DAILY BRIEFING
Procurement chief to fill
OMB deputy slot
The government's top procurement official will also take on Uncle Sam's top management job on an acting basis, an Office of Management and Budget spokeswoman said Monday.
Deidre Lee, administrator of OMB's Office of Federal Procurement Policy, has been named acting deputy director for management at OMB, according to OMB spokeswoman Jennifer Ferguson. Lee will fill both roles simultaneously, following the departure last week of G. Edward DeSeve.
DeSeve had been acting deputy director for management since March 1998, when President Clinton nominated him for the job. He was never confirmed by the Senate. DeSeve resigned March 31 to become a partner in the consulting firm KPMG LLP. DeSeve will help manage the firm's federal services office in Washington.
OMB spokeswoman Linda Ricci said Lee will fill the deputy director position while a search for DeSeve's permanent replacement goes on.
Lee, who was confirmed as head of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in July, is charged with managing the government's top acquisition policy shop. The office sets the rules the government follows for purchasing more than $200 billion a year in goods and services from the private sector.
As acting deputy director for management at OMB, Lee will also head the President's Management Council, the Chief Information Officers Council, which oversees federal information technology policy, and the Chief Financial Officers Council, which coordinates federal financial reform.
The deputy director for management also ensures that federal agencies comply with the Government Performance and Results Act and other management reform laws and is tasked with helping agencies meet President Clinton's 24 management priorities, including solving the year 2000 computer problem, improving financial management and strengthening computer security.
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