Davis to join consulting firm

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., will be joining Deloitte Consulting to work in the federal practice area as a nonlobbyist when he leaves Congress at the end of this session, CongressDaily reported Friday, citing two sources.

Davis, who has had talks with several well-known law and lobbying firms as well as corporate offices, will be earning about $1.5 million a year, lobbying sources said.

The ranking member and former chairman of what is now the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Davis is arguably the most well-versed House Republican on complex procurement statutes and practices.

He co-sponsored the 1996 Federal Acquisition Reform Act that helped streamline government buying, and wrote the 2003 Services Acquisition Reform Act creating the position of chief acquisition officer and the 2006 General Services Administration Modernization Act establishing the agency's consolidated Federal Acquisition Service.

Before his election to Congress in 1991, Davis was general counsel for PRC Inc., a federal technology contractor.

"This is not a revolving door for me," Davis told the Washington Post. "I am basically doing what I did before I went into government."

In 2007, Davis weighed a run for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. John Warner, R-Va. But after the state Republican party decided to hold a convention rather than a primary to select the GOP nominee for the seat, he opted out of the race.

In January of this year, Davis announced he would retire from the House. "After much soul-searching and discussion with those closest to me," he said at the time, "I have decided the time is right to take a sabbatical from public life. I will serve out the remainder of my term, and plan to remain an active contributor to Republican causes but will not run for office in 2008."

In the race to succeed Davis, Democrat Gerry Connolly, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, easily defeated Republican businessman Keith Fimian. The Northern Virginia district also is a hub for many high-tech information technology companies and government contractors. Connolly currently serves as director of community relations for SAIC, one of the largest federal contractors.

California Rep. Darrell Issa has thrown his hat into the ring to replace Davis as the top Republican on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Fellow House Republicans Dan Burton of Indiana and John Mica of Florida have endorsed Issa's bid.

Click here to read Shane Harris' profile of Tom Davis, "Perpetual Motion," in the July 15, 2005 issue of Government Executive.