cannot come with across-the-board pay increases and the treatment of IT professionals as interchangeable." Davis applauded Office of Management and Budget Associate Director Mark Forman for proposing that the managers of the two most successful projects on OMB's list of key e-government efforts be rewarded with a "substantial bonus pool" if the projects succeed. "This may be an effort worthy of some form of emulation in all government agencies," Davis wrote. "I am hopeful that Congress will fully fund this excellent concept, and I will be working with my colleagues to ensure its success."