Former OMB management chief named to head Recovery Act implementation

The White House announced Monday that G. Edward DeSeve, a former high-ranking management official in the Clinton administration, would coordinate efforts at the Office of Management and Budget to implement the recently enacted economic stimulus package.

In his new position, DeSeve will serve as a special advisor to President Obama and assistant to Vice President Biden. He will focus on managing interagency efforts to address provisions of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That work, the White House said, would complement oversight efforts led by Earl Devaney, head of the Recovery Act Accountability and Transparency Board.

DeSeve currently is a senior lecturer at the Fels Institute for Government of the University of Pennsylvania. He was deputy director for management at OMB during the latter part of President Clinton's term in office. During DeSeve's tenure, he was a key player in coordinating the federal response to the Y2K computer issue.

Before serving at OMB, DeSeve was the chief financial officer at the Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1994. Prior to that, he worked in the financial services industry in the private sector. DeSeve also has worked for the city of Philadelphia and as a special assistant to Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey.

As deputy director for management, DeSeve was responsible for coordinating the government's financial management, regulatory, procurement and information technology policies.